The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[steven]

Hi there,

I like it a lot, although I too had a problem differentiating some of the colours - lime green and turqoise, for example - and I'm not colour challenged. Perhaps it's a fault of my creaky, old-fashioned monitor though.

I'll probably change some of them. Although the palette is pretty nice at the moment, most people say they find them difficult.

I see that you have a black and white version for the colour challenged (or if I happen to be just plain lazy!) amongst us.

err... that's the plain sudoku

If I may suggest, space on the website so that players can save and/or store puzzles that are completed or, more importantly, interrupted/unfinished for some reason. The ability to print out a completed colour puzzle would be nice (I thought mine was very pretty and I was very pleased with myself when I had completed it. I don't usually use a computer to solve).

Hmm... Those are very advanced options. I'll put them at the bottom of the to-do list. And what exactly did you like to print? Just the puzzle? Because the internet page can be printed from the browser, of course.

I wonder, in future, would it be possible to dub in your own, ordinary, puzzle and have it converted to a colour puzzle?

I don't see that much use for this at the moment. The options to choose from are restricted to choosing difficulty level and puzzle number. And given the number of puzzles, one can always keep on trying random generation until a nice one pops out ;-)

Steven
www.squobble.com

[lunababy_moonchild]

I see that you have a black and white version for the colour challenged (or if I happen to be just plain lazy!) amongst us.

err... that's the plain sudoku

I know and I like that too.

And what exactly did you like to print? Just the puzzle? Because the internet page can be printed from the browser, of course.

Yes, just the puzzle. Completed but the page from the internet browser will do.

I don't see that much use for this at the moment.

Well, I just wondered what one of the puzzles I had particular difficulty with would look like in glorious technicolour, that's all. Try and solve it all over again with a new dimension. Entertain myself thinking up new colour combinations etc.

Luna

[steven]

And what exactly did you like to print? Just the puzzle? Because the internet page can be printed from the browser, of course.

Yes, just the puzzle. Completed but the page from the internet browser will do.

I'll think about an option anyway, completed they look quite nice

Steven
www.squobble.com

[lunababy_moonchild]

I've just thought, having seen Sudoku cards - as in birthday cards - these coloured variants would be waaaaaay cooler, printed out and glued on to a birthday card (my 'other' hobby, handmade greetings cards. Never put a Sudoku on one, though).

Especially if you could change the shade variant at the click of a button, once you'd completed the puzzle - you know, like the button that makes the numbers spin round at the end, you could (I feel certain, a man of your talents ) put another button on there to change the colours of the completed puzzle to say, different shades of blue, or something ................

Is that too girly and not Sudoku-solving serious enough?

I reckon it would look pretty on a birthday card, even if it was already solved, 'cos you'd buy the person a book/game to go with it wouldn't you? Not to mention a reference to said website, obviously.

Luna *who could possibly be off on one somewhere*

[tinfoil]

Other than the 'color presentation', this puzzle is functionally equivalent to
the one discussed on another thread back in June:

http://forum.enjoysudoku.com/viewtopic.php?t=575&highlight=

The difference, in the context of this thread, is that that thread only allowed ONE occurance of each number of each color, rather than repeats.

[lunababy_moonchild]

Yeah, but it's fun.

Luna

[steven]

The difference, in the context of this thread, is that that thread only allowed ONE occurance of each number of each color, rather than repeats.

Nice, I didn't know of this one. And they're different puzzles indeed, might I say - on first sight - that the Graeco-Latin is in general easier to solve because there are less possibilities to consider?

Anyway, the real innovation in the color sudoku from Squobble is the fact that it combines numbers and colors. Placing two characters on one piece would make it more difficult to read. But as you say, they're quite equivalent and I bet converting the Squobble color sudokus to color-based Graeco-Latin squares is a small step from what they are now.

Steven
www.squobble.com

[tinfoil]

Nice, I didn't know of this one. And they're different puzzles indeed, might I say - on first sight - that the Graeco-Latin is in general easier to solve because there are less possibilities to consider?

I don't know about easier... I didn't actually carry out this one, but I thought that a clever poser could make the initial clues to be very difficult by required at least one case where the uniqueness of the two clues (or your number-color combos) HAD to be used to figure out which number to place, based on what was left to add from the combos.

Anyway, the real innovation in the color sudoku from Squobble is the fact that it combines numbers and colors. Placing two characters on one piece would make it more difficult to read. But as you say, they're quite equivalent and I bet converting the Squobble color sudokus to color-based Graeco-Latin squares is a small step from what they are now.

Steven

I agree that your puzzle is visully much more appealing than my thought exercise (assuming no color-blindness issues).

Have you considered adding basic shapes (squares, circles, triangles, stars, etc) WITH the colors to provide another visual clue to the color-impaired?

[steven]

Have you considered adding basic shapes (squares, circles, triangles, stars, etc) WITH the colors to provide another visual clue to the color-impaired?

Well, a few posts before in this thread r.e.s. came up with this idea:

maybe with "pointers" like this ...

Combined with the colors some shapes like these pointers should be pretty good. (Actually I'll implement this when I have some time.)

Steven
www.squobble.com

[r.e.s.]

Have you considered adding basic shapes (squares, circles, triangles, stars, etc) WITH the colors to provide another visual clue to the color-impaired?

Well, a few posts before in this thread r.e.s. came up with this idea:

maybe with "pointers" like this ...

Combined with the colors some shapes like these pointers should be pretty good. (Actually I'll implement this when I have some time.)

Steven
www.squobble.com

Possibly more visually appealing would be to change the rectangular shapes themselves into "pointer shapes" (e.g. teardrops), rather than squeezing the pointer into the rectangle where it crowds the number. (I tried drawing a teardrop version, but my artwork was no good.)

[azpaull]

Steven: I've never done a puzzle - let alone a sudoku - online. So, I was skeptical when I read about your puzzle But, hey, that was VERY cool. Thanks!

[steven]

Possibly more visually appealing would be to change the rectangular shapes themselves into "pointer shapes" (e.g. teardrops), rather than squeezing the pointer into the rectangle where it crowds the number. (I tried drawing a teardrop version, but my artwork was no good.)

Well, since the pointers are easier to program I tried that first. I'll give the teardrops a try as well (when I have another spare moment).

First check this out: I added an option to change the colors into a more distinguishable set (first and second button), and another option (third button) to turn on the pointers for color challenged and color blind people.


Let me know what you think about the pointers. Are they easy to get used to?

Steven
www.squobble.com

[r.e.s.]

Let me know what you think about the pointers. Are they easy to get used to?

I think shape-discrimination would be much easier if all pointers had the same background color -- with multiple colors the shape-information gets buried in "color noise". IMO, the two methods (color vs shape) should not be mixed.

Nice job on the alternate color schemes, though. Even if I can't use them, I can appreciate how they might help others. (In my case, they give me a choice of indistiguishable colors .)

[lunababy_moonchild]

I think that the new colours are excellent and I like the fact that you can change them. Especially throughout the game.

Not sure about the arrows though but then, not being colour challenged I don't need to use them.

Luna

[johngebread man]

i really like it. itsa good idea but it gets compilcated. that makes it a better idea. Well done steven!