Packed with more than a hundred color illustrations and a wide variety of puzzles and brainteasers, Taking Sudoku Seriously uses this popular craze as the starting point for a fun-filled introduction to higher mathematics. How many Sudoku solution squares are there? What shapes other than three-by-three blocks can serve as acceptable Sudoku regions? What is the fewest number of starting clues a sound Sudoku puzzle can have? Does solving Sudoku require mathematics? Jason Rosenhouse and Laura Taalman show that answering these questions opens the door to a wealth of interesting mathematics. Indeed, they show that Sudoku puzzles and their variants are a gateway into mathematical thinking generally. Among many topics, the authors look at the notion of a Latin square--an object of long-standing interest to mathematicians--of which Sudoku squares are a special case; discuss how one finds interesting Sudoku puzzles; explore the connections between Sudoku, graph theory, and polynomials; and consider Sudoku extremes, including puzzles with the maximal number of vacant regions, with the minimal number of starting clues, and numerous others. The book concludes with a gallery of novel Sudoku variations--just pure solving fun! Most of the puzzles are original to this volume, and all solutions to the puzzles appear in the back of the book or in the text itself. A math book and a puzzle book, Taking Sudoku Seriously will change the way readers look at Sudoku and mathematics, serving both as an introduction to mathematics for puzzle fans and as an exploration of the intricacies of Sudoku for mathematics buffs.
"No one knows more about Israel's existential dilemma than Alan Dershowitz-or writes about it better. From its explosive beginning to its startling climax, THE TRIALS OF ZION excites and intrigues, even as it depicts the unique dangers of a lethal part of the world. This is a terrific novel." -Richard North Patterson "For a legalist, mired for years in towers of ivory not even hewn from the teeth of endangered elephants but constructed, indeed, and solely, of the casuistic and notional, Mr. Dershowitz writes a real good rip-snorter." -David Mamet "A thought-provoking thriller set in two of the world's most gripping arenas of conflict, the Middle East and the courtroom." -Steven Pinker, author of The Stuff of Thought,and Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction "As in all his essays, in his novel also, Alan Dershowitz demonstrates his great love for Israel as well as his inspired passion for Jewish memory, justice, and storytelling." -Elie Wiesel A shocking act of terror brings the Middle East to the point of explosion. As the resulting political conflict threatens to erupt, a young Jewish-American lawyer joins the defense team of an arrested but possibly innocent Palestinian. Soon the lawyer's father, a famed criminal attorney, must win the Palestinian's case or risk losing his daughter forever. To do so, he must take into account the tormented history of the Holy Land from every possible angle. THE TRIALS OF ZION combines the tension of the greatest courtroom dramas with the action of a fast-moving thriller, all set against the colorful backdrop of one of the most complex cultural settings in the world. Filled with memorable characters, this novel offers readers not only compelling suspense, but a panoramic view of the history of a beloved and bitterly contested land, and a sharply controversial perspective on the sources of--and the possible solutions to--the world's longest and most crucial international crisis.
"The Big Book of Visual Sudoku" reinvents the world's most popular number game by adding a second visual layer on top of the traditional number/logic puzzle--using symbols and pictures instead of numbers. It's a paradigm shift; 273 puzzles that present Sudoku for both sides of the brain, left (the logical) and right (the visual).
The sudoku craze keeps growing, with no end in sight--and as its popularity builds, fans keep an eagle eye out for fresh formats featuring their favorite puzzles. Here’s one sure to draw them in: sudokus that add a little spice to the mix by changing the standard 9 x 9 puzzles to 10 x 10. That means solvers get 100 squares to fill in instead of just 81! And the numbers go from zero to nine, rather than one to nine. Plus, the smaller sections within each grid are no longer 3 x 3: half the puzzles feature rectangular 5 x 2 boxes and the rest come in various random shapes, with heavy lines marking out the separate areas. It may seem daunting at first--but it’s fun!
Sudoku designers the world over will weep and gnash their teeth at the revelations in this comprehensive guide to cracking the addictive puzzles--but solvers will find it absolutely invaluable as they seek to improve their skills. Even experts don't know all these tricks: hidden pairs, naked pairs, X-wings, jellyfish, squirmbag, bivalue and bilocation graphs, and chains, plus the exclusive Gordonian logic methods that turn the toughest puzzles into a breeze. There are hundreds of sudoku to practice on. A special addition is a reprint of the very first sudoku ever published "
Two great brain games come together in one smart package--and the result is a brilliant blend of logical thinking and linguistics. Stupendous SCRABBLE Sudoku--the follow-up to the fantastically successful SCRABBLE-doku--is the inspiration of puzzle powerhouses Frank Longo and Peter Gordon, and they’ve created the highest possible quality puzzling experience. Just fill out each partially completed sudoku puzzle with letters, using each letter only once in every row, column, and boxed-in area. When the puzzle’s done, a legitimate SCRABBLE word will be revealed. It’s a smart way for solvers to stretch their mental muscles...and learn some SCRABBLE vocabulary, too!
Challenge your brain--but not your eyes--with this classic collection or large print sudoku puzzles! 125 sudoku puzzles organized into five difficulty levels, from easy to expert. Sudoku grids are large, easy to read, and simple to fill out. Answer key in the back of the book. Spiral bound, 160 pages. Boost your brainpower with these fun and engaging large print sudoku puzzles!
Catch the latest wave in Sudoku-mania! These 275 X-Factor SuDoku puzzles are for the diagonally challenged, in 6 difficulty levels from Simple to Fiendish. X-Factor puzzles follow the same rules as for regular SuDoku puzzles PLUS the two shaded diagonal regions also contain the numbers 1 to 9 once only. Each X-Factor puzzle is joined to a previous and following puzzle through common puzzle solution numbers. As well, this book is an extension of "The World's Longest SuDoku Puzzle", now at 1,271 puzzles in length. Includes strategy guide for solving SuDoku puzzles, and tips on how to find X-Factor numbers. And for those who still can't get enough, try solving 275 riddles! Joe Defries is a current 2-time Guinness World Record holder, and is the joe in suJoku.com & joe-ks.com (the Largest Source of Internet Humour). Betcha Can't Beat That!* * re Joe's 'super-human puzzling feat' - the World's Longest SuDoku Marathon - as published in "The Addict's Guide to Everything Sudoku" by Fiorella Grossi, Fair Winds Press, 2007