Heavens, it’s been a long time since I’ve made a post. There is much to say. Much. But for now, I speak of SuDoku. Yes, it’s been a craze that’s taken the world by storm, but I am usually quite out of touch, so I’ve only recently been introduced.
Whilst visiting relatives of late, my dear young niece, a bright lass of ten, had in her possession two puzzlebooks. Sudoku for children. Emphasis on for children. Would you like to try it, she asks, in her sweet little voice. It’s fun! You’ll like it!
I’m always good for a puzzle. She concisely explained the game, and I ventured forth.
SuDoku kicked me in the rear, so to speak, and I found myself quite humbled by the fact that this was a children’s level game. In my defense, I hadn’t thought much about the logic of it during the first puzzle attempt. For children! I kept exclaiming. (Balking, rather). It’s hard, isn’t it My niece was so encouraging, in her sing-song voice. She has such infectious enthusiasm. Still. For children. Aback. I was simply quite taken aback. I am, after all, a university trained professional in a highly mathematical field. Hrumph!
I caught on, though, and came up with a method. Oooh. Ahhhh. I boldly and brazenly moved to the next level, and was quickly triumphant. Basking in my newfound success at breaking the daVinci code (hey, it’s how I felt –such a Eureka! moment), I chose the last level four puzzle in the book. Assuming, prematurely, and far too smugly, that I would whiz right through it.
Not so! That puzzle bested me for three days! My newly acquired system of logic and elimination failed. Failed! I was finally forced to make a choice between two numbers. A guess. With one guess, there are multiple possible outcomes. So frustrating, to track and backtrack. Such a tangled web. Oh yes. And during this struggle I learned that my mother does SuDoku. Of course. She’s always been a puzzler. The puzzle she’s working Not a measly children’s nine by nine. No. She’s working a sixteen by sixteen. Sixteen by sixteen! For heaven’s sake! I am in awe.
I finally solved the puzzle. I had to. Otherwise it was going to gnaw at me and slowly drive me mad. So now I decided to try a twelve by twelve (from dailysudoku.com). I’ve only identified six numbers so far. Only 80 more to go (they gave me 58).
Mercy me. What have I gotten myself into
