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Difficulty: Medium Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Not Completed Play This Puzzle

CHAT LOG for Wednesday, March 15, 2006

12:02 am
maestro

hrm
12:02 am
maestro

hrm
12:04 am
Dr_God

Another day, another puzzle...
12:05 am
wwd

yo... dr. G... i love you game... i have been playing them all day
12:05 am
wwd

your games
12:05 am
wwd

that is
12:05 am
Dr_God

Excellent. Thanks.
12:05 am
caderoux

IE6 - when no posts, message box is narrow and in top left
12:05 am
licketySplitAUS

thanks Dr God.
12:05 am
licketySplitAUS

Good Release - no faults here.
12:06 am
Dr_God

caderoux-
Yeah. It's actually IE6 that caused me to have to make a change that causes that, unfortunately.
12:06 am
caderoux

np - love the game
12:07 am
Dr_God

I'll be back later, folks. Enjoy the new puzzle.
12:07 am
wwd

vye
12:12 am
sprite

Morning all :)
12:12 am
wwd

morning
12:12 am
wwd

is that a belgium flag or a french flag?
12:12 am
Debs40ish

Morning
12:13 am
sprite

Dutch.
12:13 am
wwd

oh... hehe
12:13 am
Debs40ish

Whats the advantage of being a pro in sudoku?
12:13 am
sprite

:)
12:13 am
wwd

i should know since my heritage is dutch
12:13 am
Debs40ish

Mines ape like...lol
12:14 am
sprite

Back to the roots, wwd ;) Debs, I don't think there are many advantages, except you can make a friendslist and see who is online of your friends. But I wanted to support Dr_God, is all.
12:14 am
Krys10

And you get an icon ;)
12:14 am
wwd

that's awesome... you are cool for supporting developers
12:15 am
sprite

LOL! And that gender purse ;)
12:15 am
Krys10

Hey, I don't get a gender purse :(
12:15 am
Debs40ish

I'm a pro in babble... just wondered..
12:16 am
sprite

You need to fill in "My account", Krys. And tell the world you are anything but male :)
12:16 am
Krys10

Nope, I forgot to check the "show profile" box when I went pro earlier today
12:16 am
Krys10

All fixed!
12:16 am
Krys10

All fixed!
12:16 am
sprite

Ah, LOL! Not for all developers, wwd, but Dr_God deserves it.
12:17 am
Krys10

I just finished work - heading home, then will tackle this. May have to wage war on the ants in the kitchen first :(
12:17 am
Krys10

see you all later...
12:17 am
wwd

i can't disagree with you... he is quite amazing
12:17 am
wwd

such skillz
12:17 am
sprite

So funny, all those timezones. I just got out of bed.
12:17 am
Krys10

yeah, I've cruised a bunch of Sudoku online sites in the past few days, and this is by far the best i found.
12:18 am
Krys10

Now I'm pushing him to develop a Kakuro site.
12:18 am
wwd

what's kakuro?
12:18 am
Debs40ish

Cya Krys..take care
12:18 am
Krys10

Happy morning Sprite! wwd: google it and you'll find another (better?) type of math/logic puzzle. Also called Cross Sums in the US. 'night Debs!
12:18 am
sprite

I even did some on paper yesterday. Found one in which 2 numbers aren't given at all. Not sure that is possible. But still trying, of course! :) I heard of kakuro, but haven't looked into it yet. Is it fun?
12:19 am
wwd

sounds interesting
12:19 am
wwd

i'll have to check it out
12:19 am
sprite

Oh help... not another addiction! ;)
12:19 am
Krys10

I love it. Requires some math (adding) and not just logic. I found a few sites yesterday - mentioned them in the log sometime yesterday.
12:19 am
Krys10

just google Kakuro or Cross Sums (or both). You'll find tons of stuff.
12:20 am
Krys10

back later!
12:20 am
wwd

i will, but want to finish the puzzle first
12:20 am
sprite

Bye Krys! Happy (ant) hunting :)
12:36 am
caderoux

sweet - done - no x-wings or anything - easy to do manually
12:36 am
sprite

What are x-wings? And congrats on finishing :)
12:36 am
wwd

good job
12:37 am
caderoux

http://www.simes.clara.co.uk/programs/sudokutechnique6.htm
12:39 am
sprite

Ah, I see. Knew the technique, just not the name. Thanks :)
1:32 am
drama queen

Hey every body, a little french girl come with you !!!
1:32 am
Debs40ish

Hiya Queen
1:32 am
drama queen

bonjour !!
1:35 am
Debs40ish

Think I need a cuppa.. this is doing my head in! Yesterdays was easier than this and that was supposed to be harder!
1:41 am
bstadil

Done Not so hard as yesterday
1:42 am
bstadil

What is the points system like. I got 10 yesterday and only 2 today
1:43 am
Debs40ish

Think I'll come back to this later if I get time.. isn't helping having 3 little kittens trying to crawl on my feet!....lol
1:43 am
bstadil

Nevermind. I saw the point system under How to play
1:44 am
Krys10

The ants, they're toast. Time to start the puzzle!
1:49 am
Debs40ish

wd bstadil for finishing
1:55 am
Krys10

Dr._God, are you there?
2:05 am
pinecone

I just finished, but I found the puzzle to be a lot harder than yesterday
2:10 am
Atalante

I'm getting to really like this! I think I'll blame Sprite :) One thing I think would be nice is if you could select a few numbers in one go when putting up possibilities for a square
2:11 am
Krys10

Yeah, I know what you mean - instead of clicking each time. My poor husband just woke up muttering about my clicking noises.
2:12 am
Atalante

well clicking makes a difference from snoring or talking in your sleep!
2:12 am
Krys10

maybe he was dreaming about being attacked by large ants or something :)
2:12 am
a

i'm down to one square :(
2:21 am
bex777

atalante u can put more than one number in a box
2:22 am
bex777

when u click on it hold shift when u press the number and it lets u put more in
2:29 am
flarfu

success!
2:29 am
Onpaki

that's a good thing to know, the shift key :)
2:29 am
flarfu

how long has iron sudoku been around?
2:29 am
Dr_God

5 days. :)
2:30 am
flarfu

dang, not long
2:31 am
Krys10

Ooh, Dr._God, I'm having a chatterbox issue - the right end of everyone's posts gets cut off and the time they post is no longer visible. There's a scroll bar at the bottom, I know, but yesterday I could see the whole box at once. Enlarging the window doesn't help. Safari 2.0.4
2:31 am
Krys10

I mean 2.0.3
2:31 am
Dr_God

It's because people keep posting urls
2:31 am
Krys10

?? why does that make a difference? it widens the box?
2:32 am
Dr_God

URLs are technically a single word, and so they don't wrap
2:32 am
Krys10

so when the 12:37 post scrolls off the problem will go away?
2:32 am
Dr_God

Yes
2:32 am
Krys10

neat. thanks.
2:32 am
Dr_God

I will also be working on a fix
2:33 am
Krys10

nifty!
2:37 am
JamieD

is this puzzle solvable by logic or do you have to guess one?
2:37 am
Atalante

yes bex - but not all at once, just one at a time
2:38 am
Krys10

You shouldn't have to guess. Yesterday I got stuck on a puzzle, so I printed out two copies and tried each possiblility - one led to a conclict, the other didn't, which is how I figured out which path was the correct one.
2:39 am
JamieD

im stuck on this one, I cant seen anywhere to go, unless I guess one :S
2:40 am
ringedingdong

try the 4
2:40 am
Krys10

rather than guessing, save it and print out two copies. try circling guess #1 to see what happens, and use the other copy of the puzzle to try guess #2.
2:41 am
kin

I guess sudoku's not work that way? no guessing and also no trying out :P
2:41 am
Vega

A medium-level sudoku shouldn't require you to guess... just look at the patterns and mark potential numbers in squares. (But I haven't finished it yet - I'm hoping I don't need to guess =) )
2:42 am
Krys10

It's not guessing, system, it's just following a logical path that's longer than I can do in my head.
2:42 am
Dr_God

Is it just me, or is this Medium puzzle harder than yesterday's "Expert" puzzle?
2:42 am
Krys10

Yeah, this one definintely seems harder than yesterday's
2:43 am
GreySim

Yesterday's was much much easier to start for me, but I got stuck and couldn't finish it at all. As long as this one doesn't get like that, it'll still be easier overall...
2:43 am
JamieD

i play sudoku a fair amount, I cant see a way to solve this without guessing, but I am pretty tired so I might be missing something. I dont have a printer, so thats not an option for me
2:44 am
kin

I'm not system ^^" (theres a bug in this chat room , I'm Kin ^^") , and.. I've downloaded a program called Sudoku Susser(sth like that) and it can solve the puzzle for me, and showing why they choose each path, without guessing, or "following logical path"
2:44 am
Krys10

neat, will have to try it to see how it solves this one. after I'm done :)
2:44 am
Dr_God

Kin-
Does it say "You are logged in as: Kin" at the top?
2:45 am
kin

yup :P
2:45 am
Krys10

Sorry Kin, thought you were Dr._God in disguise!
2:45 am
kin

I think I've post a few at the beginning and it shows Kin, but after I work on my program for a few hours and come back, its "system" now :P
2:46 am
kin

http://www.madoverlord.com/projects/sudoku.t, think its a very very good way to learn some new way to solve sudoku
2:46 am
Dr_God

Kin-
Can you refresh your page and see if you're still "System?" (Don't forget to save your work if you need to)
2:47 am
kin

ok I'm back
2:48 am
kin

it seems my session expired, right?
2:48 am
Krys10

Thanks for the link, Kin - seems like a really helpful program.
2:48 am
Dr_God

If your session expired, it wouldn't say "You are logged in" anymore. It's a very weird glitch. Someone else is having the same problem
2:48 am
Dr_God

If you notice it happening again, let me know
2:48 am
kin

yup I'm suprised it solved a EVIL sudoku in a few seconds :P
2:49 am
kin

well there's some ajax update on the "you are logged in" place? if yes its cool, but you ahve to make it work
2:50 am
Dr_God

Not really sure what you just said. :\
2:50 am
kin

I mean even I dun update my screen, I will be noticed if my sessino is expired?
2:50 am
neimad

sup guys
2:51 am
Krys10

I'm getting bleary - will tackle this more tomorrow. Night!
2:51 am
Krys10

I'm getting bleary - will tackle this more tomorrow. Night!
2:51 am
JamieD

woo hoo, completed it
2:52 am
Krys10

(If I accidentally hit enter twice my posting gets posted twice FYI)
2:52 am
kin

see you :P
2:52 am
JamieD

im glad you only have one puzzle a day on here, could be dangerous else ;)
2:55 am
Vega

Meh, I'm getting confused and distracted by the weird numbering patterns. =P
2:58 am
sprite

Lol Krys10, you are an echo of yourself :) Back for more... hopefully without too much distraction from the home front now.
2:58 am
licketySplitAUS

Hi Sprite - I'm restarting this one for the 3rd time.
2:59 am
licketySplitAUS

I did finally get yesterdays!
3:00 am
sprite

Great going lickety!
3:06 am
sprite

Not getting very far with this one, though. I am having blind spots today, or too much people wanting my attention at home, or both ;)
3:06 am
licketySplitAUS

yeah it's tough
3:06 am
licketySplitAUS

you up to 7?
3:08 am
Vega

Done. Could've done that faster though. =)
3:08 am
sprite

Yeah. The elusive 7s. Still need 3.
3:09 am
sprite

WTG Vega! :) %%%@@@xxx@@@*** FIREWORKS %%%@@@xxx@@@*** for you!
3:10 am
licketySplitAUS

Well done Vega - that was fast!
3:11 am
Vega

Fast - no, I was at it for 15 minutes.
3:11 am
Vega

Actually, make that 20. Which is rather slow for me. ;P
3:11 am
licketySplitAUS

I just haven't got it yet
3:12 am
Vega

It's tricky.
3:12 am
sprite

Sounds like you are a pro, Vega :) Great job. I am nowhere near finishing, perhaps it helps if I start concentrating and stop doing 1000 other things at the same time.
3:16 am
ringedingdong

ahhhhh not getting further... : (
3:17 am
licketySplitAUS

yeah i'm pulling my hair out
3:17 am
sprite

Lol ringedingdong. Don't lose faith. There is always a spot where you can get further, the art is in finding it :)
3:18 am
ringedingdong

yeah but with headaches, its quiet difficult ; )
3:18 am
sprite

I agree. I found yesterday's much easier.
3:19 am
licketySplitAUS

i hate when you get to the end and it doesn't fit
3:19 am
licketySplitAUS

even if you dont get any reds along the way
3:19 am
Vega

Sprite - not really pro, I've just been doing them almost every day for a few years. =)
3:19 am
Vega

I think you really have to keep an eye out for patterns, I've found.
3:19 am
ringedingdong

so can you solve any sudoku only be searching for clues? or do you have to try sometimes, to reach the end?
3:20 am
sprite

Argh, that sounds bad. I am just stuck in the middle with nowhere to go, apparently. Every day experience for a couple of years, Vega? You are a pro to me :)
3:20 am
licketySplitAUS

sprite - I just found a 9 - middle cube row
3:21 am
sprite

Vega: that was what I was thinking, there seems to be a pattern here. But I don't like it if the numbers are put in in a pattern, I want to reason them out. Lickety: almost done with the 9s, but still need 5s and 6s.
3:21 am
Vega

ringedingdong - Most sudokus can be solved without guessing... but there are some "diabolical" ones where I resort to guessing. Guessing can really mess things up though, so try not to do it until you've exhausted every other method.
3:22 am
sprite

Ringedingdon: let's ask Vega. So far, I managed to reason them out, but are there grids you have to guess?
3:22 am
ringedingdong

vega - thats what i thought. okay. thx - still have 7 hours of work in front of me ... think that will do it ; )
3:22 am
sprite

Sorry, your answer passed my question in midair :)
3:24 am
Vega

Sprite - no prob. =) Uh, maybe 'patterns' wasn't the right word... it's kinda hard to explain what I mean without actually demonstrating it. *heheh*
3:26 am
sprite

I used to play some downloaded sudoku game, but I stopped when I found out most grids were build like: 123 1st row left upper box, 123 2nd row middle upper box, 123 3rd row right upper box. That kind of patterns I do not like. I love the patterns that are like thought patterns, the ways in which to figure out the game.
3:31 am
Vega

Oh, not that kind of pattern. I meant, limiting the number of possibilities that, say, 5 can fit in one large square based on where 5 can go in another square. I don't know how to explain it in words. I don't think they're 'patterns' though. *LOL*
3:32 am
sprite

I am glad. Those kind of patterns are nice, they help you solve the game. The others are just kind of laziness of the maker, I think, lol.
3:33 am
Phil H

bleeding 3's grrrrr
3:35 am
Vega

I wonder, do people actually create sudokus by hand, or is it all computer generated?
3:39 am
sim

hi ppl
3:50 am
ringedingdong

ahhhhh nearly everything full and i did something wrong... isnt that frustrating?
3:51 am
ringedingdong

where is the "clear all" button?
4:05 am
sprite

Well, that's me done. Tough one.
4:05 am
mrpresident

there doesn't seem to be one
4:05 am
mrpresident

congrats sprite!
4:07 am
sprite

:) I don't think there is a clear all button. Can only clear the tiles one by one. Would be a nice addition, Dr_God, for when you really messed things up and want to start all over. Vega: I know some people who make them by hand. But for sites like this, all will be computer generated I am sure.
4:09 am
Vega

Congrats on finishing, Sprite!
4:13 am
Phil H

anyone else here watching the opening of the commonwealth games ?
4:13 am
mrpresident

yes, I am
4:14 am
Phil H

like this song. not sure why the motorbikes are tooling around with the dancers though
4:14 am
mrpresident

the whole think is stupid! I don't get it either!
4:14 am
Phil H

contrast maybe
4:15 am
mrpresident

the aboriginal theme was excellent in my opinion
4:15 am
Phil H

yeah. some ice visuals going on. good how they use city too
4:15 am
mrpresident

the opening was to circus act and over dramatized with the whole 'australiana' theme, koalas rowing on thong boats... give me a break!
4:15 am
Phil H

nice duck. hehe
4:16 am
mrpresident

was good to hear 'the church' play their song though
4:16 am
mrpresident

wait for it, Delta Goodrem is going to sing for sure!!
4:17 am
Phil H

ohoh - here comes the athletes - back to soduku
4:21 am
Blaze

What does the pink hi lite mean?
4:21 am
lazygamer

same number already on that row
4:21 am
lazygamer

or box
4:24 am
Blaze

okay I get now why this is mezmerizing... it is not easy at all...... hmmm
4:24 am
mrpresident

I am finding this very difficult, personally
4:25 am
Atalante

I'm finding it very difficult too, but also quite addictive!
4:29 am
Phil H

whew - finished. that wasn't medium - one of the hardest i have done
4:30 am
mrpresident

congrats phil!
4:30 am
lazygamer

well done
4:45 am
Luke

dang!
4:45 am
Luke

It all fell apart with 4 spaces left. Rewind!
4:51 am
mrpresident

mine fell apart with 30 spaces left LOL
5:09 am
Atalante

done it!
5:10 am
mrpresident

congrats atalante!!
5:10 am
Zepf

for how long did you do it?
5:10 am
mrpresident

now give me a clue please
5:10 am
Zepf

no clues :P
5:10 am
mrpresident

I want a clue!
5:11 am
mrpresident

Don't tell me I can't have a clue, cause then I have no clue!! LOL
5:13 am
Atalante

um. probably about 20 minutes - but 20 minutes spread over a few hours!
5:14 am
Zepf

k, i've been doing it for almost half an hour now
5:23 am
Kellie

Hi all... no way on this earth is this a medium
5:26 am
mrpresident

and Deltra Goodrem is singing! How predictable!
5:41 am
Sudokay

done it...while distracted by funny floating fish, elderly people walking on water and tall buildings exploding...and delta going up in fire
5:41 am
Kellie

Bubbles.. I've done it!!!
5:42 am
mrpresident

congrats Kellie
5:47 am
Kellie

ty I dont know what to do with myself now!! looks like I'm gonna have to do some work:)
5:50 am
mrpresident

FINISHED! oh my! that came together right at the end there!!
5:50 am
Kellie

well done!!
5:50 am
mrpresident

TY
5:59 am
Bubbles

thanks kells!!!!
6:02 am
Kellie

having problems babes
6:03 am
andyc

This is harder than yesterday's .... who said this was a medium???
6:05 am
Bubbles

yep!!!
6:06 am
Kellie

i would help you but i cant see it anymore lol
6:07 am
Bubbles

does it go blank then when you finish?
6:07 am
Kellie

yep with a big congrats and how many points yuou get
6:08 am
mrpresident

yeah, mine disappeared into the **Im finished happy dance** abyss!
6:08 am
Kellie

lol
6:10 am
mrpresident

better go to sleep now! Bye all and good hunting!!
6:10 am
Kellie

bye bye
6:14 am
Bubbles

bye
6:30 am
Kellie

aint you done yet bubbles?
6:32 am
Bubbles

go have a word with your self will ya
6:33 am
Bubbles

going out to costco, bye all x
6:54 am
Anne

Done ! But I agree with an earlier message this was harder than the difficult one yesterday.
6:57 am
Soz

This ones a bitch!
7:05 am
haggis10

This is so hard that I only have one number left but don't know where to put it :)
7:05 am
licketySplitAUS

hey
7:06 am
licketySplitAUS

4 time trying to solve this one ;-)
7:07 am
Soz

yeah, im at a wall :( been checking ahead a couple steps looking for a solution that doesnt cause a clash :(
7:07 am
haggis10

you finish yesteday's one lickety
7:07 am
licketySplitAUS

i actually did nut it out
7:18 am
evanadine

mornin all
7:18 am
mrpresident

haggis, ask lickety who finished the puzzle!! go on, ask, ask, ask!!
7:18 am
mrpresident

hi evan!!
7:18 am
haggis10

So who finished the puzzle then Lickety
7:19 am
licketySplitAUS

mrpresident has - Who else.
7:19 am
mrpresident

oh yes!
7:19 am
licketySplitAUS

And Haggis - ask mrpresident how she knows me?
7:19 am
mrpresident

30 minutes!!
7:19 am
haggis10

How?
7:20 am
haggis10

MrPres - How do u know Lickety?
7:20 am
mrpresident

I don't know him at all! Some freak I chat with, but otherwise... nada
7:20 am
mrpresident

ha ha ha ha
7:20 am
licketySplitAUS

(nose growing)
7:21 am
mrpresident

oh, that's right! I have had his 2 children!!
7:21 am
haggis10

Is she on the other room ?
7:21 am
Soz

Ahhhhh, done :D
7:22 am
licketySplitAUS

out of arms way. Well done Soz!
7:22 am
haggis10

Not for long - Nice one Soz
7:23 am
haggis10

I could here that Thwak from here
7:23 am
licketySplitAUS

It's not BINGO
7:27 am
haggis10

So Lickety - If mrpres has 2 of your kids and your wife has 2 of your kids - does that mean you have 4
7:27 am
licketySplitAUS

shhhh
7:28 am
haggis10

opps - sorry
7:28 am
licketySplitAUS

shhhhhouldn't talk like that Haggis
7:31 am
haggis10

I have too many grren numebrs aaahhhh
7:31 am
licketySplitAUS

I filled my boxes completely with green and red so I dont have to think anymore
7:31 am
licketySplitAUS

I just look at the pretty colours
7:32 am
haggis10

my board looks like the background
7:32 am
licketySplitAUS

just fill them all in ;-)
7:32 am
licketySplitAUS

says I got NaN+ hours
7:33 am
licketySplitAUS

before the puzzle closes. Cool!
7:34 am
haggis10

is that plain or garlic nan?
7:35 am
licketySplitAUS

+ must be the crust
7:35 am
Soz

my board looked like the background until i found one sequence that didnt cause a clash four or five steps down the line :p then was all good!
7:36 am
haggis10

does top right in middle right cube have a 3 or a 6?
7:36 am
licketySplitAUS

just nan here
7:37 am
david.m1fcf

i think a 6 goes there - at least my done does without flashing red at me
7:37 am
licketySplitAUS

well, this is attempt no 4 for me - so I'm not taking any chances.
7:41 am
licketySplitAUS

well I've checked and double checked - all my red and greens are right, and I filled them all up, and I don't got any single answers to go on.
7:41 am
licketySplitAUS

Looks like I need to apply that crazy logic
7:41 am
licketySplitAUS

like if a butterfly flaps it's wings in Alaska, I'll get the next number.
7:42 am
licketySplitAUS

Hold the Horses - SPOTTED IT
7:43 am
haggis10

Wwwwwoooooo it was a 6
7:44 am
haggis10

finally done it - was think it was a six hlaf hour ago but didn't want to risk it.
7:44 am
licketySplitAUS

you finished?
7:44 am
haggis10

yup
7:44 am
licketySplitAUS

well done, Fireworks to You!
7:44 am
david.m1fcf

ah! i'm getting the hang of this - luckily the 6 was correct, cos it only flashes if it doesn't fit with what you have in place. I was assuming it checked against the solution.
7:45 am
haggis10

took me about an hour
7:45 am
haggis10

maybe hour and a half
7:46 am
david.m1fcf

ooops PHB is coming, back to this later.....
7:46 am
licketySplitAUS

phb?
7:46 am
Soz

yeah, finding that last little bit is a bitch, cause it can be a variety of options, but there is only one that actually doesnt clash :p I was lucky to get it on the fourth attempt (dont actually complete, stop after eliminating what i can and just work forward seeing what might clash)
7:47 am
haggis10

Well. it's good night from me and it's good night from him - catch you later
7:48 am
licketySplitAUS

seeya haggis
8:26 am
Lamancha

Not so easy - had to take a guess near the end - I'd rate it harder than a medium, and definitely harder than yesterdays....
8:27 am
jay

yeah i'm finding it slower than yest
8:27 am
MrOoijer

me too
8:27 am
paul

and me
8:27 am
bish

/nod
8:27 am
Stef

yep me too i'm stuck
8:27 am
euph

that was a though one
8:27 am
licketySplitAUS

its 1:30am here, sob
8:27 am
MrOoijer

i am not stuck but I had to start all over again:-(
8:27 am
jojomnky

i'm stuck alot earlier than i was on yesterdays
8:28 am
Stef

go to bed!
8:28 am
licketySplitAUS

I gotta finish it !
8:31 am
jay

grr
8:34 am
bzikofski

let's play
8:38 am
licketySplitAUS

Ok, well I finished it! But I gotta say that I got stuck and I cheated
8:38 am
licketySplitAUS

All I needed was one number though and the rest fell out in about 1 min. I need more skills
8:38 am
licketySplitAUS

I just couldn't get past that point.
8:39 am
paul

how did you cheat? someone else tell you the answer?
8:39 am
licketySplitAUS

Good luck everyone - everyones been saying this one is harder than the expert last night.
8:39 am
paul

or just guesswork?
8:39 am
licketySplitAUS

yeah - someone hinted was the actual value for 1 number is
8:39 am
licketySplitAUS

i just needed that one number, and then I got the rest.
8:40 am
licketySplitAUS

if you get really stuck - it's in the chat log.
8:40 am
paul

i'm not looking!
8:40 am
caderoux

I found this one easier - I never had to use any kind of lookahead technique - but maybe I made a lucky mistake in my markings.
8:41 am
licketySplitAUS

it'll scroll off soon it you're lucky ;-)
8:42 am
kremdela

damn, I think I'm stuck
8:42 am
kremdela

I need to stop looking for a few and come back to it
8:42 am
Bubbles

I've only gone and finished!!!!! WOO HOOOOOO
8:45 am
evanadine

finding myself stuck again...hopefully itll fall in place like yesterdays...heh
8:49 am
MpP

finally getting it...this is much more than a medium puzzle. on other sites, i think this would rank diabolical!
8:54 am
chu

harder than the last one for me
8:54 am
paul

way harder
8:55 am
paul

there's just not enough 3s
8:56 am
bzikofski

damn it's hard
9:04 am
lukfugl

finished, had to trial and error between two choices at the end
9:05 am
lukfugl

chose one square with only two possibilities, saved, tried the first possibility until it contradicted, then with the second possiblity it all fell into place real easy
9:05 am
Perks

Done.
9:07 am
bzikofski

ah it's not so hard ;)
9:08 am
zigorou

What is this site?
9:09 am
zigorou

hmm?
9:09 am
zigorou

hmm?
9:09 am
redguy

You solve the puzzle to the left and talk about it or whatever else.
9:12 am
kremdela

I wish there were a way to revert to saved state, without having to click over to how to play then come back
9:12 am
paul

wooh!
9:12 am
harpjane

krem, i think you can refresh (F5)
9:13 am
paul

how are the points calculated?
9:13 am
evanadine

krem -- you can just click on the "iron sudoku" icon + itll take you back to your last save
9:13 am
paul

yesterday i got 10, today i only got 2
9:13 am
kremdela

evan - brilliant, thanks
9:14 am
MrOoijer

this was really harder than yesterdays
9:15 am
redguy

I wonder if it depend on whether you start with deductive or inductive logic.
9:15 am
raerae7133

Not usually no
9:16 am
raerae7133

The key is knowing when to switch between the two (or using both at the same time -- if you're good)
9:16 am
redguy

I guess if you are much smarter than me, you can use both at the same time. :)
9:16 am
raerae7133

I'm probably not. I'm just spectacularly good at convincing people I am
9:17 am
redguy

That counts for a lot. :)
9:18 am
redguy

/agree about the lack of 3's
9:18 am
amachang

こんにちわこんにちわ!
9:18 am
bish

3 is on my hitlist.
9:19 am
bish

punk.
9:20 am
amachang

hello! hello!
9:21 am
amachang

hello! hello!
9:21 am
raerae7133

hi
9:22 am
amachang

a
9:22 am
amachang

a
9:24 am
amachang

a
9:24 am
raerae7133

you doing okay?
9:26 am
jeroen janssen

hello
9:29 am
raerae7133

3s, 5s, and 6s are my problem here
9:30 am
jojomnky

same here and they all seem to be linked up
9:32 am
evanadine

*FINISHED!!*
:D
9:32 am
jojomnky

congrats
9:33 am
evanadine

i still dont know how people finish without making guesses, but eventually one of my guesses works out!
9:34 am
Dave

don't think of it as a guess, think of it as a subtrail of logic... :)
9:34 am
kremdela

damn,I want to ask for a hint, but don't want to give up
9:35 am
brainwidth

Done.
9:35 am
evanadine

whenever Dr God is on next, im gonna ask him (though im sure hes been asked a million times already) if theres a way we can see our finished puzzle after we are done.
as it is now, i love the congrats banner, but i wanna bask in the glory of my completed puzzle...hehe
9:35 am
purewish

this is my first time, but the game is quite fun!
9:36 am
harpjane

evan-could you save it right before you put in the last number?
9:36 am
Dave

perhaps not showing it keeps potential ease of cheating down? i.e. it's hard to remember what the answer is when it's not there
9:36 am
spellit

Done - quicker than yesterday and no guessing!
9:36 am
evanadine

well, i write in on paper regardless...heh
9:37 am
raerae7133

Done
9:38 am
raerae7133

Man, I want more sudoku. I guess I'll have to keep relying on websudoku.com
9:38 am
harpjane

I FOUND A 3!!!!!
9:39 am
crutan

Finally!
9:39 am
redguy

dive on it. they're slipperly little suckers
9:39 am
harpjane

So now I have one square completely finished. Better quit for work while I'm ahead.
9:40 am
raerae7133

hehe. I'm AT work
9:40 am
jojomnky

me too
9:40 am
jojomnky

:D
9:40 am
harpjane

Oh, and now I have one row finished also. (I can quit any time....)
9:41 am
jessmom

great game today!
9:41 am
Babbler

nice grid : )
9:42 am
jessmom

Now on to Babble....
9:42 am
bunnyvicious

Did the logged in and out posts stop?
9:42 am
evanadine

bunny -- yeah, Dr God was on yesterday and they annoyed him...heh...i think hes working on an option where you can choose to see them or not, but for now theyre disabled
9:43 am
bunnyvicious

That's good, I'm a lurker til I'm near done or I'd never finish cause my mouth is running.
10:14 am
gray

I had to guess twice on this one. Only had to guess once on the puzzle yesterday. Seems like this one should be worth more than 2 points when yesterdays was worth 10 points.
10:15 am
bunnyvicious

I thought they were only one point apiece??
10:15 am
gray

Yesterday it said "10 points have been added to your ranking."
10:16 am
Krys10

It's based on the difficulty level of the puzzle. Check out "How to Play" (save first)
10:16 am
bunnyvicious

Hope I read mine wrong, thought it said one. Does the amount of time it takes you affect your score?
10:17 am
gray

I thought this puzzle was more difficult than yesterday. Seems like it should have been worth more than two points IMHO.
10:18 am
bunnyvicious

I'm having a harder time today too!
10:18 am
Krys10

That seems to be the general consensus. Dr._God said so last night too.
10:20 am
gray

Well... see everyone tomorrow. :)
10:20 am
bunnyvicious

bye gray
10:20 am
bex777

hiya everyone
10:20 am
bunnyvicious

hello bex
10:21 am
Krys10

hi bex! I gotta go, will pop on later when I've fnished this one - printed it out to finish on the go.
10:41 am
dplass

this one seems harder than yetserday
10:41 am
jase

it is! :(
10:41 am
bex777

i no its really hard
10:41 am
dplass

jase: hi
10:41 am
i8ramin

dave and jase, GET BACK TO WORK !
10:41 am
dplass

LOL!
10:43 am
i8ramin

ummm.. i cant even get one box :P
10:44 am
jase

@dplass: HI!
10:44 am
Ronin

It's a party!
10:45 am
dplass

yay, one box
10:46 am
i8ramin

i have little green numbers everywhere!
10:47 am
renfield

i have a few little red numbers mixed w/ my greenies.
10:47 am
i8ramin

YES.. got one
10:47 am
dplass

yay two boxes
10:48 am
i8ramin

i bet you found 2 4's dplass :)
10:48 am
dplass

hah, wouldn't you like to know
10:48 am
i8ramin

cause i found two 4's
10:49 am
i8ramin

ooh.. found another 4
10:49 am
dplass

they have to be in different rows, and columns you know
10:49 am
Ronin

I found a 7 *pats self on back*
10:49 am
i8ramin

hint: 4 !
10:52 am
Ronin

Wow... this one has me stumped... maybe I need to wipe it clean and start fresh
10:52 am
i8ramin

it seems harder that yesterdays.. but it says medium
10:52 am
sherox

finis!!!
10:53 am
i8ramin

now you'll be bored for the next 13 hours
10:53 am
bunnyvicious

I've had to wipe clean three times...
10:53 am
Dr_God

I agree. This one is much harder than yesterday. I'm starting to think the difficulties aren't very realistic. :\
10:53 am
dplass

@Dr_God: don't worry about it, you have enough on your hands running the universe and all
10:53 am
Ronin

Yeah I finished yesterdays fairly quickly, this one is killer though
10:54 am
i8ramin

who had that 7, ill trade for a few 4's! :P
10:54 am
redguy

go fish
10:55 am
Ronin

The 7 was easy to find, it was a forced choice
10:56 am
bristaylor

@ramin and jase -- you guys are going down
10:56 am
i8ramin

bring it on!
10:57 am
TheZikes

heya ramin, I got that GM script finished
10:58 am
i8ramin

oh nice. whats it do now
10:58 am
TheZikes

when you hold ctrl+alt or ctrl+shift you can pencilmark entire rows or columns
10:58 am
jase

@bristaylor: hehehe
10:58 am
i8ramin

sweet
10:59 am
TheZikes

http://tinyurl.com/zf6xh
10:59 am
i8ramin

gotta restart FF, just installed greasemonkey. brb
11:01 am
i8ramin

im getting a js error on like 167
11:01 am
TheZikes

what's the error?
11:01 am
i8ramin

getContents .. when i try to install it
11:02 am
i8ramin

NS_ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND
11:02 am
i8ramin

i think its GM related
11:02 am
TheZikes

odd, sounds like a GM bug...what version of FF are you using?
11:02 am
i8ramin

i just got the latest one
11:02 am
i8ramin

0.6.4
11:02 am
TheZikes

do you have Firefox 1.5?
11:02 am
i8ramin

yep
11:02 am
i8ramin

1.5.0.1
11:03 am
i8ramin

does it have anything to do with my firewall/proxy ?
11:03 am
i8ramin

im at work
11:04 am
i8ramin

im gonna try to install another GM script and see what happens
11:04 am
TheZikes

I would think that if you're able to browse then the firewall/proxy would be configured properly
11:06 am
i8ramin

its def. a GM error. i cant install any userscripts
11:08 am
Ronin

that is a crapload of green numbers - lol
11:09 am
i8ramin

i got all the 4's and 1's in every box.. now im stuck
11:10 am
gabrielboys

how is this one medium and the one from yesterday expert ourt of curiosity, this one seems a good bit harder
11:10 am
Ronin

My only guess is that this one wraps itself up after you hit a certain point, but I'm not there yet...
11:10 am
i8ramin

everyone thinks that inaccurate
11:10 am
scottru

does anyone take notes offline?
11:10 am
gabrielboys

right
11:10 am
bristaylor

I have the whole middle section...does this thing flash yellow even if you're wrong?
11:10 am
gabrielboys

this is only the second one I have done, so just curious
11:11 am
bunnyvicious

I think the yellow flash is just for placement, the only warning you get is the pink row highlight when you place the same number twice.
11:11 am
orb

this one is definitely easier - everything works itself out with no real work
11:11 am
bristaylor

well that's helpful anyways
11:12 am
Ronin

orb - we'll see, I remain skeptical. Only 1 number forced itself for me on first glance
11:14 am
orb

Try looking up some of the normal techniques. This one only requires med-level techniques which seems to be perfect for a medium.
11:14 am
Ronin

If you say so chief
11:14 am
i8ramin

techniques? i didnt know there were techniques. im just eyeballing these things
11:14 am
gabrielboys

I was just curious, because hte one yesterday came down to one decision in the end
11:14 am
dplass

ooh the flood gates just opened up
11:15 am
orb

A medium one you might have to think a little for and not just eyeball
11:15 am
Stef

god, this is much tougher than yesterdays! I'll have to go back to babble for a bit...
11:16 am
Ronin

Ah! There are the 4s
11:16 am
bunnyvicious

Hey, those little green numbers help ALOT, finally done!!
11:16 am
orb

too bad you can't share puzzle screens or work in pairs
11:16 am
i8ramin

look for the 1's next..
11:16 am
bunnyvicious

I only had to guess once.
11:16 am
jay

i got the 4's and 1's i'm stuck now
11:16 am
avaly

What green numbers?
11:17 am
i8ramin

avaly, *save* and then click on How to Play
11:17 am
Ronin

yup
11:17 am
bunnyvicious

hold down shift and ctrl while you are clicking on a square
11:17 am
orb

use the shift key and you can make notes on the boxes like you might on pen and paper
11:18 am
i8ramin

shift+click = green, alt+click = red
11:18 am
bunnyvicious

Off to babble, hope it isn't a huge grid!! Bye all.
11:18 am
i8ramin

p's
11:19 am
avaly

super! I was looking for something like that. Thought this hadn't this feature. :)
11:19 am
bristaylor

i can't get the pencil mark to happen -- does that not work with safari?
11:19 am
i8ramin

hmm.. no idea. install Firefox! :)
11:19 am
Ronin

Yup, I just landed all the 4s
11:19 am
Ronin

Yup, I just landed all the 4s
11:20 am
bish

tell me when you've landed all the 3s. :(
11:20 am
i8ramin

someone said the 7's are easy too .. but i cant get them
11:20 am
i8ramin

theres only one 3, that cant be easy
11:21 am
TheZikes

they probably got the 7s later on, when some possible spaces were already filled
11:21 am
i8ramin

right
11:22 am
The Wac

this seems a bit harder than yesterdays
11:22 am
whatevrnvrmind

this is my first ever puzzle. is there only one way to win?
11:23 am
i8ramin

ok, lemme ask you guys this. if there are 3 boxes in one area open. and say 2 of the 3 boxes can be one of two numbers only. thsat means the 3rd box HAS to be the remaining number, right?
11:23 am
TheZikes

usually
11:23 am
The Wac

right
11:23 am
i8ramin

ok then i found a 7 :)
11:23 am
Ronin

say you have 236, 36, 36, then the 236 has to be 2
11:23 am
The Wac

sweet
11:23 am
The Wac

yes
11:24 am
avaly

Why are the number images loading everytime the menu with al the digits pops up?
11:25 am
Ronin

Not doing that for me
11:25 am
TheZikes

your browser's cache might be full
11:25 am
Dr_God

More likely the cache is off
11:25 am
avaly

:) sorry for that. I had disabled my cache
11:25 am
TheZikes

yeah
11:27 am
Ronin

I just got all the 1s
11:27 am
Ronin

*pats self on back*
11:27 am
The Wac

wahoo
11:28 am
bex777

finished!!!!!
11:28 am
i8ramin

found a 9 !
11:28 am
Ronin

woo!
11:34 am
Ronin

What kills me are the three boxes that are like 12, 13, 23...
11:34 am
The Wac

true story
11:35 am
bish

i love getting to the point where you find a number, thinking that it's going to open the 'tidalwave' of discoveries... only to realize that it doesn't really reveal much at all. :(
11:36 am
The Wac

ha ha ha that's horrible
11:36 am
bish

yeah, a 5 just did that to me.
11:38 am
The Wac

hooray for me. . i have all the subscripts filled in now
11:39 am
The Wac

what a pain
11:39 am
scottru

same here. but we're stuck.
11:39 am
scottru

I mean "I'm stuck"
11:39 am
bish

ditto.
11:39 am
dplass

me 2
11:39 am
bish

medium, my butt. :)
11:39 am
Ronin

What got me unstuck was rotating between column, row and box and looking for numbers that stood out
11:40 am
The Wac

yep, that just made a lot of sense
11:40 am
TheZikes

yeah, that's usually what does it for me
11:40 am
Ronin

I've since slowed down again but it got me probably 8 numbers
11:41 am
Ronin

Just found two 9ns
11:41 am
Ronin

9s
11:42 am
The Wac

i'm only missing 2 nines
11:42 am
Ronin

same here
11:42 am
TheZikes

same here, two pairs on a standoff
11:42 am
Ronin

yup
11:42 am
Ronin

My board is a mix of rotating sets and standoff pairs
11:42 am
bish

are your missing 9s in the bottom left and bottom mid 3x3?
11:43 am
The Wac

si
11:43 am
TheZikes

yep
11:43 am
Ronin

column 3 and 5
11:43 am
bish

grr... *shakes fist at 9*
11:43 am
The Wac

better believe it
11:43 am
gabrielboys

are there other sites that have this kind of notation stuff too?
11:43 am
gabrielboys

the red and green and what have you?
11:43 am
The Wac

i've found some where it puts it in for you
11:44 am
The Wac

though i couldn't tell you where to find them
11:44 am
i8ramin

thats takes away all the fun
11:44 am
Ronin

Well the only other one I know is websudoku and they have just one type of subscript
11:44 am
hokie carla

websudoku, but I could never get my mac to do it
11:45 am
The Wac

try going to google sometime and typing in sudoku. . you'll find a ton of websites, though some of them you have to download
11:46 am
gabrielboys

yeah I like being able to put them in there, but would not want it done for me
11:46 am
jhiner

hey
11:47 am
jhiner

whats up
11:47 am
The Wac

hola
11:49 am
Ronin

You can't conclude something from 123, 123, 23 right?
11:50 am
The Wac

unfortunately no
11:50 am
Ronin

Didn't think so
11:50 am
Ronin

However that did open some other stuff for me
11:50 am
The Wac

perhaps you're a genius though and you might be able to get something from it
11:51 am
Ronin

lol
11:51 am
Ronin

oh there's the flood
11:51 am
Ronin

@!&*#@&$*(
11:51 am
Ronin

nevermind
11:51 am
Ronin

I screwed something up
11:51 am
The Wac

oh dang
11:51 am
Ronin

damn damn damn
11:51 am
Ronin

Now to backtrack
11:53 am
bish

9s and 2s... kicking my butt.
11:53 am
Ronin

Damn i hate getting errors at this point, backtracking is a royal pain
11:53 am
i8ramin

i just need 9's on the 2 bottom left areas
11:54 am
redguy

what happened to the threes?
11:54 am
dplass

this puzzle i hate
11:54 am
The Wac

mmmm toast. . .
11:54 am
i8ramin

@dplass ... meeting :)
11:54 am
dplass

@i8ramin ... yeah 5 mins, and TD's not here anyway
11:54 am
Ronin

Damn that revert was further than I wanted but at least I have my pencil marks and not the sea of wrong numbers
11:55 am
dplass

can we 'clear all' yet?
11:55 am
jase

this one is crazy! i only got 2 points
11:56 am
Ronin

Alright I think this is alright
11:56 am
The Wac

oh good
11:56 am
dplass

this puzzle has beaten me. i give up. see y'all tomorrow.
11:57 am
The Wac

bye bye
11:57 am
Ronin

No! You must not be weak!
11:57 am
Ronin

Push! Pull! Rip! Tear! Gnash teeth!
11:57 am
Ronin

Oh well
11:57 am
The Wac

ha ha ha
11:58 am
bristaylor

I think this one harder than medium -- I just did USA today's 4 star puzzle in like 10 minutes but this is driving me crazy. I'll come back to it later.
11:58 am
The Wac

yeah, it's a pain
11:58 am
Ronin

It's difficult but I don't feel like it's difficult
12:04 pm
Ronin

I wish I could rotate the board for a new perspective
12:04 pm
Ronin

that would be awesome
12:04 pm
mbadge

Certainly harder than yesterday's.
12:05 pm
mbadge

Finished it though, *finally*
12:05 pm
The Wac

for sure
12:05 pm
The Wac

nice!
12:05 pm
mbadge

Rotating the board would be terrific.
12:06 pm
jhiner

hmm
12:06 pm
jhiner

not bad
12:06 pm
jhiner

this is my first one
12:06 pm
jhiner

what is this 'points' system
12:06 pm
jhiner

based on time?
12:06 pm
The Wac

how many points did you get?
12:06 pm
mbadge

2
12:07 pm
jhiner

I got 2
12:07 pm
jhiner

2
12:07 pm
The Wac

hmm. . i'm not sure. . i got 10 yesterday
12:07 pm
Ronin

I don't understand the Xwing solution strategy
12:07 pm
mbadge

My first one where I had to take a guess. I grabbed the screen, took one guess (didn't work), then used my second guess.
12:07 pm
The Wac

?
12:08 pm
jhiner

xwing soln?
12:08 pm
jhiner

haha didnt realize i could hold shift and lcick
12:08 pm
Ronin

http://www.sudokudragon.com/sudokustrategy.ht
m
12:08 pm
mbadge

Would be great if you could "lock" a partial solution, then refresh to that point. Guess if you don't "save" it amounts to the same thing.
12:08 pm
Ronin

It's what a lot of us are facing with our pairs and sets, and I don't understand the explanation
12:08 pm
jhiner

cool
12:09 pm
Ronin

Maybe I'm overthinking it
12:11 pm
TheZikes

Ronin, it's not a means of solving that setup, but using it to eliminate possibilities
12:11 pm
Ronin

right, I think I understand it now and it was already something I did
12:12 pm
bish

holy crap.
12:12 pm
Ronin

?
12:12 pm
The Wac

??
12:13 pm
bish

got to a stalemate... saved, had a square that was either 2 or X... chose 2, followed it through until it broke, hit refresh, chose X ... followed it through to two whoppin' points.
12:13 pm
Ronin

cool
12:15 pm
The Wac

now i only have 2 eights left
12:16 pm
The Wac

but of course. . i'm stuck
12:16 pm
Ronin

Damn
12:16 pm
Ronin

Figured I had to try a wild goose chase
12:16 pm
The Wac

didn't work?
12:17 pm
Ronin

Nah Ijust started going and hit a brick wall
12:18 pm
caderoux

I don't think I ever needed an X-Wing on this one. Download Simple Sudoku - key in the puzzle and just keep hitting F11 - it will show you starting from simple techniques to the hardest.
12:19 pm
zymeck

jeez, that was difficult.
12:20 pm
zymeck

I had to guess the 2 in the middle right row :(
12:20 pm
The Wac

what's the easiest way to backtrack?
12:20 pm
Ronin

I reload and revert to the last saved position
12:21 pm
The Wac

thanks
12:22 pm
andyc

Damn that was hard.
12:23 pm
Ronin

*claws his eyes out*
12:23 pm
The Wac

aren't you done yet ronin? ;)
12:24 pm
Ronin

Nope, I'm not that smart. I just try hard.
12:24 pm
andyc

That was harder than yesterday's Expert one.
12:25 pm
The Wac

no kidding
12:27 pm
andyc

Tomorrow's will say "trivial" and no-one will be able to do it :-)
12:27 pm
The Wac

hooray, two points for me
12:28 pm
The Wac

and now i'm out. . it was lovely chattin with you all, have a fantastic day
12:28 pm
Ronin

seeya later
12:28 pm
andyc

See yoy all tomorrow... :-)
12:42 pm
gabrielboys

finally
12:42 pm
i8ramin

damn meetings arent letting me finish this thing
12:42 pm
i8ramin

where was i
12:51 pm
scottru

on a roll now! woo hoo!
12:51 pm
jedediah

I'm getting off the a slow start
12:51 pm
i8ramin

if i have, 23, 26, 36 .. does that mean anything?
12:51 pm
scottru

NOPE.
12:52 pm
yul

big hips?
12:52 pm
scottru

oh crap.
12:52 pm
i8ramin

lol @ yul
12:53 pm
hornbeck


those are not v
12:53 pm
hornbeck

ery big hips
12:53 pm
scottru

yeah, I made a mistake some reversions ago. Damn it.
12:54 pm
scottru

ooh, maybe I found it...
12:56 pm
scottru

nope.
1:09 pm
liber8ed

much harder "medium" puzzle then yesterdays "Hard"
1:11 pm
hurshy

i practiced a bunch on another site last night and now i'm much better at this i think
1:25 pm
torgone

Me too, hurshy, but here I am stuck again ..
1:25 pm
hurshy

lol, me too tor
1:27 pm
gwenski

Dr_God, how about a 'clear all' button for us dummies who royally screw up and want to start over?
1:27 pm
skizzybiz

haha, you don't get one of those when you do pen and paper
1:28 pm
gwenski

You do if you use pencil and eraser!!
1:28 pm
hurshy

however, if you have a pencil you do!
1:28 pm
hurshy

snap, gwenski! :)
1:28 pm
skizzybiz

i've had to X out quite a few tough puzzles when i screw them up. pencil just isn't as satisfying for me
1:28 pm
skizzybiz

i live on the edge ;)
1:28 pm
torgone

Try a lighter ..
1:28 pm
hurshy

lol tor
1:33 pm
hurshy

are there ever multiple correct solutions?
1:33 pm
Dr_God

No
1:33 pm
hurshy

wow, quick response :)
1:35 pm
torgone

There can be only one . . .
1:35 pm
hurshy

now what does that remind me of?
1:36 pm
yul

give me another!
1:37 pm
hurshy

fraid you'll have to find another site, yul. try www.websudoku.com (sorry dr_g, hope you don't mind)
1:38 pm
Sulihin

if you've done all the archives
1:39 pm
hurshy

the info yesterday was that you can't play the archives anyway - you have to play it ON the day
1:39 pm
yul

hurshy i found one with 2 possible solutions
1:39 pm
hurshy

:O
1:39 pm
hurshy

you must be very patient, yul
1:39 pm
hurshy

once i found one i wouldn't bother looking for another
1:40 pm
Sulihin

ah yeah can't play archives, sorry
1:41 pm
hurshy

ta-da!
1:42 pm
yul

i checked the answer and it was different to my solution
1:42 pm
Dr_God

Yul-
What site did you check it on?
1:43 pm
Dr_God

And which puzzle had two solutons?
1:44 pm
yul

one from a book - the little book of advanced sudoku vol 3
1:44 pm
kimdog

I finished the puzzle yesterday... but is there any function that lets you know if you got it right? That would be nice.
1:44 pm
Dr_God

Oh. Ok. Never mind then.
1:44 pm
Dr_God

kimdog-
If you finished it correctly, it congratulates you.
1:45 pm
Debs40ish

If it comes up with congratulations you got it right
1:45 pm
hurshy

and if you didn't, some stuff should be red.
1:45 pm
hurshy

oh hey there debs
1:45 pm
Debs40ish

Snap..lol
1:45 pm
Debs40ish

Hiya Hurshy :)
1:45 pm
hurshy

how are you? did you find today's babble challenging?
1:46 pm
Debs40ish

I didnt get it finished hardly do these days because of work ect...
1:46 pm
kimdog

well then... maybe I DIDN'T finsish the puzzle! Or maybe I just didnt see the Congrats. I double checked... and there was no red.
1:47 pm
Debs40ish

I've been having a go at tanglewood.. it's good fun
1:47 pm
hurshy

kim - the congrats are quite obvious, the puzzle goes away and is replaced by the message.
1:47 pm
Debs40ish

or tangleword....can tell I dont do that well!
1:47 pm
TP17

Woot!
1:47 pm
hurshy

debs, were you there at the flip telling everyone what the big words were? :)
1:48 pm
hurshy

all the tangleword sites are blocked from here, but i can do eight1, which i think is the same idea.
1:48 pm
Debs40ish

No. I was asleep til 6am...
1:48 pm
hurshy

what time zone are you in debs?
1:48 pm
Debs40ish

you at work?
1:49 pm
Debs40ish

Im in England it's 19:50 here
1:49 pm
hurshy

no, i teach, and it's spring break - but it's a boarding school, so home/work is the same network.
1:49 pm
hurshy

so you woke up... right around the time of the flip?
1:50 pm
Debs40ish

Normally do... am normally up about 4:30 but slept in a couple of times
1:50 pm
hurshy

wow.
1:50 pm
hurshy

i do not like to get up early.
1:50 pm
Debs40ish

Which part of USA you in?
1:51 pm
hurshy

new england
1:51 pm
Debs40ish

Oh yeah I remember now...lol
1:51 pm
Debs40ish

Have you solved this yet?
1:51 pm
hurshy

lol - wouldn't expect you to remember
1:51 pm
hurshy

yes
1:52 pm
Debs40ish

I think my brains gone to sleep... finding it harder than yesterdays
1:52 pm
hurshy

i "guessed" a lot sooner than i did yesterday - i know you're not supposed to have to - but i think my brain is foggy too. but it turned out to be right, so it's all good
1:53 pm
Debs40ish

not the same as babble cant just type series of numbers and hope!....lol
1:53 pm
hurshy

how true
1:54 pm
hurshy

babble has a lot more instant gratification
1:54 pm
Debs40ish

Bit like chocolate...lol
1:54 pm
hurshy

mph, that reminds me how hungry i am
1:54 pm
hurshy

better go get some food
1:54 pm
hurshy

see you later, debs :)
1:55 pm
Debs40ish

OK.... take care hursh...
1:55 pm
Debs40ish

Dr God should make some sort of whisper thingy then everyone wouldn't have to listen to us
1:57 pm
Debs40ish

Dr you here?
1:57 pm
Dr_God

Sí
1:58 pm
Debs40ish

Could you maybe make some sort of whisper thingy?
1:58 pm
i8ramin

yeah.. maybe have the chat room collapsable
1:58 pm
Dr_God

Would be overkill I think
1:58 pm
i8ramin

i guess i could just change the tabs
1:58 pm
i8ramin

to My Friends :)
1:58 pm
Dr_God

Simple is always good
1:59 pm
Dr_God

It's not called the "Chatterbox" for nuthin' ;)
1:59 pm
Debs40ish

It's just a shame cos if you want to keep in contact with someone you'd have to make public your email addy...
1:59 pm
i8ramin

pick a IRC channel to meet in and then exchange info :)
2:00 pm
Debs40ish

Cheers i8... never thought of that... :)
2:01 pm
Debs40ish

Think I'm gonna go make a cuppa.. take care everyone ;-)
2:10 pm
Linda

i'm getting nowhere - any clues anyone?
2:11 pm
i8ramin

im stuck myself
2:11 pm
i8ramin

i got all the 1's, all the 4's, some 9's and 7's
2:11 pm
Linda

it's meant to be 'medium' lol
2:11 pm
Linda

same here
2:11 pm
i8ramin

im about to make some guesses :P
2:12 pm
allanx2000

guessing is dangerous :)
2:12 pm
Linda

it never works!
2:12 pm
i8ramin

well, when its 50/50 .. its not that bad
2:12 pm
i8ramin

but it is very dangerous
2:13 pm
raerae7133

I guessed on today's
2:13 pm
Linda

do you like to play dangerous?
2:13 pm
raerae7133

but I carried it forward in my mind quite a ways before I actually did it
2:13 pm
raerae7133

so it was an _educated_ guess :)
2:13 pm
liber8ed

on this one you do have to choose your path and followit until you see if it correct..yeah an educated guess so to speak
2:14 pm
Linda

just got some 9s
2:14 pm
Linda

well two actually
2:14 pm
i8ramin

im going to make a guess and not save.. if it screwed up.. refresh :)
2:15 pm
Linda

you're a brave person!
2:17 pm
allanx2000

hey... how come i only get 2pts... igot 10 pts yesterday
2:17 pm
raerae7133

today is a Medium puzzle
2:17 pm
raerae7133

although it was rather challening in my opinion
2:17 pm
allanx2000

o....
2:17 pm
allanx2000

o....
2:17 pm
Linda

allanax you are showing off - that means you've finished
2:18 pm
allanx2000

no gut i got 10 pts for finishing yesterday i m just wondering why theres such a big difference
2:18 pm
allanx2000

*but
2:18 pm
Sulihin

yesterdays was a lot easier for me, i must be making some stupid mistake early on
2:18 pm
allanx2000

nope. yesterday's was definietely easier
2:19 pm
Sulihin

it'd be nice if there was a total reset option perhaps
2:21 pm
pshaw

How about a "Revert to Last Save Point" option.
2:21 pm
Zaphod

That would be the refresh button. :)
2:21 pm
Sulihin

refresh will do that, though explicit isn't bad
2:21 pm
helenkeller

hi everyone (minus 2minutes)
2:21 pm
Linda

i've messed up again so giving up for another day. i still think it would be nice to do the scoring so you get points for every correctly completed box
2:22 pm
allanx2000

i think their difficulty level is messed up
2:23 pm
bristaylor

I agree. Any puzzle that requires guessing (as someone suggested) is rated extremely difficult in the Will Shortz books
2:24 pm
allanx2000

i was wondering... is there such a need to guess all can all puzzles be solved just by using deductive reasoning?
2:24 pm
allanx2000

*or can... cant spell today
2:25 pm
Linda

you should never guess! all puzzles can be solved by logic
2:25 pm
Linda

shame i haven't got the logic . . .
2:26 pm
bristaylor

I think there are some "diabolical" ones where you have to try an option and see it through...the test being whether you can remember where the choices happened, so you can go back (at least some British book somewhere had such puzzles)
2:27 pm
iroflo

got it. but i had to guess too... :(
2:28 pm
Zaphod

whoops, i definitely made a wrong guess
2:29 pm
Linda

i'm really giving up now!!
2:29 pm
Linda

bye bye
2:29 pm
Linda

bye
2:29 pm
Linda

b........
2:29 pm
iroflo

byebyebye
2:29 pm
Linda

i'm really going to log off
2:36 pm
pshaw

w00t! 2 points! How many points do I need to win the clock radio in the shape of an ice cream sundae?
2:43 pm
helenkeller

(minus 15 minutes for phone call)
2:46 pm
bex777

hiya everyone!!!!!!!!!
2:47 pm
torgone

Okay, pshaw . . Are you going to keep the clock radio in the shape of an ice cream sundae . . .or try for this lovely solar powered microwave oven?!?!?!
2:56 pm
helenkeller

dang ...........lost the whole thing --- any way to call it back? or is it irretrievable?
2:57 pm
gwenski

if you didn't save it, i think it's lost.
2:57 pm
helenkeller

thx gwen - gonna start the wake now, gotta change into something black
3:07 pm
i8ramin

its the 6th box from the top in the first column a '5' ?
3:12 pm
hokie carla

is it just me, or is this one harder than the "difficult" one yesterday?
3:13 pm
helenkeller

hokie - i usually find the ones they call 'medium' to be much more difficult than the 'hard' - i believe it's a sign of great intellligence
3:15 pm
i8ramin

ok, i guess.. now im stuck again.
3:19 pm
hokie carla

you may be onto something, HK. ;-)
3:19 pm
i8ramin

woohoo, got all the 2s and 9s
3:20 pm
harpjane

i8ramin--I think it's a 3
3:20 pm
i8ramin

really? i hope not .. :P
3:20 pm
i8ramin

cause thats the one i guess... and i put 5
3:20 pm
helenkeller

i8 - do you also have the 1's & 4's?
3:21 pm
i8ramin

i do have the 1s and 4s
3:21 pm
i8ramin

i made a guess between 5 and 3 on column, 6th box from the top
3:21 pm
helenkeller

then you may be on the right track & def. further than me
3:21 pm
i8ramin

comun 1*
3:21 pm
helenkeller

i never, ever guess in this game
3:22 pm
i8ramin

im trying not to .. but im getting frustrated
3:22 pm
hokie carla

I've only got 1s & 4s & most 9s, but I did just come back to the computer.
3:22 pm
hokie carla

This is cutting into my Babble time!
3:24 pm
helenkeller

again hokie - i gotta agree with you!
3:24 pm
i8ramin

i thought you said, "bible time"
3:25 pm
Chaddar

poop
3:27 pm
helenkeller

i'm gonna check out the babble - i may or may NOT come back to this guy
3:28 pm
i8ramin

wow. i finished
3:28 pm
hokie carla

iirc, babble's about 267 words today. of course, I haven't been back since 1:30 last night, so I may be imagining that.
3:30 pm
dwroehl

all that for a measly 2 points...
3:31 pm
Danno

best 2 points of my life
3:32 pm
harpjane

I'd be thrilled to finally earn two points at this $%$## game!
3:32 pm
Danno

I had to guess on this one, I consider anyone where I have to guess fairly difficult
3:33 pm
Danno

only one guess though, so thats not too bad
3:33 pm
harpjane

If you guess, then you need to save right before you guess, so that you can revert back to what you KNOW is correct.
3:34 pm
tuco

You should never have to guess
3:34 pm
tuco

you should place those green or red numbers and keep trying till you find the right combo
3:35 pm
hokie carla

yesterday I cleared most of the grid out & started from scratch & found it easier. I'm thinking about doing that again today.
3:35 pm
Sulihin

i've done that once already
3:42 pm
danreed121

in solving yesterday's and today's, I had to clear out once.. and still found myself near the end and having two seperate options and I just had to save it, go with on option and if it failed reload and try the other one. Not sure if that was the intent... but it worked !
3:42 pm
pshaw

Well, tuco, let me show you my 9x9 suduko grid with a single "1" in the top, left hand square. Solve the grid without guessing.
3:43 pm
Sulihin

that's not a published sudoku grid though, supposedly you only create ones that are logically solveable without guessing
3:45 pm
adam

hey everyone, just starting my first game
3:45 pm
caffeinatedelf

arg. i feel like i've hit a wall logically :-p
3:46 pm
Sulihin

i feel like i've been bouncing off that wall for hours ;)
3:46 pm
caffeinatedelf

lol! then i don't feel so alone.
3:50 pm
Noumenon

ive got all the 1s and 4s, 2 2s, 2 7s, and 3 9s and i swear i have to start guessing now.....
3:50 pm
jedediah

hate it when that happens
3:52 pm
jay

i've got that too but 3 2's and 3 7's
3:53 pm
jay

4 2s
3:53 pm
Noumenon

dah!
3:53 pm
jedediah

how? ;)
3:53 pm
jay

but ive been like that for hours
3:53 pm
Sulihin

science!
3:56 pm
prairiegal

This is addictive!
3:57 pm
dpirotte

So much easier to visualize this on paper...
3:57 pm
jay

i'm with you there i can focus better on paper
3:57 pm
jay

maybe i'm just making excuses
3:57 pm
Sulihin

i've never done one on paper
3:57 pm
jedediah

Naw, paper helps keep track of previous thought processes, helps find new relationships.
3:58 pm
Sulihin

beyond subscripts?
3:58 pm
jedediah

for me, yeah
3:59 pm
Sulihin

how so?
3:59 pm
jedediah

I'm able to make marks that point to other cells, telling me that they are at least somehow erlated.
4:00 pm
Sulihin

interesting, might be ways to extend the interface here to handle that
4:00 pm
jedediah

could be, yes
4:03 pm
jedediah

man, I'm not seeing something here.
4:04 pm
jay

i just made a guess
4:04 pm
jay

ive filled the middle set of 3x3's now i'm stuck again
4:04 pm
Jiraya

this seems harder than yesterdays
4:04 pm
hokie carla

that seems to be the general consensus
4:05 pm
torgone

Hi lola!
4:05 pm
Jiraya

why is it rated medium?
4:05 pm
lola

hey tor! : )
4:07 pm
hokie carla

maybe the ratings are messed up
4:07 pm
jedediah

Could be
4:07 pm
hokie carla

alright, I just cleared the whole thing. starting over.
4:08 pm
jedediah

I'm going to print it
4:09 pm
hokie carla

shoot, I forgot to save after clearing & went to another site. now everything's back.
4:13 pm
gray

Tuco, why should you never have to guess?
4:13 pm
Jiraya

that was tough
4:19 pm
bekee

this ain't no medium.
4:23 pm
Stef

Finally...it got easier after i had the middle row worked out. Its bloody addictive! My tip for the day - use the wee green numbers.
4:24 pm
Vega

The green numbers are indispensible. =)
4:26 pm
Vega

Gray - mostly b/c that's not the way Sudoku works... it's all logical deductions.
4:30 pm
Vega

Dr_God, can I make a suggestion - and should I post it here or use the contact form?
4:36 pm
usagi

3's and 6's are killing me
4:45 pm
bekee

that was painful
4:45 pm
bekee

hasta manana
4:57 pm
macuser

Done! That was fun!
4:57 pm
evanonut

rennie, you in here?
5:30 pm
Anj

'nut, I can do impressions : )
5:35 pm
Bobsta

woooo hooo, for the first itme in my life i've completed a sudoku!!!!
5:35 pm
Bobsta

BTW wotcha Anj ;o)
5:35 pm
Anj

lol! Just started and hit the wall right away : D
5:37 pm
Bobsta

time even!!!
5:38 pm
lola

Hey babe! Just finished : ) xxx
5:39 pm
Anj

HI Lo, just started xxx : )
5:39 pm
lola

baggo's playing babble btw : ) xx
5:39 pm
lola

Hi bobsta! : )
5:40 pm
Bobsta

hiya lola hun, hows it going? will you be in Anj,s part of the country at the beginning of April?
5:41 pm
lola

bobsta, no : ( ...i'm going to miss you by a week!
5:42 pm
evanonut

holy cow, i walk away for 10 minutes
5:42 pm
lola

hi nut, hows things? : )
5:43 pm
evanonut

a-o-k
5:43 pm
evanonut

howza bout lola?
5:43 pm
Bobsta

Oh Bo*****s, A damn shame it would have been great to meet you, Bubbles is coming with me too. But only for the sightseeing, I've got the course!
5:43 pm
lola

lola's good thanks : )
5:44 pm
Anj

Hi 'nut : )
5:44 pm
evanonut

anj bud - i won't require that impersonation cause i like to see anj too!
5:45 pm
lola

I know! : ( Oh well, next time hey? She'll love the shops there bobsta. Tell her to take a trip to Bath if she hasn't been there, it's a great city : )
5:45 pm
Bobsta

Anj: is Whitchurch anywhere near you? I think thats where the course is
5:45 pm
evanonut

bath...bath? i go to bath every night.
5:46 pm
Bobsta

Lo: i've been to bath myself and its really nice.
5:46 pm
lola

bobsta, i know you started a new job but missed out on what it was. What you doing and are you enjoying it?? : )
5:47 pm
lola

Anj took me there in January but it was too cold to do any sight-seeing....so he has to take me back when it's warmer (hint, hint) : )
5:47 pm
Anj

Bobsta, it's more south to south west of the city. I'm south east : )
5:48 pm
lola

nut, lol! : D
5:48 pm
Bobsta

Lo: i'm a wine advisor for Somerfield (the supermarket) and i have to do a wine knowledge course (lots of spitting wine out apparentely, not that i will).
5:48 pm
evanonut

spitting out wine! why...that's alcohol abuse!
5:48 pm
Bobsta

Anj: we'll still be able to meet up though won't we?
5:49 pm
lola

ooh bobsta, that sounds great! (even if I don't drink wine, lol)
5:49 pm
Bobsta

eva: absolute sacrilage!!!!!
5:49 pm
Bobsta

but you drink champers?
5:50 pm
Anj

Bobsta, yup, we can meet in town - which hotel are you staying at??
5:51 pm
lola

um, no. LOL : D Only babble champers! I'm a vodka drinker by choice : )
5:51 pm
Bobsta

Anj; haven't found out yet mate, I should find out within the next week or so
5:52 pm
lola

you guys are going to have to include tbear in your get together : )
5:52 pm
Bobsta

Ah, now vodka, now you're talking. there's a new voddie that we're selling called Soplika, its polish. VERY nice!!!!
5:52 pm
Anj

woot! finished : D
5:53 pm
lola

Yay! well done babe : ) xxx
5:53 pm
Bobsta

Woohoo, Go Anj!!!!!!!!
5:53 pm
evanonut

dang, i've been beat!
5:53 pm
Anj

Lol, I know. Should be able to get her out : )
5:54 pm
lola

*lola makes note of bobsta's yummy vodka* I'll look for that ; )
5:54 pm
Bobsta

Anj: Is there anyone else in your neck of the woods that we can get to meet?
5:54 pm
Anj

Hey I did that one with the subscripts. They were easier to use than yesterday's...
5:55 pm
Bobsta

subscripts?
5:55 pm
Anj

Bobsta, no regulars that I know of.
5:55 pm
evanonut

i'm finding today's puzzle more difficult than yesterdays
5:55 pm
Anj

Bobsta the green numbers you get on holding shift when you pick a number
5:55 pm
lola

oh my, it's nearly tomorrow! Must get some sleep. Night guys!
5:56 pm
Bobsta

oh well, Is babbler over on babble does anyone know?
5:56 pm
Bobsta

oh those.
5:56 pm
Anj

'nite Babe : ) xx
5:56 pm
Bobsta

Nite nite lola ;o)
5:57 pm
lola

'nite babe, sweet dreams (((xxx))) : )
5:57 pm
evanonut

don't let the bed bugs bite
5:57 pm
Anj

Sweet dreams : ) xx
5:58 pm
Anj

Bobsta, not that I can see...
5:59 pm
Bobsta

not to worry, i'll email her the dates and see if she can make it. I'm off over to Babble guys, TTFN ;o)
6:01 pm
peternl

done, cya
6:02 pm
bzikofski

damn i won't finish it today
6:02 pm
bzikofski

i gotta go to sleep... :(
6:02 pm
benhiller

thats sad
6:02 pm
benhiller

i just finished :)
6:03 pm
benhiller

wow, only 2 points, but way harder than yesterday
6:05 pm
evanonut

way harder than yesterday - y e s
6:16 pm
Zepf

gettin' nuts with this
6:17 pm
evanonut

the 3's and 5's are evil
6:17 pm
Zepf

they are all evil
6:17 pm
Jordan

nah, they're just misunderstood :D
6:18 pm
Zepf

probably so :D
6:19 pm
Zepf

my whole screen is full of green and red numbers, but it's still blocked
6:19 pm
evanonut

i only use the green, the red makes it so busy
6:20 pm
Jordan

I'm not sure what to do with more than one color
6:21 pm
Zepf

makes it a bit quicker, that's all
6:21 pm
Jordan

how so?
6:21 pm
Zepf

well you see immediately all the possible and impossible numbers
6:22 pm
evanonut

i prefer only to see the possible, the impossible are then given
6:22 pm
Jordan

ohh.. I never thought of marking impossible numbers
6:22 pm
Jordan

I'm with evanonut, I think, though maybe I'll try it sometime
6:23 pm
Zepf

well i only did it cause I started to lose my mind with this puzzle
6:23 pm
Jordan

heh
6:23 pm
Zepf

so i've used all possible tricks now
6:23 pm
Zepf

there's something here that i'm not seeing
6:25 pm
evanonut

uh - the pieces are starting to fall into place
6:32 pm
evanonut

yep, that's all she wrote
6:33 pm
evanonut

have a lovely eveing
6:33 pm
Jordan

congrats
6:35 pm
jeresig

hey jmw
6:35 pm
jmw

he, loser
6:35 pm
jmw

*hey
6:35 pm
jeresig

lolz
6:47 pm
bzikofski

okay i give up time to sleep. cheers all
6:47 pm
jeresig

cheers
7:06 pm
prairiegal

Solved it - yay!
7:06 pm
prairiegal

Too bad you're not allowed to go back and attempt archived puzzles
7:06 pm
jeresig

heh, I'm close - but I definitely messed something up
7:06 pm
jeresig

agreed, I'd like to try some old ones too
7:19 pm
jeresig

do you get any points if you don't solve the puzzle?
7:30 pm
harpjane

only 19 to go. I think this is the closest I've come!
7:35 pm
harpjane

Not so fast. Stalled with four boxes to go. Maybe tomorrow....
7:59 pm
prairiegal

don't believe you get any points if you don't solve the puzzle. I was awarded 2 points for solving today's puzzle.
8:00 pm
Thuryn

grrrr... WHY IS THIS ONE SO HARD?! It says "medium" fer cryin' in a bucket!
8:01 pm
prairiegal

Keep at it Thuryn, you'll get it!
8:09 pm
Thuryn

grrr... i don't see a way to solve this one logically. it's going to force me to guess
8:09 pm
Thuryn

that ticks me off
8:11 pm
Sudokay

hi
8:12 pm
mrjaggers

Whew 72 minutes
8:13 pm
mrjaggers

For 2 points! Yey!
8:20 pm
Thuryn

:/
8:20 pm
Thuryn

WHY CAN'T I SEE THE NEXT MOVE?!?!?!
8:23 pm
Thuryn

mrjaggers, how many times did you have to guess?
8:27 pm
lawfully

where did all 3s have gone?
8:29 pm
jmw

yayyz i won
8:29 pm
jmw

i guessed once
8:41 pm
peon

yeah 1 guess did it for me
8:44 pm
noTV

damn.. all that for 2 points
8:44 pm
noTV

that was harder than the last one.
8:51 pm
peon

yeah i agree
8:56 pm
lawfully

I had one guess, but I had to make that guess so early on...
8:56 pm
lawfully

after that, it was a breeze
8:57 pm
Thuryn

got it
8:57 pm
Thuryn

one guess
8:57 pm
Thuryn

i hate that, though. it should be solvable without having to guess
8:57 pm
Thuryn

otherwise, it's not a logic puzzle. it's gambling.
8:58 pm
lawfully

I had to guess when there are 37 boxes unsolved...
8:58 pm
lawfully

just make sure that the guess is on the box for which there're only two possibilities...
9:18 pm
Thuryn

well yeah, and look around to see which of the two possibilities is more likely, but that's not the point. It's not a good game if it isn't logically solvable.
9:25 pm
cherryghost

ugh... I've played a decent amount of Sudoku recently and this puzzle scores a lot higher than "medium" in my book
9:34 pm
jeremy

yeah, i think this one's harder than the "expert" yesterday
9:35 pm
bstadil

There is only one solution. This means that a wrong "guess" is really a logical wrong move. It just feels like a guess since you can't mentally play that many moves ahead.
9:38 pm
licketySplitAUS

I redid this one 4 times before I got it, and even then I was stuck
9:39 pm
licketySplitAUS

I sorta cheated cause someone gave me 1 number, and once I had that - it filtered through.
9:39 pm
licketySplitAUS

I remember that number if anyone wants it ;-)
9:40 pm
licketySplitAUS

Anyone want to know how many points you get when you complete this one?
9:41 pm
licketySplitAUS

(or will that spoil it for ya)
9:44 pm
lak

lickitysplit: i'll take that number :)
9:44 pm
lak

i think just having the top leftmost number would allow me to finish, but i'm not sure
9:47 pm
WNxNukeem

I just had to start over
9:47 pm
WNxNukeem

made a wrong move somewhere
9:47 pm
caderoux

Since everyone says today's is so much harder than yesterday's and curious about whether I made a mistake which allowed me to complete it more quickly here, I logged out, got today's puzzle and keyed it into Simple Sudoku - then completed it there in 6 minutes (36 minutes here after midnight - goes to show how much computer assisted highlighting and marking speeds up the pattern recognition) without hints and errors - no advanced techniques, but there were plenty of hidden singles and naked singles and locked candidates (1 and 2). But not a pair or triple or colors, x-wings or swordfish. I think it corectly merits the level assigned here.
9:50 pm
lak

i do mediums on websudoku.com in about 12 minutes
9:50 pm
lak

compared to that, this is no medium
9:50 pm
lak

it seems roughly the same in difficulty as yesterday, to me
9:50 pm
cherryghost

(i agree with lak)
9:54 pm
caderoux

I understand - clearly people are finding it a lot harder - I'm just saying I double-checked and it doesn't require any of the normal advanced techniques - which is why it rated so low. But the basic patterns it does have are quite a bit more difficult to spot without auto marking and highlighting (about a factor of 6 according to my times).
9:55 pm
lak

i'm not used to using anything to play, so it's quite possible i could be much better if i had more skills
9:55 pm
lak

even the little green numbers throw me off :/
10:05 pm
lawfully

How do I choose difficulty?
10:05 pm
lak

i said the green numbers threw me off, and sure enough, i had some incorrect green numbers and i had a false deadlock :/
10:05 pm
lak

done now
10:07 pm
caderoux

congrats
10:20 pm
helenkeller

hi all - i'm gonna give this one another try now, trying to decide if i ought to start from scratch or not
10:24 pm
helenkeller

cad - i'm curious - what were you referring to at 9:45 - 'keyed it into simple sudoku'?
10:25 pm
caderoux

It's a Windows program I always play - I downloaded it from the Interweb - you can probably Google it. It lets you key in any Sudoku and play or it will load or generate them, too.
10:26 pm
helenkeller

ahh, thx
10:27 pm
Jordan

*sigh* the victories are becoming very small..
10:30 pm
dplass

drat, a conflict
10:30 pm
dplass

crap
10:30 pm
dplass

definitely not easier than yesterday
10:41 pm
hokie carla

finally. and there's no chance I'm finishing babble tonight.
10:42 pm
Jordan

I can't believe I resorted to guessing..
10:42 pm
Jordan

<- feels like a jerk
10:43 pm
Quick

HelenKeller, their is also an online site that will do the same thing called The Daily Sudoku
10:43 pm
sandyloo

how long to go before the next puzzle is up
10:43 pm
Jordan

an hour fifteen, I'm guessing?
10:44 pm
helenkeller

quick - thanks, but what do these site do that's so helpful?
10:44 pm
renfield

about 1hr & 17 mins
10:44 pm
sandyloo

thanks jordan
10:44 pm
sandyloo

and ren
10:45 pm
Quick

well, the one I mentioned allows you to "draw" any sudoku you want and it will give you hints or show you the solution if you want
10:45 pm
helenkeller

so these are 'learning tools'
10:46 pm
Quick

exactly
10:46 pm
Quick

however, I just went the the site and the "drawing" feature is shut down temporarily
10:47 pm
Quick

the note said that the demand was too high
10:47 pm
helenkeller

LOL
10:47 pm
Quick

LOL
10:47 pm
Jordan

probably all the Iron Sudoku refugees..
10:47 pm
Jordan

:)
10:48 pm
Quick

yup, that would be my guess
10:48 pm
renfield

i wonder why quick!! all of us newbie's trying to learn this game!!
10:48 pm
Jordan

I don't think I'll figure out x-wing or swordfish as long as I live :/
10:48 pm
Quick

I've been doing sudoku for a while now. Today's puzzle is NOT medium ! It is very hard
10:49 pm
Quick

me either Jordan
10:50 pm
renfield

i've solved the ones the past few days, my legal mind needs logic and speed....i think i have the logic, but i am very slow.
10:50 pm
Jordan

I'm usually pretty quick.. like the Hard ones on Miniclip.com I could usually do in 12 minutes or less
10:50 pm
Jordan

both today's and yesterday's ("expert") took me 45 minutes or so
10:51 pm
helenkeller

yeah - for me the medium ones are always harder than the hard ones
10:51 pm
helenkeller

i'm not sure why that is
10:51 pm
Jordan

sounds like a question for the head-shrinkers
10:53 pm
Jordan

if Medium is worth 2 points and Expert worth 10, what is Easy worth? are there only three difficulty levels, for that matter?
10:54 pm
renfield

easy is 1 point
10:54 pm
Playwoman

Points?
10:54 pm
Jordan

1.. 2.. 10! (three sir!) three!
10:55 pm
renfield

i think hard is 5 points
10:55 pm
Jordan

Playwoman: if you complete a puzzle you get a number of points depending ont he difficulty level
10:55 pm
Playwoman

Ah! Who keeps score?
10:55 pm
Playwoman

Ah! Who keeps score?
10:55 pm
lawfully

How do I change difficulty?
10:56 pm
renfield

is there a hard? or does it go to expert from medium?
10:56 pm
Jordan

renfield: no idea, I just started yesterday / lawfully: I don't think you do--there's one puzzle per day and you're stuck with it
10:56 pm
Jordan

renfield: no idea, I just started yesterday / lawfully: I don't think you do--there's one puzzle per day and you're stuck
with it
10:57 pm
sandyloo

i got 10 pts yesterday and only 2 today???
10:57 pm
caderoux

new one up in just over an hour...
10:57 pm
renfield

sunday was hard and i believe it was 5 points
10:58 pm
Jordan

I'm hoping to go to bed _before_ that so I don't get sucked in :D
11:00 pm
sandyloo

LOL JORDAN
11:00 pm
sandyloo

dont go to bed just wait ....
11:00 pm
renfield

sandyloo and helen - we know how that works don't we!!!
11:01 pm
sandyloo

not me im no addict like you lot!!!
11:01 pm
helenkeller

lol ren
11:01 pm
Jordan

I don't think my girlfriend would appreciate you tempting me like that, sandyloo
11:01 pm
Jordan

o'course, she's in bed with her Sudoku day calendar....
11:02 pm
sandyloo

i have to have a coffee now cos its not wine oclock yet only 1pm
11:02 pm
helenkeller

lol, never heard that before - wine oclock, lol
11:03 pm
sandyloo

u r not an aussie then helen a lot of them say beer oclock as well!!
11:03 pm
renfield

sandyloo - they say beer thirty here
11:04 pm
sandyloo

lol ok its coffee time then the new one will be up in babble as well
11:04 pm
renfield

jordan - we all print the babble grid and take it to bed until we fall asleep
11:04 pm
Jordan

I haven't played Babble yet
11:06 pm
renfield

it flips at midnite cst as well.
11:06 pm
Jordan

best not get started tonight, then :)
11:06 pm
renfield

i didn't today - it was 267 words.
11:07 pm
Jordan

how does it work? the front page doesn't give me any idea what it's about other than letters...
11:08 pm
helenkeller

fi-na-llllllleeeee!
11:09 pm
helenkeller

good nite everyone - gonna check my e-mail & pick my brackets now
11:09 pm
renfield

it scrabble and boggle. words start w/ at least 4 letters +. one of the babblers, angelsong has set up a really helpful page. her web page is under firends of babble. she explains it all if you want to visit her site http://www.freewebs.com/angelsong/
11:10 pm
hokie carla

guess I'll have to wait til tomorrow for a new babble & new iron sudoku since I'm falling asleep here in my chair. good night all!
11:10 pm
renfield

nite helen...see you tomorrow
11:10 pm
Jordan

thanks renfield
11:11 pm
renfield

yw jordan....sleep well hokie
11:15 pm
Playwoman

I just finished my first Iron Sudoku, and now I gtet what you meant about points. Sorry to be so dense.
11:15 pm
Jordan

no worries
11:15 pm
Jordan

oops, wish I'd taken a screenshot while I was in the middle of the puzzle..
11:18 pm
lem45

Is it Ok to use the pencil marks? I feel like I'm cheating - but it is unlikely I could do it without them?
11:19 pm
Jordan

I guess it's a matter of opinion.. I always use them, and probably couldn't have finished today's without them
11:20 pm
Jordan

my girlfriend, on the other hand, is much more capable of solving these things without aid of marks..
11:20 pm
renfield

what are pencil marks?
11:20 pm
lem45

shift key when clicking the number
11:20 pm
Jordan

the little green 'n red marks
11:21 pm
renfield

ok...then i use them to! thanks for the definition.
11:22 pm
Jordan

some people still do sudoku with actual paper and pencils ;)
11:23 pm
renfield

i would use up my eraser!
11:23 pm
lem45

Not anymore - this site rocks!
11:25 pm
Jordan

Dr_God has an odd error on his Epigroove About page..
11:26 pm
Jordan

it says, "Epigroove was born back in nineteen aught eight (aught meaning '9' in web time.)" .. but "aught" means zero.. even in "web time"
11:26 pm
Jordan

nineteen aught eight = 1908 :D
11:27 pm
Jordan

that is one olde web company
11:27 pm
renfield

really old....
11:27 pm
Jordan

and with that, I'm going to bed
11:28 pm
Jordan

more than likely I'll be back tomorrow :)
11:28 pm
renfield

good nite jordan - sleep well
11:28 pm
lem45

cya
11:28 pm
renfield

hahaha - me too....
11:42 pm
flygame

testing
11:59 pm
sandyloo

jordan dont go