Sudoku Puzzle Pad: Medium to Hard: 2 Spiral-bound – September 6, 2007

I could tell the difference between the easy and medium almost immediately. It'll definitely have u busy for some time. Not nearly impossible but not easy really either.

This is the PERFECT format of Sudoku books.Small, easily slipped into a pocket. The paper is durable, pencil marks are erased easily, spiral bound so the cover wraps around behind the page you are working on and the boom tskes no more room than when it is closed. Best off if you are a Sudoku Grand Master like me you can get books that are mentally stimulating withoul a lot oz easy or medium puzzles that I can solve in 5-6 minutesAm I happy with some of the funky colors of the puzzles and numbers? HECK NO! In dim light they can be a real PITA.I have seen several reviewers complaining about lack of space for pencil marks.I have all the room I need and to spare. No I do not write the pencil marks ultra small so I need a magnifying glass.The thing is most people were taught the wrong way to do Sudoku.Every book that teaches how to do Sudoku usually in the first ,6 or so strategies teaches people to use the full possibility matrix.Let me tell you the full possibility matrix is NOT your friend. It is a complete enemy because you have the puzzle loaded down with gatbage information till you can't see the clues. There is a reason why there are more than 50 Sudoku strategies such as X wing, XY wing, Jelly fish and so on. Those had to be invented to help weed the garbage generated by the full possibility matrix.I kid you not I can literally solce a hard puzzle faster than a person can solve the easy puzzle by using the full possibility matrixSo since I have been shooting holes in the full possibility matrix you are probably curious how I solve level 3,4, and 5 puzzles without using the full possibility matrix or the 50 other sudoo strategies.I use three and ONLY three strategies.1 cross hatching. Thus is the first Sudoku strategy every Sudoku player learns2. Streamlined possibility matrix. If a number can go in two cells write in pencil marks. If a number can go in all three cells that make a row or column in a box write in the pencil marks. This is the only time I write down more than two possibilities.This one thing will have pairs and triples popping out to get your attention. You just weren't able to see them before because you had pairs and triples burried by the other 3-5 other numbers that could go in those same cells.When you find a pair or triple make a line under the pair or triple and this limits the number of cells those other numbers can go into.3. I call this strategy " Fill it in".If you see a row box or column that is almost filled in except for two or three cells; see what's missing and write these two of three numbers in the cells and draw a circle around them. Again this limits the garbage information on your puzzle.There are some excellent instructional Sudoku vids on YouTube. E-mail me and I will send you links to the vids and will turn you into a Sudoku master of grand Master in less than a month.I also limit the amount of pencil marks I put on a puzzle.If the two cells are touching. I put the possibility on the line showing that number can go in either location.If a possibility can go in there cells of s row or column inside one of the ,9 boxes I put the possibility in the center box . for row I put little dots on both sides of the possibility. For a column place dots above and below the possibility. As I get more information draw a line through a dot or the number showing the possibility has been reduced.By switching from full possibility matrix to the streamlined possibility matrix, and reducing the number of pencil marks is how I can solve s medium puzzle in 5-6 minutes.Less time writing and less time erasing all those pencil marks.

I love these versions of Suduko. The spiral binding makes it so much easier than 95% of the other Suduko books out there (why don't they make all of these books this way?). And the size is also good. They could go slightly bigger and it would still be a good size but I hate the books that are 8.5 x 11 as they are too uncomfortable to hold. This is the only Suduko book I have found that are the perfect size with spiral binding. And unfortunately, they only make 4 versions (Easy, Medium, Hard, Grandmaster) and I have a difficult time with the Hard and Grandmaster so they are useless to me. But I do enjoy the ones I can do and re-order them because, again, they are the only ones that are the perfect size with binding.

Since I'm addicted, I am always looking for something new in Sudoku puzzles. This little book is fine, overall. I like the size, weight of paper, quality of paper, and in most of the book it is easy to see the numbers, I don't mind the yellow grid. The middle section, however, has the colors reversed, leaving the numbers in yellow and that is hard to see even in excellent lighting conditions. It would have been preferable to use a darker color for the numbers.Update on this item: I am almost finished with the book. I found the latter sections more challenging. The last section, the Grand Master, I resorted to making pencil notations. The Expert section I did in ink, but found it challenging, still. The Intermediate section was too easy, so after trying a few, I left the rest blank. What I have done in the past, with a book with the easier section empty, is to give it to someone looking for that level, so they can be further addicted! Then they can later buy whatever level they like.

Love this series. The book is small enough to take with me. I will have to say for the harder puzzles it would be helpful if the grid was a tad bigger for writing in number possibilities. But overall I love it. I keep it right by my computer monitor for filling out during breaks in my work day. the format of the binding makes it super easy to flip through puzzles and answers. I love most that it lays flat without issue. This is the second book in the series that I have purchased. The grand master ones are hard! but not impossible. The medium ones I can complete in 20mins to a day. The grand master ones are taking me a couple days which I think is pretty normal for this type of puzzle.

When they say Medium to Hard, it is more Hard than Medium. My son works Sudoku puzzles almost daily. He suffers from ADHD and found this book to be overwhelmingly challenging. I had to order him one that was not as difficult as this one caused him stress due to his condition. Otherwise, this is an excellent product and chock full of challenging puzzles. If you are a Sudoku fan, you will love it. My opinion of this product is in no way influenced by Amazon or its affiliates. Sudoku 2: Medium to Hard

Based on other Sudoku books I have worked through, the level of difficulty of these puzzles seems to be easier than their labels ("Intermediate" and "Expert") would suggest. After completing about half of the Intermediate and Expert puzzles, I believe the Intermediate puzzles would probably be fine for anyone who has just mastered the easiest Sudoku puzzles in beginner books, and the "expert" puzzles are just slightly more difficult. If the title had reflected a level of difficulty more consistent with the puzzles in other books I have solved, I would have rated it higher.I do like the spiral format, which is more convenient to work with than the more standard bound format. Although some reviewers have suggested that the puzzle size is a bit too small--and it may be for some solvers--I have not found that to be a significant drawback for myself.

Do not buy this if you want anything other than very easy. Even the grand master ones at the end were done in a couple of minutes!

I love these little Sudoku books - the ring binding makes it easy to use anywhere, and you don't have to hold the flap back with one hand while trying to fill the boxes with the other hand. They are small, and convenient to take with me on commutes, and sitting waiting for appointments, etc. The puzzles are challenging, and a wide variety of 'types', but not frustrating (no guessing). I wish they had more of them!!

Will be buying every single volume that exists. Levels correspond to proper difficulty. Numerous different types of Sudokus within the same little pocket book. Excellent product.

I finished off Volume 1 pretty fast, glad to see that they released another one which is more difficult.Only thing, yellow on white makes it hard to read at times.

Good