Arrow Sudoku...

What are people's thoughts on arrow sudoku?

At the moment I'm finding them to be one of the most interesting sudoku variants that I have come across, although there are very few of them about out there I have to say.

Anyone know a good source of these puzzles...

If you haven't come across them, then the rules are the same as normal sudoku except that there are arrows added to the sudoku grid. These show you a circled cell, which is the sum total of a region of cells along the path of the arrow that sum to that. If you see a sample one then it will be obvious what it means, perhaps hard to visualise otherwise.

Anyway it is interesting because at the start you don't know the total of the sum region or the digits in the sum region, however you can derive a surprising amount of information just from the shape and length of the arrows and as you go through reducing options it is surprising how much fun it is and how patterns emerge whilst you solve... arrow sudoku is great fun

Re : Arrow Sudoku

Arrow sudoku is a great puzzle.

As you say it is pretty hard to come across, and I don't think I have ever actually seen it in a printed puzzle magazine, only online. Not quite sure why this is but perhaps it is considered a bit too hard for the mainstream market? If so that would be a shame as it is great fun when you get the hang of it and can be quicker to get going with than a tough killer sudoku, for instance.

Not sure if it would be suitable for an entire magazine of them but you can expect to see some arrow sudoku puzzles on here in the not too distant future so be sure to check back soon!

Re : Arrow Sudoku

Thanks for the reply. I tend to agree that generally arrow sudoku are quite hard as you have to make quite a lot of deductions in a decent puzzle, but once you have built up a head of steam they tend to solve through quite nicely.

There are one or two I have found surfing away but generally as I said in the original post they are pretty hard to find.

If you do manage to add some arrow sudoku here then that would certainly be appreciated, I think someone mentioned in another post about the possibility of a "magazine" containing a range of sudoku variant puzzles, if that's possible then certainly arrow sudoku and more consecutives would be welcome, together with any others of course too, the more unusual the better

Re : Arrow Sudoku

I have done arrow sudoku once or twice and really like the puzzle... I have never seen it published though so the ones I have done are ones that I have seen online.

There is a webpage, can't remember the web address now, that has a list of around 200 or so different types of sudoku puzzle and one example of each one that's quite good fun, half the problem with most of them is working out what the rules are as I don't think the author is English!

Re : Arrow Sudoku

Interesting to read your respective thoughts on arrow sudoku, particularly encouraging not to have a flat no to the idea of an arrow sudoku magazine

I take the point about it perhaps being a little OTT for an entire magazine so I shall hope for a healthy number of them in a sudoku variant magazine of some sort then!

Re : Arrow Sudoku

Just to come back on the arrow sudoku enquiry, there are some of these in the pipeline so if you watch this space then there just might be something coming up in the not too distant future

Probably they would appear in a sudoku variants magazine containing a selection of the types already on the homepage, and also of course some others, including some sudoku variants that you probably won't have seen before

Re : Arrow Sudoku

I have jus been looking at the sample puzzles in the arrow sudoku magazine and I have to say it is good fun.

I have done the first two so far and I did find them quite difficult, particularly to get started with.

However I did really like the way that the different arrows 'interacted' with each other so that when I made deductions on one I could then make similar ones on other arrows that then sort of rippled around the puzzle.

It's on my list of 'to buy' magazines when I get a bit more time, perhaps for the summer holiday to do on the beach or something!