Takegaki puzzle magazine...

I just came across in the shops at the weekend a magazine called Takegaki Magazine which I thought I would mention here for those that like loop puzzles.

The takegaki (which is a bizarre name for slitherlink - why on earth it hasn't been called that when that's the only name people might actually know it by is random and using the known name would surely increase sales) are great, they are Nikoli ones.

The numberlink are good but there is only a couple of they are easy. There are a few run of the mill hashi, killer sudoku.

There are also some terrible yajilin in there - called yalooniq for some bizarre reason... they were not only very easy, but they all solved in the same way, they did not seem to be hand made as far as I could tell and were the only yajilin I've ever not enjoyed!

But that negative aside, if slitherlink - sorry "Takegaki" - this is definitely worth it for those who like slitherlink - a large number of puzzles (and it's very hard to come across slitherlink in the UK) and being Nikoli ones they are all very good

Re : Takegaki puzzle magazine

Thanks for that Stacey. I quite enjoy slitherlink (though I can't do the really difficult ones). I also enjoy yajilin (although you don't seem to recommend the ones in here!!). I've just had a browse around the internet and it seems the magazine is only available in WH Smith or by subscription. I will certainly go and get a copy next time I'm in town and see what it's like.

If you want some decent Yajilin puzzles I can recommend the Sudoku and Yajilin book by Nikoli which is available on Amazon (unfortunately you can't get just Yajilin but there are 80 + yajilin puzzles of varying difficulty so well worth the money even if you don't want the regular sudoku).

They also do a very good combined slitherlink and masyu book for fans of other loop puzzles.

Re : Takegaki puzzle magazine

Thanks for the tip off about good quality yajilin, and I hope my comment about the "yalooniq" doesn't put you off - the slitherlink in there are really good and so it is definitely worth buying for those! There are only a few of them (yalooniq) anyway so it doesn't matter they are very poor, the vast majority of the puzzles are slitherlink.

So definitely worth picking up a copy next time you are in Smiths and seeing if you like it

If you're OK at slitherlink but not great it is probably ideal for you, apart from a couple of very big puzzles at the back they are all quite reasonable in size.

Also what I like about it is that it tells you how long it should take to solve each puzzle if you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced. Amusingly I don't think I could get the advanced times just because it would take me that long to mark in all the lines in the puzzle even if I knew the solution off by heart - but I know how crazy fast some of the best puzzle solvers are so those must be the Japanese advanced solving times!

In general I get about halfway between the intermediate and advanced time, so if the intermediate time is 15 mins and the advanced is 3 mins I typically get 8 - 9 minutes. I can't see myself ever improving that greatly, but it's good to know I'm not a beginner anymore

Re : Takegaki puzzle magazine

Hi Stacey, just thought I'd let you know that I've got hold of a copy of the Takegaki magazine and am enjoying it! The puzzles are about the right level for me! I only got it on Sunday and am already nearly half way through. It sounds as though I am similar at Slitherlink to you in that my times are also midway between intermediate and advanced. I think that's about where I will stick too. I have come across much harder puzzles than these and just end up not being able to complete them but so far have managed to do all of these.

Have you ever tried the Sudoku Xtra mag by Gareth Moore? It's really good with a great variety of puzzle variants at all different levels. You can download it as a pdf file - it's my favourite of all the magazines out there.

Re : Takegaki puzzle magazine

As I've said before, Slitherlink is a fantastic puzzle, so a magazine focused on it is certainly a welcome addition to the world of puzzles