HELP FILE
Welcome to the Sudoku and Kakuro Help File. This help file contains information on how to play each of these challenging games, as well as simple strategies that will have you solving the harder puzzles in no time at all. Unlock the secrets and see how many of these 12 million puzzles you can solve. Click on any link on the left to jump to that page and learn more about the program.
CLASSIC SUDOKU Welcome to Classic Sudoku. Classic Sudoku is an addicting and challenging number puzzle game. Play just one game and you ll be hooked! Click on any link on the left to jump to that page and learn more about the program.
Setting Up A New Sudoku Puzzle Select CLASSIC SUDOKU from the main Brain Games menu. Once Sudoku launches, select New Puzzle from the main menu or at the top of the game board page. Set the options that you would like to play with from the resulting screen. Classic Sudoku lets you choose the level of difficulty, the method of error checking, timer setting, and the design theme. Level of Difficulty: Choose from Easy, Medium, Hard or Impossible puzzles. Error Checking: The program defaults to displaying errors only when you ask. Classic Sudoku offers the ability to show incorrect entries as you type. This can be a great learning aid as you first begin tacking Sudoku puzzles. Timer Setting: You can have the timer running as you play, set it to display your time only after you ve solved the puzzle, or not have a timer at all. Un-timed puzzles are not eligible for the Classic Sudoku Challenge (option that allows you to send your time and a code for a specific puzzle to challenge to a friend). Themes: Select from 5 different themes each time you play a new puzzle.
How To Play A Sudoku Puzzle A Sudoku puzzle is 9x9 grid. The lines of squares running horizontally are rows, and the lines running vertically are columns. The grid is further divided into nine 3 X 3 squares called 'boxes'. Some of the squares already have numbers in them. Your task is to fill in the remaining squares. There's only one rule: Each row, column and box must end up containing all of the numbers from 1 to 9 with each number only appearing once in a row, column and box. For each Sudoku puzzle there is only one unique solution that can be arrived at using logic, not guesswork. The rules are simple, but the game is challenging. Each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the numbers 1-9 once, and only once. Sudoku is not a game that requires guessing. Each puzzle can be solved with logic (or process of elimination). For strategies on playing, select the Strategies button on the main menu. Once a puzzle is loaded on the game board, the timer is running. To enter your selection for any given square, click on the middle of the box and type in the number. Classic Sudoku also allows you to pencil in notes on possible numbers for each box. To use this feature, click at the top of the square and you can enter up to 6 numbers in each square. These will be displayed smaller in the top quarter of the square in a light gray color. These numbers are ignored by the program, but allow you to keep track if your game and number placement. Any number entry or note can be deleted by highlighting it with your mouse and backspacing or typing over it.
Sudoku Strategies And Techniques Sudoku puzzles can be challenging and when you first try one, they may even seem impossible. Don t worry. They really just require patience and understanding of a few strategies to help you solve them. One important facet of Sudoku cannot be over emphasized these puzzles do not require any math. Sudoku is a logic challenge so no guesswork is required. How do you go about solving them? Most puzzles can be conquered using variations of these four techniques: Scanning Triplets and Crosshatching Penciling In X-Wings
Scanning for Sole Candidates (or Singles) Sometimes a square has only one possible number that can occupy it, once you consider the other squares in the same row, column and box. When a row, column or box uses eight different digits, it leaves only one available for the empty square. Example: In the partial puzzle below, the yellow square can only be a 2. See if you can see where the other digits are that make that true. (See illustrated explanation here). Illustrated Explanation
Triplets and Crosshatching Because each set of three columns and three rows impacts the possibilities in each 3x3 box, you can use the concept of triplets to identify possible solutions. For example, if two columns in a set of three have the number 1 in them, you may be able to narrow down the placement of the third number 1. Look at the last set of three columns in the illustration below: See why the circled square must contain a 1? This technique can be extended to crosshatching, where you eliminate all rows and columns for a particular number to see what remains. If the number 3 had not been shown in the upper right corner of the same box, by
crosshatching rows and columns, you would still have been able to determine the placement for the number 1, as well as two additional number 1 placements. The systematic approach of crosshatching first for the number 1, then the number 2, all the way through to 9 is the most effective. It is important to return to this technique as you fill in squares. It will allow you to discover even more answers as you revisit it.
Penciling In (Pencil marks) Another tool that helps to solve puzzles penciling in also uses the process of elimination. Once you have found all the must be numbers, you need to start working with possible numbers. To do this, you determine what numbers are still contenders for each square, and note them in the upper portion of the square in much smaller writing. You can then use logic to figure out what can be eliminated until you are down to only one possible solution per square. In this example, all of the possibilities have been identified and written as small numbers at the top of each empty square. As you can see, some of them have only one contender. If we look at the middle box on the right side, we see that one square can only be a 4 and another can only be a 9. Once we make a permanent notation of those, the square in the upper left corner can only be an 8. That means that the top middle square can only be a 6.
Now, let s take a look at a more challenge box. The bottom middle box illustrates some great methods for solving Sudoku. Because the two squares in the bottom row can both only be a 2 or a 5, no other square in this box can be a 2 or a 5. Therefore the middle square must be a 1 and the top left square must be a 3 and the top right square is 4 by default. To continue solving the puzzle, you analyze each box, row and column in the same manner, returning to crosshatching when you need to. Most Sudoku puzzles can be solved using these techniques. Sinister puzzles may require advanced procedures. Many of the more advanced techniques do not actually provide you with the exact placement of numerals, but instead guide you to cross out previously placed penciled-in numbers.
X-Wing X-Wings can be more difficult to understand than other solving techniques, but they offer real power when taking on difficult puzzles. An X-Wing is present when there are two lines, each having the same two positions for a single number. The key to this technique is to determine what would happen if you chose just one position to solve. What would happen to the numbers penciled-in other positions? First you must pencil-in all possibilities for the puzzle and then seek out rectangles in the puzzle in which each of the four corners share a penciled-in number. To understand this technique, first study this puzzle: For example, look at the two 5s in rows 4 and 9.
If you assume the upper left cell is a 5, then the upper right cell must be an 8. Additionally under the same assumption that the upper left cell is a 5, the lower left cell must be a 3 which would in turn make the lower right cell a 5. In this scenario, a 5 in the upper left, forces the bottom right cell to also be a 5.
Using the same logic, had you started with the upper right cell, it would have forced the bottom left cell to be a 5. The forced lines form the X of this technique s name. Although this technique does not tell you which square on the right or left has the 5 in it, it does provide valuable information. We know that the 5 will definitely be in one of the two squares in each column, and we also know that a 5 cannot be anywhere else in either column or row. This allows us to remove other 5 candidates from those columns rows. In doing so, we determine that the top square in the third column must be a 7. This tells us that square in the third row of column one is a 3 and the middle square must be 5. In this one example, you can see how this technique can get you unstuck and solving again!
Saving And Printing A Sudoku Puzzle Saving A Puzzle You can save a puzzle in progress with all of your current entries by selecting Save Puzzle at the top of the game board. On the resulting page, enter a name for your puzzle and select the button next to the slot where you would like it saved. If you select a slot with a puzzle already stored in it, the new puzzle will replace the previously saved puzzle. To later retrieve a puzzle you have previously saved, select Open Saved Puzzle from the main menu or Open Saved at the top of the game board. From the list, choose the puzzle you wish to play. Printing A Puzzle If you want to print your puzzle and take it with you, select Print Puzzle at the top of the game board. Your computer s print function box will appear. The program will print the puzzle in its current state, including any answers and/or notes you have entered.
Sudoku Game Options Sending /Accepting A Challenge Once you have successfully solved a time puzzle, you will be presented with a challenge code. You can copy and paste that code into an email to share with another Classic Sudoku player. To accept a Challenge, select Accept A Challenge from the main menu. Copy the code shared by your fellow Classic Sudoku player, and paste it into the Enter the Challenge Code box. Clicking on the Start Challenge button will open the same puzzle with your competitor s time displayed above your puzzle timer. Try to beat it! Undo Selecting Undo will undo the last action you performed. If you entered an answer, it will erase it. If you entered a note, the note will disappear. The game has one level of undo. Hints Classic Sudoku provides two helpful hints if you get stuck. Flash Me Selecting this option will flash the completed puzzle on the screen for a split second. When it flashes off, your puzzle will return to the screen. Show Errors Selecting this option will turn any incorrect entered numbers from blue to red. As you replace these, newly entered numbers will be in blue again. If you would like to change all the numbers back to blue, you can select Flash Me. Reset Puzzle Selecting Reset Puzzle will erase all of your current answers and notes, reset the timer and let you start the same puzzle over. There is an intermediate screen that asks you to confirm that you want to proceed with the reset. I Give Up You can select I Give Up when you want to stop playing the puzzle and see the answers. Main The Main button at the bottom of the game board takes you to the Main Menu of the program. From there, you can start a new puzzle, open a saved puzzle, accept a challenge, read strategies, switch to Kakuro and more. Exit The Exit button at the bottom of the game board quits Classic Sudoku completely.
CLASSIC KAKURO Welcome to Classic Kakuro. Classic Kakuro is essentially a numeric crossword puzzle with one hitch. In every answer set, no number can be duplicated and only the numbers 1-9 may be used. Click on any link on the left to jump to that page and learn more about the program.
Setting Up A New Kakuro Puzzle Select CLASSIC Kakuro from the main Brain Games menu. Once Kakuro launches, select New Puzzle from the main menu or at the top of the game board page. Set the options that you would like to play with from the resulting screen. Classic Kakuro lets you choose the level of difficulty, the method of error checking, timer setting, and the design theme. Level of Difficulty: Choose from Easy, Medium, Hard or Impossible puzzles. Grid Size: Choose from 6x6, 8x8 or 10x10 Error Checking: The program defaults to displaying errors only when you ask. Classic Sudoku offers the ability to show incorrect entries as you type. This can be a great learning aid as you first begin tacking Kakuro puzzles. Timer Setting: You can have the timer running as you play, set it to display your time only after you ve solved the puzzle, or not have a timer at all. Themes: Select from 5 different themes each time you play a new puzzle.
How To Play A Kakuro Puzzle Each Kakuro puzzle consists of a playing area of filled and empty cells similar to a crossword puzzle. The Clue Cells contain a diagonal slash from the top left to the bottom right with numbers in them. The number in the top right corner is the across clue and the one in the bottom left is the down clue. A Kakuro board contains many clue cells, each of which can have an across clue, a down clue, or both. The clue cells contain a diagonal slash from top left to bottom right. Across clues are in the upper right of the clue cell and down clues are in the lower left of a clue cell. The object is to place numbers from 1-9 into the white cells to total the clue associated with them. However no digit can be duplicated in an entry. Once a puzzle is loaded on the game board, the timer is running. To enter your selection for any given square, click on the middle of the box and type in the number. Classic Kakuro also allows you to pencil in notes on possible numbers for each box. To use this feature, click at the top of the square and you can enter up to 6 numbers in each square. These will be displayed smaller in the top quarter of the square in a light gray color. These numbers are ignored by the program, but allow you to keep track if your game and number placement. Any number entry or note can be deleted by highlighting it with your mouse and backspacing or typing over it. The example below illustrates an across clue with 3 blank cells to the right. The 3 blank cells make up the answer to the clue. In this case, the three cells must add up to a total of 10 the clue. Because Kakuro s basic rules restrict your answer set to digits from 1-9 and do not allow for duplicate numbers in any answer, possible number combinations for this clue are:
Now let s see what happens when this answer intersects with another. Here there is a down clue of 16 with two cells below it. In this case, we know that the only possible digits that can solve the down clue are 7 + 9. Because of this, we know that the shared cell must contain a 7, the only digit that can be used for both clues. Using techniques like this, you will work you way though the puzzle until it is complete.
Kakuro Strategies And Techniques Although guessing is always an option, there are many techniques that can help you solve Kakuro puzzles. How do you go about solving them? Most puzzles can be conquered using one of these six techniques: Fewest Combinations Lone Square Common Numbers Penciling-In Learn Unique Combinations Locked Values
Fewest Combinations One approach to a Kakuro puzzle is to look for the cells with the fewest possible combinations. Typically, runs of two cells or clues with low numbers such as 3 or 4 are good candidates because a clue of 3 can only use 1, 2 and a clue of 4 can only use 1, 3 (2 and 2 is not possible because of the norepeat rule). In the sample grid to the left, you will note that there is a 5 in row three. A 5 has only a few combinations: 2, 3 and 1, 4, so that could be a good place to start. If you determine that 4 and 1 go in the cells under the 5, then you can easily figure that to the left of the 1, an 8 is the only value which can add up to the 9 in the left cell of row five. By placing the 8 there, you can determine that the only value possible above the 8 is a 2 since you must add up to the 10 in row three.
Lone Square (Lone Cell) An empty cell that has its surrounding cells completed can easily be solved. You simply add together the values and then subtract that total from the clue. The difference is the answer for that square. In this example, the empty cell must be 2, since 9 (4+3) = 2
Common Numbers (Cross Referencing or Unique Intersects) At each crossover between runs (intersecting squares), look for a potential shared value. Find two intersecting runs and determine the possible number combinations for each. Any value that appears in combinations for both runs is a potential candidate for the cell where the runs intersect. In this example, the down clue is 21 which has three 3-digit combinations (4+8+9, 5+7+9, and 6+7+8). The across clue is 7 and has only one 3-digit combination (1+2+4). The only common number between the sets of combinations is 4; therefore the crossover, or intersecting, square is 4.
Penciling-In As you work your way through a puzzle, you will find cells that you know can contain a limited number of possible digits. Making small notes of these numbers in the cell is known as penciling-in. As you use the process of elimination working the puzzle, you can determine the correct answer. This software allows you to make these notes in the top of each cell. These penciled-in numbers are ignored by the program, but are invaluable to finding the solution.
Learn Unique Combinations It is helpful to learn the combinations of valid digits that can be used to make up each number. This is especially true in cases that have only a single set of numbers for a given clue and number of cells. For instance, a clue of 3 in a run of 2 cells can only use 1, 2. Review the list of these unique numbers. In Kakuro, if there are 8 cells to an answer, every number from 1-9 is used with the exception of the one made by 45-(the clue number). For example, if the clue is 38 and there were 8 spaces in the answer, then the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9 would be used. 7 is excluded because 45-38=7.
Locked Values A locked value is a number that fits in only one cell. After reducing the number of possible combinations for an answer set down to one, you know that these values have to fit somewhere in that set. All you need to do is lock in exactly where each goes. Study this puzzle: The bottom row contains a clue of 23 with a three-cell answer. This has only one possible answer: 6, 8, 9. The 9 is already placed, so we only need to determine where the 6 and 8 belong. A strict rule in Kakuro is that you cannot use a number twice in a row/column. Therefore the 8 cannot be placed in bottom row because there is already an 8 in corresponding column. This means that the 6 is placed before the 9 and the 8 is placed after the 9.
Saving And Printing A Kakuro Puzzle Saving A Puzzle You can save a puzzle in progress with all of your current entries by selecting Save Puzzle at the top of the game board. On the resulting page, enter a name for your puzzle and select the button next to the slot where you would like it saved. If you select a slot with a puzzle already stored in it, the new puzzle will replace the previously saved puzzle. To later retrieve a puzzle you have previously saved, select Open Saved Puzzle from the main menu or Open Saved at the top of the game board. From the list, choose the puzzle you wish to play. Printing A Puzzle If you want to print your puzzle and take it with you, select Print Puzzle at the top of the game board. Your computer s print function box will appear. The program will print the puzzle in its current state, including any answers and/or notes you have entered.
Kakuro Game Options Undo Selecting Undo will undo the last action you performed. If you entered an answer, it will erase it. If you entered a note, the note will disappear. The game has one level of undo. Hints Classic Kakuro provides two helpful hints if you get stuck. Flash Me Selecting this option will flash the completed puzzle on the screen for a split second. When it flashes off, your puzzle will return to the screen. Show Errors Selecting this option will turn any incorrect entered numbers from blue to red. As you replace these, newly entered numbers will be in blue again. If you would like to change all the numbers back to blue, you can select Flash Me. Reset Puzzle Selecting Reset Puzzle will erase all of your current answers and notes, reset the timer and let you start the same puzzle over. There is an intermediate screen that asks you to confirm that you want to proceed with the reset. Surrender You can select Surrender when you want to stop playing the puzzle and see the answers. Main The Main button at the bottom of the game board takes you to the Main Menu of the program. From there, you can start a new puzzle, open a saved puzzle, read strategies, switch to Sudoku and more. Exit The Exit button at the bottom of the game board quits Classic Kakuro completely.
SUPPORT INFORMATION System Requirements Windows 2000 / ME / XP / Vista Pentium 233MHz or faster 256MB RAM or higher 100MB free hard drive space DirectX compatible video and sound cards CD-ROM / Mouse / Keyboard / Printer (optional) Installing Sudoku &Kakuro on your PC 1. Insert the Sudoku & Kakuro CD into your CD-ROM drive 2. If your computer is configured to detect a newly inserted CD, the Autorun menu will appear. If the Autorun menu does not appear after a few moments, click on the Start button, then select Run, and type D:\setup.exe (where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive). If you are not sure of your CD-ROM drive s letter, double-click on the My Computer icon. 3. Click on the Install option, and follow the onscreen instructions for installation and setup. 4. Upon successful completion of the install, you can launch the program either from the Sudoku & Kakuro icon on your desktop OR by going to Start/Programs/On Hand Software/Brain Games Sudoku & Kakuro Customer Support The quickest way to find an answer to your question is to click on this link: http://www.onhandsoftware.com/support2.html This will take you immediately to the On Hand Software support site where we have posted the most frequently asked questions (FAQ s) and help files. There are also some patches to programs that you can download. In a minute or two you can often find the answer you are seeking. However if you don t find an answer to your specific question there, we have also included a Support Form so that you can tell us which operating system and computer you are using, as well as including your question. This form provides us with a more complete picture of the technical specs (computer brand, operating system) that we need to analyze and respond to your question. You ll find the form at the bottom of the support page. We hope that you will quickly and easily find the information that you need on the support site or by using the product form.
REPORTING BUGS If you find a bug in our software, it would be helpful if you reported the bug to us via email to info@onhandsoftware.com To report a bug, please email us with BUG REPORT in the subject line. Please include the following information in your email: What operating system you are using The software name and version # from the CD (ie PC103-01) The error message A brief description of what you were doing when the error appeared (ie did it happen upon launching of the game, or on a specific game level) Your name and email address so we can contact you when the bug is fixed. When reporting bugs, detailed emails are necessary so we have a written record of the information our programmers will need to fix the problem.