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Maff

I Created Sudoku Evolution, Get The MySpace Magazine Now

About Me

This page is dedicated to my obsession with SuDoku.
I am not addicted to playing the game, although I do play often. I have become obsessed with discovering all the different shapes of board inwhich SuDoku can be played. I have called this family of new reshaped boards, "SuDoku Evolution."
Before we take at look at the many shapes of SuDoku Evolution, I have had a few messages asking me what SuDoku is. So for everyone whohas been living in a cave for the past few years or if you are just visiting the planet Earth for the weekend.
Here it is.
What is SuDoku?
SuDoku is the most popular puzzle game ever!
“Quote”
SuDoku puzzles are incredibly good "exercise" for your mind. Challenging your mind to "learn new tricks" and keep on its toes and can actually help you prevent Alzheimer's disease and dementia as you age. It can also relieve stress and keep you mentally balanced and sociallyconnected.
“End quote”.
Understanding the board.
The standard game is played in a square 9x9 grid of 81 cells; this grid is divided into nine 3x3 mini-grids. The grid has 27 regions containing 9 cells per region; there are 3 types of region, containing 9 regions per region type. The 3 types of regions are called Rows, Columns and mini-grids.
How to play the came.
At the start of the puzzle some cells have already been filled in with some numbers (these are the “given” numbers). To complete the puzzle youhave to fill in all of the remaining blank cells with the numbers 1 to 9 so that every region contains each number only once. Each puzzle has onlyone solution that can be found using only logic, there is no need to use any maths and there is never a need to guess, every number can beworked as to where it should go.
For basic solving techniques Click Here!
For advanced solving techniques Click Here!
All of the above information can be summed up very simply into two pieces of information.
First, the one rule, “fill in the grid so that every region contains all of the number 1 to 9 only once.”
Second, understanding the board is much easier to explain by using animated pictures that highlight all of the regions, one picture per region type. These pictures show you very easily how the cells are connected into their regions.
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
SuDoku Variants
There are many variants of SuDoku but nearly all of these have extra rules, require maths or complicate the game in some other way. As this has little to do with what SuDoku Evolution is all about, here are some links that you might find interesting. If you are only interested in the normal game then skip this section.
Probably the best place to start. Click Here!
For a huge list of many variants. Click Here!
To read all about the first SuDoku world championships, plus see all of the different variants that the competitor faced. Click Here!
To read all about the second world championships, plus see all of the puzzle played and all of the puzzles play in the Czech qualification round. Click Here!
Most of the puzzles that are found above have very little in common with SuDoku Evolution as they make things more complicated and SuDoku Evolution is all about keeping things simple.
So now lets see what SuDoku Evoolution is all about.
What Is SuDoku Evolution
SuDoku Evolution may look really complicated but its just plain old regular SuDoku in a new shape of board.
There is still only the one rule from the normal SuDoku game. It is all about understanding the new shapes of board and this is made easy by looking for a few seconds at a few animated pictures, you will quickly understand how the cells are connected into regions that make the new shape of board into a SuDoku puzzle.
So for example: here is a pretty scary looking board. To play this game we use the one and only rule. Fill in the grid so that every region contains all of the numbers 1 to 8 only once. Now take a look at a few animated pictures to see how the cells are connected into regions, one picture for each region type. This board has 5 region types so that makes 5 pictures.
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
I hope that this is all clear, by using animated pictures it makes the SuDoku Evolution puzzle boards easy to understand, if you already know how to play normal SuDoku.
When discovering new styles of SuDoku board I have used these basic self-imposed guidelines
The minimum board size is 1 to 6 as anything lower than this does not really pose a challenge as a SuDoku puzzle.
The maximum board size is 1 to 16. There is really no limit to the size you can make a SuDoku board but I think Anything bigger than 1 to 16 really is too big to be used as a SuDoku puzzle. I have seen some absolutely massive puzzle boards online but I don’t see the point.
Note: when a board is a size is 1 to 10, you have to use the numbers 0 to 9 instead
All of the cells must fall into at least 3 different region types.
If a board contains split regions these regions are split in a logical fashion (see advanced boards below).
Advanced boards.
Some of the board shapes fall into the advanced board category, they all have one thing in common; they have one or more split region type, a split region is a region that contains cells that are not all connected, they may be found in 2 or more areas of the grid. Split regions are usually numbered with an arrow, just match up the arrows with the same numbers to find all of the cells for that region. Again lots of text for something that really is very simple.
Take a look at this puzzle board; you have to fill in the numbers 1 to 8.
It has 4 pairs of rows.
Row 1 = 1cell + 7cells = 8cells that make up a full region.
Row 2 = 3cells + 5cells = 8cells that make up a full region.
With rows 3 and 4 being the same as rows 1 and 2.
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
And that’s all there is to the advanced family of SuDoku Evolution puzzle boards, not that advanced really.
It is just as easy to understand an advanced board as it is for a normal board by looking at a few animated pictures.
Note: when 2 areas of the board are highlighted at the same time, the cells that are highlighted count as one region.
Split cells.
A useful feature when designing new board shapes is the split cell. Take a look at this puzzle board; each region contains 10 cells you have to fill in the numbers 0 to 9. It has 8 rows, 8 columns and 8 mini-grids, but because the mini-grids are right-angled triangles some of the small square cells have been split into 2 smaller cells that are right-angled triangles and a number must be placed into each cell of these smaller cells.
And if you didn’t understand that then take a look at the usual animated pictures and I am sure all will become clear.
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
The SuDoku Evolution Puzzles.
All of the puzzles that I create in the SuDoku Evolution boards have only one solution.
I try to make the given numbers as symmetrical as possible.
Every puzzle will have a link near by to take you to page containing the animated pictures for that board.
I am sure that anyone who plays SuDoku will have no problems playing in the SuDoku Evolution boards as it is basically the same game but innew shapes of board.
For an in depth look at the different shapes I have discovered so far, look on the left of this page.
Come and visit my website to see all of the boards at
www.SuDokuEvolution.com
A few Vidoes
Let's Sudoku (The SudokuSong)

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This video has Explicit Lyrics!(you have been warned
Sudoku: The Movie/MusicVideo

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Other stuff
Maff Clickto iPod
My Profile iPod yours!

My Interests

Sudoku, Puzzles, and Games

Music:

Pink Floyd

Movies:

The Lord Of The Rings

Television:

24

Books:

Harry Potter

Heroes:

Einstien
MySpace Monthly Magazine
This is the MySpace SuDoku Evolution monthly magazine, containing a random selection of puzzles from the world of SuDoku Evolution.
Printing.
At the top of the window there is a button that will allow you to print the puzzles, so you can play them anywhere you like.
Tip.
To save on printer ink avoid printing the first page as this is only the cover, and set the quality to low (draft or quick print). You can also print using only the black ink cartridge
To get the code for this magazine Click Here and paste it anywhere on your profile page.
The magazine window is totally re-sizeable so it will fit anywhere on your profile page.
And that’s it sit back and relax check your profile page at the start of each month and your magazine window will be automatically updated with the next issue.
Note all of the links in the pages of the magazine will only work in full screen mode.
SuDoku Evolution
Add | E-books | Full Screen
Interactive E-books
Start your collection of sudoku Evolution E-books today. These books are totally interactive, you can complete the puzzles on your computer screen, you can save your progress and come back later to finish your game. Or if you prefer to play on paper, you can print the puzzles to play anywhere you like.
Note when printing these E-books only the puzzles will print, none of the other pictures or any of the text will print, this means that you don’t need to waste your printer ink.
To play a sample E-books online now Click Here
Check out the slideshow to see the covers of the issues that are available or will be soon. Click Here
The Full Cube
This is the full cube sudoku puzzle CLICK HERE to see how it works
ok here is the same puzzle but in a more playable format.
Cubic Jiigsaw Puzzle
This is a Jigsaw puzzle of an Advanced Sudoku Puzzle CLICK HERE to see how this Sudoku puzzle works
SeekCodes.com
SuDoku Evolution An In Depth Look
SquaresNow I didn’t include square shaped boards in the SuDoku Evolution family for a long time, thinking that there were already enough square shaped SuDoku boards out there already, but I eventually decided that they should be included as there are far more configurations than just the standard 9x9 board.
These are the easiest boards to understand as everyone has been playing in square boards already.
Square SuDoku Evolution puzzle boards come in sizes; 1 to 6; 1 to 8; 1 to 9; 0 to 9; 1 to 12; 1 to 14; 1 to 15; and 1 to 16.
To see the current collection of square boards in the SuDoku Evolution family Click Here
Here is an example of a square board and how the cells are connected into regions. Each region contains the numbers 1 to 8
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
CirclesI have seen a few other circular SuDoku puzzles online and to be honest I don’t like how other people have done it (there are some example in the links of the variants section above). Unlike square shapes where a row intersects with a column in one cell, in circles they cross over twice.
Circle SuDoku Evolution puzzle boards come in sizes; 1 to 6; 1 to 8; 0 to 9; 1 to 12; 1 to 14 and 1 to 16.
To see the current collection of square boards in the SuDoku Evolution family Click Here
Here is an example of a circle board and how the cells are connected into regions. Each region contains the numbers 1 to 8
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
CubesLike circles I have seen other SuDoku cubes out there, some are the same as some of the boards in SuDoku Evolution and others are completely different. All of my cubed shaped boards are similar except one, and that is the full cube.
The cube boards play similar to the square one but the rows and columns have been bent so that they stretch over 2 faces of the cube.
Cube SuDoku Evolution puzzle boards come in sizes; 1 to 8; 0 to 9; 1 to 12 and 1 to 16.
To see the current collection of square boards in the SuDoku Evolution family Click Here
Here is an example of a cube board and how the cells are connected into regions. Each region contains the numbers 1 to 8
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
DialsThis was the first new shape of SuDoku board that I ever made, and it is interesting to note that there was a dial shaped SuDoku puzzle in the second world championships, it was called a SuDoku snowflake. Even though some of the regions seem to be split, these don’t count as advanced boards because all of the regions are split in a straight line unlike the advanced boards.
Dial SuDoku Evolution puzzle boards come in sizes; 1 to 6; 1 to 8; 0 to 9; 1 to 12; 1 to 14 and 1 to 16.
To see the current collection of Dial boards in the SuDoku Evolution family Click Here
Here is an example of a dial board and how the cells are connected into regions. Each region contains the numbers 1 to 8
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
WallThis style of board is the newest addition to SuDoku Evolution, all of these boards contain cells that are larger than other cells. So when a large cell spans 2 or more columns then the number in that cell counts for all of the columns that that cell is in. apart from the different size cells these boards play just like the square boards.
Wall SuDoku Evolution puzzle boards come in sizes; 1 to 6; 1 to 8; 1 to 9; 0 to 9; 1 to 12; 1 to 14; 1 to 15; and 1 to 16.
To see the current collection of wall boards in the SuDoku Evolution family Click Here
Here is an example of a Wall board and how the cells are connected into regions. Each region contains the numbers 1 to 8
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
Advanced
ToroidalToroidal is a fancy word that simply means that if something goes off the top it comes back it at the bottom. Pac-man was toroidal, if you went off the screen at the left you came back on at the right. Now we know what the name means it should make understanding the boards a lot easier. The toroidal boards are the only boards in the SuDoku Evolution family to have split mini-grids, with all of the other styles of advanced boards it is either the rows or the columns that are the split region. Toroidal boards also use the split cell featureand are the only board style to have boards sizes of 1 to 7 and 1 to 11.
Toroidal SuDoku Evolution puzzle boards come in sizes; 1 to 7; 1 to 8; 0 to 9; 1 to 11; 1 to 12; 1 to 13; 1 to 14; and 1 to 16.
To see the current collection of toroidal boards in the SuDoku Evolution family Click Here
Here is an example of a toroidal board and how the cells are connected into regions. Each region contains the numbers 1 to 8
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
DiamondsDiamond boards come in three different styles. Style 1, has triangular shaped cells and has split rows. Style 2, has hexagonal cells and has split rows. This style is very similar to style 1. Style 3, is a square that has been rotated through 45 degrees and has both split rows and split columns.
Diamonds SuDoku Evolution puzzle boards come in sizes; 1 to 8; 1 to 9; 0 to 9; 1 to 12; 1 to 15; and 1 to 16.
To see the current collection of diamond boards in the SuDoku Evolution family Click Here
Here is an example of a diamond board and how the cells are connected into regions. Each region contains the numbers 0 to 9
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
CubicSome of these cubic shapes look like should belong in the diamond family and they nearly did. But I choose to keep them separate for two reasons, firstly all of the cubic boards have 4 types of region just like some of the diamond boards, but unlike the diamonds each cell of a cubic board only fall into 3 of the region types (I love this). And secondly some of the cubic board shapes are not a diamond. Cubic boards come in a variety of shapes.
Cubic SuDoku Evolution puzzle boards come in only two sizes 1 to 12 and 1 to 16.
To see the current collection of cubic boards in the SuDoku Evolution family Click Here
Here is an example of a cubic board and how the cells are connected into regions. Each region contains the numbers 1 to 12
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
StepsIn the steps boards both of the rows and columns are split. Squares are placed corner to corner to create a staircase effect, this is like playing a square 1 to 8 boards with 10 rows, 10 columns and mini-grids. I have named this family of puzzle steps, but for some reason I am not entirely happy with the name. If you can think of something better please let me know.
Steps SuDoku Evolution puzzle boards come in only two sizes 1 to 8 and 0 to 9.
To see the current collection of steps boards in the SuDoku Evolution family Click Here
Here is an example of a steps board and how the cells are connected into regions. Each region contains the numbers 1 to 8
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
ImpossibleThis idea came about while I was looking at a picture of an impossible triangle and trying to make a SuDoku board out of it. This is a picture of an impossible triangle.
This is all very well as a picture, but it has three right angles so it makes it impossible to exist in the three dimensional world. I had decided that I could not find a suitable SuDoku puzzle out of it when I came across this picture.
This a picture of some cubes layed out in the design of an impossible triangle. I moved the cubes closer together and I came up with this.
impossible SuDoku Evolution boards come in only one size 1 to 9.
To see the current collection of impossible boards in the SuDoku Evolution family Click Here
Here is an example of an impossible board and how the cells are connected into regions. Each region contains the numbers 1 to 9
Click here to see larger versions of these pictures
FlexidokuI have designed a few SuDoku Flexigons, these look like normal 9x9 square SuDoku but they can be flexed to reveal an inside. To complete the puzzle you have to fill in all of the sides. So far I have made three different designs, 1 flex, 2 flex and 3 flex. 1 flex has a front and a back with each side being a separate 9x9 square SuDoku game and both sides must be treated separately, now flex the puzzle and the front and back change to reveal a new front and back that share some cells the original front and back. To complete the puzzle you have to fill in all 4 sides. The 2-flex puzzle can be flexed twice to reveal 6 different sides and the 3-flex puzzle can be flexed to reveal 8 sides. If you don’t know what a Flexigon is you can read all about the on Wikipedia
This style of puzzle is not quite ready yet, but for now here is a little animation of a board flexing. This animation is on a loop but for a 1-flex board flex once then you must reverse the flex. 2-flex can be flexed in the same direction twice before you have to reverse the flexing process and that leaves 3-flex I will leave that for you to work out.
Flexidoku SuDoku Evolution puzzle boards come in only one size 1 to 9.
Mobius LoopI have worked out how a Mobius loop can be made into a SuDoku board (in my head anyway). So far all of my attempts to made a satisfactory diagram have failed. I have not abandoned the idea yet. Watch this space I will keep you posted. Here is a picture of a Mobius loop, now the problem is that there is a twist in the shape so that in a diagram part of the board is obscured from view. If anyone has any diagram suggestions please let me know.
Click Here to enlarge the image.

My Blog

MySpace SuDoku Evolution Monthly Magazine

Well I have decided to do a MySpace SuDoku Evolution monthly magazineThis will be starting with issue 1 on the 1st of June 2007To get the code for this so you can put it on your profile click hereThe ...
Posted by Maff on Sat, 26 May 2007 03:04:00 PST

Bad BLOG News

As you can see there is still a little problem with blog postsAs soon as you post the blog the code is changed and it makes this look a little distorted.Works fine in a profile or on a web page, still...
Posted by Maff on Wed, 23 May 2007 11:30:00 PST

BAD NEWS, GOOD NEWS!

BAD NEWSWell I had to take down the printable puzzle windowas some people were having problems with the code.GOOD NEWSIts back and there should be no more problem ..> SuDoku Evolution ..> ...
Posted by Maff on Wed, 23 May 2007 11:21:00 PST

MySpace SuDoku Evolution Printable Puzzle Window

I had planned on doing lots and lots, but instead I only did a bit of what Iplanned to do and I made something for myspace instead. ..> ..> And this is it.This is a Printable window that contains a ...
Posted by Maff on Tue, 22 May 2007 04:49:00 PST

SuDoku Evolution first Blog

This Is the first of a regurlar blog that is going to be used like a SuDoku Evolution news letter.I am currently working on a few new ideas and new board shapes (Stars, Steps, Impossible and if I can ...
Posted by Maff on Fri, 18 May 2007 11:33:00 PST