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The Original Kakuro Book is a collection of 100 of these highly addictive puzzles created by the editors at The Puzzle SocietyT. Kakuro is a cross between traditional crosswords and Sudoku. The idea behind Kakuro is very simple. Just like Sudoku, you must fit the numbers 1 to 9 into a grid of squares so that no number is repeated within a defined area. And just like a crossword, there's a grid of filled blocks and clues to solve.
Kakuro puzzles are best solved using logic. Some of the same logic can be used as in Sudoku, but you also need a bit of math because with Kakuro there is a second restraint: not only must the numbers not repeat within a clue run, they also must add up to given totals-these totals replace traditional word clues found in a crossword.
Complete, easy-to-follow instructions are included as well as handy tips. This book also features tables of number combinations for quick reference. Solutions for all puzzles will be included at the back of the book.
Beware! A few of the puzzles in this book are blatantly in error; for example there are number clues that make no sense given the rules of kakuro (like number clues along the bottom row or right-most column, or a single box with the clue sum "43"). And in addition, about 5% or 10% of the puzzles are ambiguous, that is, they have multiple solutions. That's kind of missing the point of a puzzle like this; the player is supposed to find the single solution.
It looks like the puzzles were generated by a computer program that had bugs in it, and that there was a lack of quality-control used to select puzzles for the book.
Apart from that...the remaining 90% or so of the puzzles in this book are OK. They're on the relatively easy side. But you're not really getting the 200 puzzles the blurb on the cover claims. I'd suggest a different book with higher-quality puzzles (with single, unambiguous solutions).
By a_bucket_of_shoes (Walnut Creek, CA USA)
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| Author: The Puzzle Society (Author) |
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