Customer Rating: 
Summary: Lots of Fun
Comment: In my opinion, Killer Sudoku puzzles are much more fun and satisfying to solve than regular Sudoku puzzles because of the added complexity of the sums and the various techniques that can be employed to solve them. "Killer Su Doku 1: The Deadly New Dimension" contains 110 puzzles of which there are 17 Gentle, 30 Moderate, 42 Tricky, 16 Tough, and 5 Deadly puzzles. Each puzzle has a suggested time to beat. There is also a two-page "Guidelines for Solving Killer Su Doku".
I didn't find the guidelines for solving to be particularly useful. They give a quite minimal explanation of how to solve these types of puzzles and leave out explanations of some of the more important techniques for solving, such as the 45 Rule. (Steve Arons book, "The Official Book of Killer Sudoku" contains a much more comprehensive introduction.)
Regarding the suggested times, I didn't specifically time myself, but I often noticed that I took much less or much more time than what was suggested. As for difficulty, I found that sometimes a puzzle in a given section was either much harder or much easier than what was implied. The puzzles in the Deadly section were no more difficult than the ones in the Tough section. The hardest puzzles in the book are 78, 98, and 105. I eventually figured out some interesting equations and relational techniques for solving 78 and 98. (Whew, that was fun!) Puzzle 105 is the only one that I have not yet managed to solve.
This brings me to a recommendation for the Solutions section. In general, I find the solutions in the backs of Sudoku books to be useless. If I finish a puzzle and it conforms to the rules then it's correct; otherwise it's wrong. I don't need a solution to tell me that. The only time I look at the solution is occasionally when I'm doing a really difficult puzzle and I want to check an intermediate result to make sure I'm on the right track so I don't end up having to erase the entire puzzle and start over. This also helps to instantly understand what type of mistake I made. Something that would be really helpful in the solutions for the really difficult puzzles would be to show a partially solved grid and an explanation of how to get to the next step.
On the whole I found this book to be very enjoyable and highly recommend it for any Killer Sudoku fan. Publisher, another one please!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good puzzles, but easier then indicated
Comment: I enjoyed working the puzzles in this book, but I found them substantially easier then the author did. The estimated times for the puzzles were way longer then I found them to take. Also, in the first part of the book, many of the puzzles included some starting numbers, instead of what I would consider a "pure" killer sudoku, where you start with only cages and sums. Nonetheless, still a fun diversion.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A great challenge
Comment: I got into killer sudoku after becoming tired of regular sudoku puzzles. I find killer sudoku much more satisfying, not because the puzzles are much tougher but because you're always thinking with killer sudoku whereas you usually end up staring blankly at a regular sudoku puzzle, going over the same sections over and over until you find something.
I really enjoyed this book because all of the puzzles, even the ones in the supposedly simpler sections, were quite difficult. Some of the ones in the earlier sections proved even more difficult than others in the toughest section. There are even time meters given by the authors for each puzzles, and it is always fun to try to beat them. The book provides over 100 great puzzles hunker down with. I highly recommend it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Addictive Puzzle Book!
Comment: I don't know whether I should recommend this book or warn others from getting addicted to it! This book is so great and fun! You will have great time thinking and solving those puzzles .... I almost finished the whole book! :)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Now Add Some Math
Comment: Killer sudoku is my favorite sudoku variation (with the possible exception of killer samurai sudoku). The game is the same in many ways. The grid layout is the same. The logic for solving is the same. The completed puzzle is the same. But the clues, the clues, are different. Unlike with traditional sudoku, you will not start with a partially filled puzzle grid. Although I have seen a handful where one or two numbers is given, usually no numbers are provided. So how do you solve these?
Well, instead of the standard partially-filled grid, the puzzler is told what the relationship is between groups of squares. You may be told that two connected boxes have a sum total of eight or you may bee told that five connected boxes have a sum total of thirty-three. But whatever you are told, each box has a relation to others. What you fill in follows the standard Sudoku rules but some of the elimination and possibilities are similar to those in Kakuro. For instance, if two boxes add up to four, then they have to be a one and a three. you just don't know which.
These regions of relationships can range from just one square to nine or more. Just remember that sometimes one of these regions will contain the same number twice or more because it spans multiple rows, columns and subgrids. Ouch. Wrapping you mind around killer sudoku can take some getting used to but I find it a wonderful puzzle that combines classic sudoku with the mathematics of Kakuro. The result is one I find highly entertaining and am happy is finally being collected in quantity instead of just a few.
This volume contains a short section on how to solve the puzzls and thwn 110 puzzles in five levels (Gentle, moderate, tricky, tough, and deadly). If you are looking for a new dimension in sudoku, check it out.
Summary: Lots of Fun
Comment: In my opinion, Killer Sudoku puzzles are much more fun and satisfying to solve than regular Sudoku puzzles because of the added complexity of the sums and the various techniques that can be employed to solve them. "Killer Su Doku 1: The Deadly New Dimension" contains 110 puzzles of which there are 17 Gentle, 30 Moderate, 42 Tricky, 16 Tough, and 5 Deadly puzzles. Each puzzle has a suggested time to beat. There is also a two-page "Guidelines for Solving Killer Su Doku".
I didn't find the guidelines for solving to be particularly useful. They give a quite minimal explanation of how to solve these types of puzzles and leave out explanations of some of the more important techniques for solving, such as the 45 Rule. (Steve Arons book, "The Official Book of Killer Sudoku" contains a much more comprehensive introduction.)
Regarding the suggested times, I didn't specifically time myself, but I often noticed that I took much less or much more time than what was suggested. As for difficulty, I found that sometimes a puzzle in a given section was either much harder or much easier than what was implied. The puzzles in the Deadly section were no more difficult than the ones in the Tough section. The hardest puzzles in the book are 78, 98, and 105. I eventually figured out some interesting equations and relational techniques for solving 78 and 98. (Whew, that was fun!) Puzzle 105 is the only one that I have not yet managed to solve.
This brings me to a recommendation for the Solutions section. In general, I find the solutions in the backs of Sudoku books to be useless. If I finish a puzzle and it conforms to the rules then it's correct; otherwise it's wrong. I don't need a solution to tell me that. The only time I look at the solution is occasionally when I'm doing a really difficult puzzle and I want to check an intermediate result to make sure I'm on the right track so I don't end up having to erase the entire puzzle and start over. This also helps to instantly understand what type of mistake I made. Something that would be really helpful in the solutions for the really difficult puzzles would be to show a partially solved grid and an explanation of how to get to the next step.
On the whole I found this book to be very enjoyable and highly recommend it for any Killer Sudoku fan. Publisher, another one please!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good puzzles, but easier then indicated
Comment: I enjoyed working the puzzles in this book, but I found them substantially easier then the author did. The estimated times for the puzzles were way longer then I found them to take. Also, in the first part of the book, many of the puzzles included some starting numbers, instead of what I would consider a "pure" killer sudoku, where you start with only cages and sums. Nonetheless, still a fun diversion.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A great challenge
Comment: I got into killer sudoku after becoming tired of regular sudoku puzzles. I find killer sudoku much more satisfying, not because the puzzles are much tougher but because you're always thinking with killer sudoku whereas you usually end up staring blankly at a regular sudoku puzzle, going over the same sections over and over until you find something.
I really enjoyed this book because all of the puzzles, even the ones in the supposedly simpler sections, were quite difficult. Some of the ones in the earlier sections proved even more difficult than others in the toughest section. There are even time meters given by the authors for each puzzles, and it is always fun to try to beat them. The book provides over 100 great puzzles hunker down with. I highly recommend it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Addictive Puzzle Book!
Comment: I don't know whether I should recommend this book or warn others from getting addicted to it! This book is so great and fun! You will have great time thinking and solving those puzzles .... I almost finished the whole book! :)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Now Add Some Math
Comment: Killer sudoku is my favorite sudoku variation (with the possible exception of killer samurai sudoku). The game is the same in many ways. The grid layout is the same. The logic for solving is the same. The completed puzzle is the same. But the clues, the clues, are different. Unlike with traditional sudoku, you will not start with a partially filled puzzle grid. Although I have seen a handful where one or two numbers is given, usually no numbers are provided. So how do you solve these?
Well, instead of the standard partially-filled grid, the puzzler is told what the relationship is between groups of squares. You may be told that two connected boxes have a sum total of eight or you may bee told that five connected boxes have a sum total of thirty-three. But whatever you are told, each box has a relation to others. What you fill in follows the standard Sudoku rules but some of the elimination and possibilities are similar to those in Kakuro. For instance, if two boxes add up to four, then they have to be a one and a three. you just don't know which.
These regions of relationships can range from just one square to nine or more. Just remember that sometimes one of these regions will contain the same number twice or more because it spans multiple rows, columns and subgrids. Ouch. Wrapping you mind around killer sudoku can take some getting used to but I find it a wonderful puzzle that combines classic sudoku with the mathematics of Kakuro. The result is one I find highly entertaining and am happy is finally being collected in quantity instead of just a few.
This volume contains a short section on how to solve the puzzls and thwn 110 puzzles in five levels (Gentle, moderate, tricky, tough, and deadly). If you are looking for a new dimension in sudoku, check it out.