that wasn't that hard for Expert

no it was not.

Coloring on the threes made it an expert. However, it comes so late that it's easy to spot.

EVERYTHING leading up to that is either a hidden or naked single.

definitely a much easier expert than usual experts - I used marks but didn't have to make any guesses at all - everything was pretty straightforward (a bit of circular logic that has to be applied but not anywhere near as complex or convoluted as other recent experts have been)

done,bye all

easier expert one

good luck, every one

hi all

got mosdt of the way through, then got stuck until I saw a unique rectangle, then it fell out.

morning

wow - just one 50:50 guess and it all fell into place

I honestly think that was the easiest puzzle I've ever seen on this site. Maybe I solve them in a strange way?

hi all

this can't possibly be expert level

either that or I slept really well last night and added some 50 IQ points

hello

done... hi yul :)

you re a rocket today, chebuctorian

i'm an opposite... a sloth :)

chebuctorian, are you here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

is anyone who finished this puzzle is here?

well...

i didn't want expect this to happen

It was easy for an expert. Very straightforward.

at the end, have you used any particular technicue , judy?

i don't see it at the moment...

I didn't have to guess or anything...just kept plugging in numbers that were eliminated elsewhere.

hm...

may be i made a mistake somewere...

definetly i made a mistake :) i was worried or a moment

:]

starting again

thank you, Judy

Did you do it?

:) not yet, just started again. i usually do puzzle without marking, so i'm a bit slower

Wwhen I see an expert I automatically go green. Well, I'm off. lol

have a good day

wow. pretty easy for an expert

only 1 real decision point

i was right in the first place. But i don't see how it was possible to illiminate numbers without using an x wing (if i'm correct) :( i never completly understend 'wings' :(

randls, if you are here, could you tell me what was your decision making point?

i did it! although i had to make one wild guess.

that is most unfortunate... i really could yse some explaning how people illiminate today

hi' Onpaki :)

hi yul!

sorry, i didn't 'illuminate'. i sort of cheated.

do you understand x and y wings?

no, what's thats?

Judy told me earlier that all illimination happend automaticly and i just don't see it! I think i saw an x wing made of 9s in the 8 and 9 columns but i am not sure if it is correct x wing. If you would like an explanation, go to http://www.scanraid.com/AdvanStrategies.htm

i'm really confused, i've placed a ton of numbers and it's real easy so far... this scares me...

it is very easy one, hurshy, don't worry :)

then why are you on about wings, and it's labelled expert?

i think if you have to use a wing, it's an expert

hmph

oh my word - that was ridiculously easy!

was it automatic, elf, hi (?)

automatic? how do you mean?

and hi back :)

i used greens because that's what i'm used to doing, but it was so easy to see the solution

you did not use any special technique

right, no special technique - just process of elimination

please explain a green

shift-click, phil

can i pic your brain, elf, please?

yeah, that was way easy

turns out i am sure i didn't need even greens, only i put some in out of fear cause of the expert label.

hurshy, explain!!!

please

same here, hurshy

just mostly use basic logic... except one time i did use an extra little thing i thought of (i don't know what the technical term for it is...) i will try to explain...

if you have a naked pair that are in the same box but also in the same row/column, and then that same pair shows up parallel to that in another box where they are lined up in the same row/column, well, they can't all four be that pair of numbers or it would violate the rule that sudoku must have a unique solution, you'd be able to switch them without affecting anything else. so one of them must go elsewhere. i used that idea today.

please, i could tell you the point i was lost... it really close to the end...

it applies in the bottom left box and the bottom middle box, near the end, yes

and by "box" i mean group of 9, not single square

does that make any sense, yul?

not really, is it 5/8?

yeah. so they're naked in the left, and then they are in that group of 3 squares in the next box over, right?

so if r8c4 and r9c4 were 5 and 8, then there would be 2 solutions to this puzzle.

which means one of them has to go in r7c4, meaning you can eliminate the 9 from that square.

my problem is I don't see how 5/8 is a naked pair in the middle...

it isn't naked in the middle

in fact that's kind of the point, if they WERE, there would be 2 solutions, which is never supposed to be true of a valid sudoku

they CANNOT turn out to be a naked pair in c4 r8 &9.

so, again, one of them has to go somewhere else, and in this case, the only else is r7c4. so the 9 which was a possible there, really isn't.

and that only leaves one place for the 9 to go in that box.

it would be so much easier to explain if i could point. as a math teacher, i am used to pointing at stuff.

hold on, let me see a bit more

how goes it there yul?

or hurhy, i am confused... 1: is left box at your laft? 2: what c stands for?

I'm still not sure what you meant but I must have been stuck at the right point cos once I'd put the 9 in the only place left the rest fell in very easily. Thanks

lol, r stands for row and c stands for column

and yes, left box is at my left

let me try again

just picture this. in the fourth column, imagine that you DID have a naked pair of 5 and 8 in the bottom two squares.

because there is also a naked pair in the first column parallel to that, that would mean you could go 5, 8, and 8, 5, or 8, 5 and 5, 8, and either way would work just fine.

i immagine

well that's no good, sudoku must have a unique solution, it can't have two equally good ones.

i understand, and

so that means that EITHER the 5 OR the 8 must go someplace else, and you don't know which yet, but you do know the place else is in the 7th row

so the 9 is a no-go there.

you got it? have you now placed the 9 in the bottom middle group?

yes, i sow that cause i have 5/8 in c9r7

so are you set then?

no, because i have 3589 in c4r7 and 39 in c6r7...

hmm, at that point i didn't have a 3 in c4r7...

perhaps there are more things you can place with simpler logic first.

but it doesn't really matter...the point is, neither the 3 or the 9 can now go there, because either the 5 or the 8 MUST.

that it is my point... somehow i end up with x wing solution

and that leaves only one place to put the 9.

maybe this is x wing, i dunno, i am not so up on all the terms.

do you see what i mean about how c4r7 has to be either 5 or 8 to eliminate the 2-solution-sudoku issue?

:) in c8 & c9 but i don't now if it is a coinsidence or a correct x wing... thank you, hurshy, very much for you effort :)

definetly

yw. catch you later yul. :)

thanks, have a good day

hurshy, I haven't investigated too carefully myself but I think what you're describing is a unique rectangle

:)

it wasn't a proper x wing i've used. now i know

for the record, I have no idea what on earth either unique rectangle and x-wing mean in this context

Hi!

sudoku solvers have explanations, if you interested. did you solve today's puzzle, shadeeagle? hi stephanie

I just upgraded to Pro. How do I get a cute picture by my name?

don't ask me :)

nah - I was going to solve it while I was at work in a few hours. still, I've not familiar with those explanation types, although I'm sure I've seen them before

but i could poin you in to cute pic library direction

ok

Ok

sorry, stephany, 'ok' was for sadeeagle :)

I just finished my first expert!!! Doing the happy dance again!!!

Yeah RodeoRogue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ooh, an expert...

I'm finished!!!!!

woo me too

so, no special solving strategies, anybody?

why ,god, oh why I don't see it ???

it is just my luck to look at everything from an unusual ungle...

tantalising... thought I was going to finish without any little greens... but then...

sherb, do you have 3/6 pair in 6s column?

i meant 3/6 naked pair

o, sorry, it is 3/9..

no, I have 3/9 pair in that column

2 naked 3/9 in 6s column...

yes

thanks.

this is where I usually start guessing...

ha :)

i know what you mean :)

hurshy managed to illiminate 3 in this column, but how I did not have time to ask

yep, guessing worked... this time... :)

it does, but it is not the point :(

or is it? :)

...

Not doing to bad with this expert puzzle today

yeah, you'll only get stuck toward the end

then it's the glorified guessing game again

ok

look forward to the challenge

all done!

grrr.. scanraid explanations are so bad!

but hershy was on to something with her's

limer, please, look out for a break through point, i will ask you later. i am determened to understend

will try

Ha

Nailed that puppy!

thanks

Rank me, baby!

NO green or red

Cue theme music

where is it !!!

get the 3's

how did you choose between 3 and 9 in 6th column?

and the 9's to where they can only go into one point

limer, that is obvious, but HOW!!!???

did you forsed chain?

Yes, I looked ahead and saw about 4 moves ahead that the 3 and the 9 would work.

THANK YOU, i was just so hopping to see that! i could rest in peace now :) i thought i lost any traces of logic

Man, I am way behind on puzzles

i live day by day. what lost is lost ... :)

word up homies

If you join the club, you can do sudokus until they come out your ears.

thanks, i have a book for that. i love my book

Enjoy

line has to be drawn somewere :D

yup

You can always join later, if you change your mind

phew. that 3 / 9 thing took me forever. finally just took the plunge after not seeing anywhere else to go and got it right.

yes, i change my mind often. have a nice day everybody

I have a whole box of changed minds at home. :-)

Huh. It wasn't 3's and 9

for me, but 5's and 8'

s ... crap. Can't type today.

done

32 minutes...

...

arghh this is hard

done

done twice?

no... working on archives, now

...

ah... I see. So am I, actually

yeah... I had company from out of state for a few weeks and got behind

I just joined a couple weeks ago, so I'm doing all the ones I wasn't here to see

ah, so do I. good luck =)

thanks, you too

thank you

now, why, oh why was this one so easy for me, but I can get absolutely nowhere on the 8/2 & 8/6 ones?

hi all

hello

Hi

hello

that was too easy

that was way too easy for an expert!

go

DONE

hey, everyone

limer,hi, are you here again?

yup, here I am again, getting my fill

fill?

Missed 2 days of puzzles, catching up

trying to complete August 6th

i shell live you to it :)

Hey, I'm ok, chat away if you want

me, too. Limer. that and aug. 2.

Managed to complete Aug 2, missed the 6th and the 7th

7th was an easy, IIRC

thanks was investigating if there is such a thing as "water allergy". It all depends on the defenition of "allergy". In a pure sence there is a reaction but not an allergy. I am sure it is very interesting...:)

i better go and catch up with a bulk of films I have to watch. good luck with archives

thanks

hey everyone