Too good for Fiendish? Then try Killer Su Doku

The latest twist on Sudoku has come out Japan, called Killer Sudoku.

While it has the same rules (numbers 1 to 9 in each row, column and square), you don't get any numbers to start with. And this one requires math!

Instead, what you get are dotted lines with numbers in the top left hand corner - the idea is that all of the cells within the dotted line must add up to the number in the top left hand corner.



Hint: Try to identify the groups of cells where you need to either start from the lowest numbers or from the highest numbers to add up to the correct number.

For example, if two cells are joined with the number '3' in the corner, then they must consist of '1' and '2'. Or if three cells are joined with the number '6', then they must contain '1', '2' and '3'. Or at the 'high' end of the scale, if two cells are joined with the number '17', then they must contain '9' and '8', and so on.

Of course, exactly where the numbers go within the dotted lines is up to you to figure out!

The creator of Killer Sudoku (or Killer Su Doku) is Tetsuya Nishio, the undisputed grand "puzzle master" of Su Doku: a bespectacled fiend from the darkest suburbs of Tokyo who spends his every waking hour devising abominable new ways to torture our brain cells.

"Of course I have recently read in the Japanese press about the extraordinary Su Doku boom in the UK and I was very happy to see it happening," says the puzzle master, "but Britain has not had the puzzles for long enough to become fully used to their complexities. This new variation will be a dreadful challenge for you."

See how you go with the puzzles in the Times Online.

Then get your daily fix at DJApe.net.

Enjoy,
Tim