Myth: Sudoku requires guessing
If you don’t know what which number you have to place on the correct place, it’s better NOT to guess. If you are guessing while playing Sudoku can lead to following the wrong path – you start making mistakes and placing numbers at the wrong places, which will lead to wrong information for your next turns and as a result you’ll have even more mistakes.
Sudoku is a momentum game- if you make the right decision sooner; you are more likely to make right moves later in the game. Unlike guessing, that takes more time for tracing the whole grid. Keep on looking for spaces to place numbers and you’ll succeed. Don’t forget that real numbers are those that are placed in the right places for them.
Myth: You should be good with math to play Sudoku
Many people think that because Sudoku is a “game with numbers” it means that players need to be good in math, but that’s not the case. Sudoku it not related to collecting numbers, subtraction or arithmetic – it is focused on placing the numbers from 1 to 9 in a grid, without repeating numbers in a row, column or square. Sudoku is not a math game, but it’s a logical game.
Many people that are good in math usually find that they are good in Sudoku games as well, but this doesn’t necessary mean that only people good in math will be good Sudoku players. Some of the characteristics and interests that make people good in math- logical thinking, finding patterns and the ability to concentrate – those are the things that make the people good at Sudoku. But that doesn’t mean that if you hate math, you’ll hate playing Sudoku.
People can play Sudoku no matter in what way their brain works. Even though you don’t like math, you can find that your mind offers unique and new perspectives of the Sudoku grid, seeing the possibilities while placing the numbers quickly.
Myth: Sudoku is a game of luck
Sudoku is not a game of luck; it’s a logical game, grounded while focusing on deductive skills. People learn how to solve Sudoku puzzles not because they are lucky, but because they develop and organize a process of grid review, recognizing models and finding opportunities based on their logical thinking.
Myth: Most Sudoku puzzles are impossible to solve
All valid Sudoku puzzles are solvable, as for the most difficult ones are required analog algorithms to be resolved efficiently. To make Sudoku puzzles solvable there is a minimum amount of numbers that should be given in the Sudoku grid. In recent studies, the minimum is 17 numbers, if we want to have a valid Sudoku puzzle.
Don’t let those myths and misunderstandings prevent you from playing Sudoku. Sudoku is for everyone. It’s not only for those good at math, or those who know how to find complicated algorithms for solving the problem. Put those myths behind and start solving Sudoku today!