left Xtraordinary Living At Its Best: Sudoku

Saturday, March 18, 2006

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Sudoku

I was recently introduced to Sudoku. Sudoku is, like a crossword puzzle that uses numbers instead of words. What's great about this activity is that provides me with 3 things that I value highly: 1) Recreation. 2) Exercise for my mind. 3) A new tool I can incorporate into my job as a facilitator.

If you have been following this blog, you know that combining learning and recreation is something I'm passionate about. It is what one of my favorite people refers to as a "twofer" ("killing two birds with one stone.") So while many people enjoy Sudoku as a stand alone recreational activity, I like to add the learning component to it.

From a learning perspective, Sudoku can help you add the following to your life: awareness, flexibility, seeing how everything is connected, patience and more. Also when used in a group setting, it also helps promote collaboration.

Another major (and highly unexpected) benefit for me since I started doing this activity, is that I found out my 12-year old daughter Veronica also likes doing these puzzles. We have started doing these together on a regular basis and it has provided us with another activity to share and bond.

If you haven't yet tried it, I invite you to do so. There are many books and Internet sites where you can find Sudoku. I'll direct you to one that I have used so you can give it a try WebSudoku.com.

If you're a Sudoku enthusiast, let me know. I would love to learn more about ways I can improve.

3 comments:

kernblog said...

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Bob

Anonymous said...

These are great puzzles. Jack turned me on to them. The Orange County Register and LA Times have Sudoku puzzles each day also.

Anonymous said...

Because keeping track of real numbers in the same fill in space gets messy...To keep track of un-used numbers, I use a different visual cue.
If you are doing the basic 9X number Sudoku (instead of alpha-numeric Sudoku)- in the empty square, I divide the box into 9 areas(like Tic-tac-Toe). Associate a number to a space. Then as I work the puzzle, I put a dot in the appropriate spot representing the "missing number". As I use the number associated with the dot within the box or line, it becomes a slash.
I tend to do crosswords and Sudoku with pen because I can't see pencil... so I had to figure a "clean" way to track numbers.