Sudoku 1.5 (formerly known as 2.0 beta) has been released. Here’s the changes.
- high scores
- auto-pencil marks are editable and strikeable
- pencil mark only mode for faster entry
- ability to delete all pencil marks and/or reset puzzle
- easy level is a little easier per request
- universal binary
- puzzle doesn’t disappear anymore upon completion
- other minor bug fixes
Download it here.
The response timing of key hits seems off. Before I could hold in the shift key and alternate arrow, space, arrow space, etc. to quickly pencil in squares. Now there’s a delay after the pencil so that the arrow key hit doesn’t register right away. This means I can’t move faster than the system and let it catch up with me.
I see you got the interface change for Pencil mark. I like the Blue vs. Red. Though subtle it works.
I like version 1.5, especially the addition of the scoring and the fact that the grid doesn’t disappear when I am done.
How are the scores calculated?
How can I toggle “all pencil mark” on/off, which I could do by pressing A in older version?
The always auto-pencil mark option is set by hitting option-a I think. Can’t remember off hand and I don’t have a mac at work
. If it’s not option-a it’s ctrl-a.
It sure would be nice if you could make one small change. I would like to see the number in the number bar change to a different color when all 9 of the numbers are on the board. For example, have the number turn blue when all 9 of the 3’s have been placed on the board in the correct places.
It sure would be nice if you could make one small change. I would like to see the number in the number bar change to a different color when all 9 of the numbers are on the board. For example, have the number 3 turn blue when all 9 of the 3’s have been placed on the board in the correct places.
Hi there, I have to agree with sheemer in that I miss being able to use Shift A to toggle back and forth between seeing all of the auto pencil marks and then just mine.
I can’t seem to get the Option A or Control A suggestions to work.
feature request, it would be very helpful in solving hard problem if there is option to change to different color of the pencil mark.. so that i can do colouring technique.
Thanks..
love the widget btw.
I have a problem w/ 1.5 widget… it allows duplicate numbers within a block or string???
I installed the new version, but all my high scores went away??? D**n, I had 7000 points in 10:45 with Diablo!
I just got your widget and my productivity has dropped dramatically. Thanks for the new addiction.
Question: How do you calculate the scores?
Hey - I just tried this widget - I like doing them on paper mostly, and I have a monitor with a small dot pitch and I’m over 40… is there a way (or can it be included!) to ENLARGE the thing? The pencil marks get rather small…
I know I’m probably missing the point of auto pencil marks (or just being dense) but is it possible to use auto pencil marks to start, but then when I know a number can’t go in a cell, remove that one pencil mark from the cell?
First time sudoku widget user having a problem. A box with a question mark keeps coming up when I try to insert a number into a box, even when I’m sure I’m right. How do you get rid of the question mark and get back to number selection???
I absolutely love your Sudoku widget. And I too, like everyone else, have a recommendation for future editions.
I accidentally shut my Sudoku down on my dashboard, and it wiped out my entire high score list. If there was a way to hang on to those lists, I’d be happier than a clam.
But I absolutely love your widget. I tried the other one and it was no good. Also, the easier “Easy” level is much appreciated. I like the harder levels, but they take me some time so I appreciate being able to play a quicker game when I’m supposed to be doing work.
This is my favorite widget, no question. You have done an excellent job, and I thank you for it.
A few small points:
1. response time seems to have decreased in this version (1.5). i.e., it is slower. I used to be able to insert pencil marks in rapid-fire fashion, e.g., 6-shift-space, 2-shift-space, etc. Now there is a lag time, and the numbers refuse to switch quickly. I have to wait for the system to catch up. It is a frustration, albeit mild. (The lag occurs when switching from one number to another.)
2. my mind wanders the entire board constantly, and I often lose track of the selected square. The red outline is sometimes too subtle. I certainly don’t want you to make it garish, but I would appreciate added contrast on the selected square. Say, give it a light gray background, instead of the standard white. Nothing that interferes with readability, just something to make it stand out a bit more to peripheral vision’s contrast sensitivity. (You could even make it a user-selectable option for those who don’t want it.) The red outline could remain as-is.
3. there is no such thing as “too easy.”
It’s not a question of not being able to solve the puzzle. Rather, it’s the desire to solve one exceedingly quickly while doing other things. The current Easy level is good, but feel free to dumb-it-down a shade.
As I said, this is my favorite widget, and it will continue to be, even if you don’t change a thing. Well done.
I like the improvements in this version, but I get the same responsiveness problems as reported before. I use the arrow cursor to navigate: unlike Timo, I don’t use the selected cell, my sequences are 6-Shift-click (to enter a pencil mark) or 2-click (to enter a number). In the new version, the arrow vanishes temporarily when I change numbers. Even with an invisible arrow, I can still click the cell that the arrow was hovering over when I hit the number key, and the number appears correctly. But it is an irritating distraction.
Howdy
I love your sudoku widget, thanks so much for making it 
I love all the levels too - sometimes I feel like a challenge, and sometimes I like a quicker game (although I am pretty new to sudoku, so they are all a challenge sometimes he he he). Just one thing I noticed… I was playing with the settings and I put the options ON for auto pencil marks and the thing that tells me if I get it right or wrong (I was on the phone). I completed the hard stage in 4.23 mins and got a score of 17677. I nearly fell off my chair. I can send you a screen shot if you like? Anyway, I don’t have any suggestions for changes, I love it as it is and thanks again 
Hi again, the lag mentioned above is the same thing I was talking about in my first post. I have a second suggestion, I like the “P” key toggle between penciling and regular numbers but “P” is in an awkward place on the keyboard when you are navigating with the arrow keys with your right hand. Can you make a second key do the same thing that is convenient for your left hand? Can you also make it so that what ever it’s set at, holding in the shift key when hitting space does the opposite? I find that initially I like to have it on for pencil marks and occasionally turn it off if I find one I know is right, but then switch to the “shift + space” combo for the rest of the game. Thanks and great job.
I downloaded this widget and moved the widget from home to admin library, but admin is still the only user to launch the widget. The widget is visible in the other users library, but will not launch. Any suggestions? I’m using Tiger.
- Jeff
have anoher proposal.. I want to know how many times I solved and how many times abandoned solving.
As I have some friends who are into Sudoku but not Mac users, is there an easy way to print the puzzle from the dashboard? I’d like to be able to convert them to your widget and would find a printout pretty useful. Is there a way to print just your Sudoku puzzle?
What I would like should not involve much extra programming since it mostly would involve reusing existing loops.
I want to be able to place pencil marks in at least two different positions in a square; presently they all go in the upper left hand corner. With my solution methods, the POSITION of a pencil mark in a square (upper left corner or lower right corner, for example) carries extra information.
This would require another letter in addition to p/P to determine the position of the mark that one will be placing — other than that, you already have the programming required to place and edit pencil marks.
I found a minor bug with the clock. At the end of the game, the time was 17:00 in text but the clock displayed the number 16 and the second hand was pointing to 3 or so. I have a screen shot if that would help.
I agree with some of the other comments about it being slightly slower in responding to key events. And it would be nice if you could copy/paste puzzles in text form to send as emails. Also copy puzzles in the high score list. I also agree that it would be nice if the numbers changed color when 9 of them are set on the board.
x8x The number at A is apparently 3, while the
27x Aoto-pencil says it s ‘356′. why?
1Ax
x4x
xxx
xx3
319
xxx
xxx
two suggestions :
Do you expect to allow starting for full-blank puzzle and then allow to enter some “given” numbers (taken from a journal say) and then continue to search for the solution ?
It would be usefull to be able save and load a grid with the current state.
If the saved file is plain ascii, then both suggestions would be fulfilled at once !!
i tried to use sodoku on my new intel duo core mac. it does not load up on my dashboard. is this a universal application or does it not work on the intel mac . thank you
Congratulations. I had thought of it, you made it.
I suggest one improvement for better readability: istead of leaving the possible numbers in a row, make a grid with nine squares for numbers 1 to 9 in each square, and leave each remaining number in its square . So, for instance, All the remaining 1 will appear in the upper left suare, all 2 in upper center square etc… It makes it much easier to visualize the remaining possibilities.
This was my contribution for your splendid widget.
Christian Ferrer
Hi there…
I have to say, i never once played suduku before i saw your widget, i am now addicted…
I do have to agree with other posters, how is the score calculated?
Many thanks, keep up the fantastic work!
Mike
A wonderful widget! My favorite way to do Sudoku (no eraser crumbs in bed).
Two suggestions and a comment:
1. Increase size of puzzle by 25%
2. Array pencil marks in a 3×3 grid within the square instead of a list. Easier to spot combinations that way.
3. A comment: I’m torn about the scoring system. For me, Sudoku is more than simply speed; it’s also logical style and absence of “erasures.” However, false entries are terribly easy on the keyboard, especially if you forget to toggle off the pencil mark feature.
Great work. Thanks for a super widget.
I love the widget, but mine keeps crashing. In the midst of a game, the whole widget just disappears entirely. I have to go to my selection of widgets and rechoose it. And of course, the game I was playing has disappeared, as well as my high scores. It generally happens when I’m inserting a pencil mark.
Great widget, thanks! Good that you fixed the keyboard beep. But, lamentably, as others have pointed out, the delay (or clearing of the keyboard buffer) makes it way to slow on my old 800 MHz G4. Can’t play anymore, really
So, I am reverting to 1.21 and the annoying beep, for the time being…
I had your old version and really enjoyed it. Then I downloaded 1.5 and found that almost all the puzzles have basic errors in them in that it allows duplicate numbers in the same row. One of the numbers is the original numbers that come up with the puzzle. After that sort of error appears, it seems pointless to continue the puzzle..
Is there a way to get the original Suduko back? I never found errors in it after lots and lots of games and I found them delightful to work on.
Hey! First thanx for this great widget! I love it!
Maybe one idea for future versions:
As soon as a number is correct placed in all 9 squares, fade this number from the number chooser on the bottom. I think this makes it easier to spot on which number I still have to ‘work on’.
Cheers Tobi
I like this widget a lot.
Several people wondered how the score is calculated. It seems to be roughly X divided by the number of seconds you played, where X is something like 99,500 for a Diablo puzzle, 93,500 for Hard, 89,500 for Medium, and 76,500 for Easy. However, there is a bug that sometimes causes the wrong score to be displayed, e.g., 17677 for a Hard puzzle solved in 4:23 (mada’s post), 18028 for a Diablo puzzle solved in 4:37 (one I did).
Like other reviewers, I have found that option-a and ctrl-a sometimes work and sometimes don’t.
I agree that a preference for a larger board size would be useful.
I’d appreciate an Undo command, at least to go back one step back, preferably any number of steps. The main reason is that it’s easy to mistakenly solve a cell when you meant to change a pencil mark. But there are other cases where it’s easy to make an unintended change, cases where you’ve misread a 6 as an 8, etc., and, of course, there are times you’ve made a logical mistake.
I find crossed-out 4’s hard to read.
I wish diablo puzzles were more difficult.
Other than that, I find this widget wondrous. Great job!
One clarification: The larger board size option would come with a larger font for pencil marks. It’s the small font that some if us have trouble reading.
I love this widget having already become addicted to the game in my local paper. I am intrigud by the scoring though - it isn’t obvious to me how a score is totalled. Whatgets points and what doesn’t?
Christine,
The scoring is going to change in version 2.0 because it doesn’t seem to consistently work for everyone. But, if you look at the FAQ’s there’s some info about how the scoring currently works. Thanks,
Brian
I have an extension for those how are guessing, as I have to guess sometimes too. Unfortunately I don’t see any other way to contact Brian than through the FAQ, so here’s my code:
(global variables):
var arrayFrozenFields = new Array();
var frozen = false;
(goes in the handlekey methode):
} else if (charCode == 70 || charCode == 102) {
// letter f/F to freeze the game for testing
frozen = !frozen;
if (frozen){
for (i=0; i
…which is as I think an improvement, because if your are stock and think the only possibility to finish the sudoku is guessing, you can push f or F to freeze the sudoku and give it a try. And if it was the wrong try, you simply push f again and try it the other way ’round.
I am not familiar with saving variables, respectively I don’t know if there is a need to save the arrayFrozenFields with the widget.setPreferenceForKey() method.
Best regards so far,
Lukas
PS: bdeboer@bdeboer.com does not work…
Since I upgraded to Leopard, the arrow keys misbehave in Sudoku Widget 1.5. Every other push of an arrow key has no effect—I have to push an arrow key twice to move one cell. Is this problem peculiar to my system, or are others having the same problem?
Thanks.
—Tim
I have to press the arrow keys twice to move one space (frustrating).
Holding the arrow keys down results in a slight delay followed by a slightly slower than expected number of moves across the board per unit time (not an issue really, but probably related to the first).
Also, is it necessary to be able to select spaces that already have numbers in them?
I don’t get the scoring!