I’ve added a small page of FAQ’s because many of the questions that are asked were covered in some of the comments buried away. Please check out the FAQs if you have any questions. If your specific question isn’t answered let me know and someone will try to answer it asap. To get to the FAQ page click here or click the link at the very top of the page.
I love your widget but for some reason it causes major problems with my computer. It constantly freezes up my computer. Has anyone else had this problem?
Tracy
I think this sudoku widget is awesome, but I don’t like the scoring system, I think points should be deducted for time only, I mean what happens if you press the wrong button and you enter the wrong number?
for some reason my high scores are never recorded. I play on medium, if that makes a difference.
PS this is an awesome widget
I, too, am having problems with high scores in “medium.” “Easy” works fine for me. Sudoku expects correct number entries so I don’t mind the point penalties. It does reducing guessing. I really enjoy this widget. Great Work!
How can I make the puzzle larger?
The small numbers are hard to see.
What sort of average/high scores are people getting? My high for “Easy” is high 5000’s, maybe I’m taking too much time. I love this widget ! !
Hi Brian
Fabulous widget! Have you noticed though that the latest update to OS X (10.4.6) appears to have affected the rendering of the text on the back of the widget (the text has changed to outlines rather than solid text). A couple of other widgets are also doing this, so it is probably something that Apple changed in their latest update. I don’t think anything else has changed (the front looks OK), so it is mainly a cosmetic thing (although it is a little harder to read the words now).
Thanks again for a great widget!
I think there should be a way to pause your game. I’ve had to stop playing (to get back to some work) and end up with solution times of 70 to 150 minutes…which of course effects the score.
Hi Brian,
Fantastic widget! Ever thought of adding a “clear all pencil mark” feature?
Is it possible to clear the grid completely and then add static numbers from a printed puzzle? Then reume as normal to solve the puzzle.
Abigail says
“I think this sudoku widget is awesome, but I don’t like the scoring system, I think points should be deducted for time only…”
It appears to me that time is the only factor. I just played a game where whenever I could see that there were two boxes where a given number could go, I just guessed. If I got it wrong, I knew it was the other box.
So I completed it in record time, and got my highest score ever!
Unlike Abigail, I think you need to deduct for incorrect guesses and subtract them from the length of time it takes to complete the game. Otherwise, you are encouraging wild guesses rather than logic.
I find the method of entering numbers awkward - having to select the number first, then the cell. I think it is more intuitive to select the cell first, then the number, like one does with a spreadsheet or database program. I am often putting the wrong number in a cell because I have the wrong number “selected” for the cell I’m working on.
Is there a page somewhere that details the scoring? I don’t guess on this game, I do use pencil marks (my own though) and I take my time to do the game. But, on a medium puzzle (I’m still new), it took me 51 min’s and I got a score of 751. Later the same day, I did a puzzle which took me only 35 minutes and I got a score of 41. ???? What gives with that? I don’t understand the scoring.
Hi, I have downloaded the zip file, but when I unzip it, I see no exe file to run the game. How can I instal it or start it? Thanks for your help.
LMRufino@gmail.com
Hi, I have downloaded the zip file, but when I unzip it, I see no exe file to run the game. How can I instal it or start it? Thanks for your help.
LMRufino@gmail.com
Love the widget. I think I might have found an undocumented feature. If you start a puzzle, then unwidget and shut down, and come back to it at some other time, it somehow BOOSTS the score…. by a near factor of 2x. I wonder if it resets the score clock, and the time finished is based on that? The clock at the bottom is still the same time as I left it.
Aside from that, LOVE IT! Thanks.
This game is great the way it is! Scoring is good, format is good, size is good, accessibility is good, the Web site is helpful and good. I agree with Brian that more may not be better.
And for those relying upon guessing, this was a new concept to me! I haven’t run across a puzzle I have had to guess on. Perhaps it’s a simple matter of personal philosophy, but if it’s a logic game, then guessing fits…?
Great widget! Regarding the calculation of scores, the answers to frequently asked questions say that the scores for EASY begin at 15420. Yet when I manage to do an EASY in around 3 minutes, the actual score can exceed 20000 which is the starting point for DIABLO. Although not a slam dunk, it fairly “easy” to complete an EASY in around 3 minutes. The main limitation is the time it takes to move the mouse. Perhaps the starting score for EASY should be lowered by several thousand.
I am unable to use the BLANK feature. If I set up a BLANK and hit the “L” for lock, that’s ok but, when I ask it to “show wrong answers”, every answer is wrong? i.e. that is, shown in red? Please advise what I am doing wrong?
It would be nice if you could see when pencil mode was off or on.
Scoring is a big puzzle, the better I think I am doing the worst score I get, could somebody explain the logic???
Great widget! But it would be better if instead of an arrow you actually had the selected number as the pointer.
To make it even better you could make this number change from red to blue when it is being used as a pencil mark.
Could someone please explain the scoring process?
i solve the diablo puzzles in about thirty minutes by taking them as far as i can without guessing and then try to find a fifty fifty line or box that leads to a problem or a solved puzzle. these latter numbers i enter in pencil (one per box) so i can go back to the 50/50 to correct it . is there a short cut to change all the pencil marks of a solved puzzle into actual answers so i don’t have to go back one at a time? am i losing points for using pencil marks this way?
SO, OK, I AM A “NEWBIE”.
THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD QUESTION, HERE.
SO, LIKE WHERE ARE THE ANSWERS, eh?
I really enjoy the widget. Is there a way to clear the high scores?
Somewhere you requested feedback on scoring. I find my scores are much higher if I do some basic narrowing down, then just do some guessing. If I only enter numbers that I have found by deduction, then not only is my time about 3x as much, but my scores are about 15% (85% lower) as much. I don’t pay a lot of attention to the scores, but it seems like it could be adjusted to be skewed more toward favoring length of play than errors, i.e., scores should be about equal either way it’s played.
Somewhere you requested feedback on scoring. I find my scores are much higher if I do some basic narrowing down, then just do some guessing. If I only enter numbers that I have found by deduction, then not only is my time about 3x as much, but my scores are about 15% as much(85% lower) . It seems like it could be adjusted to be skewed more toward favoring length of play than errors, i.e., scores should be about equal either way it’s played (guessing or deduction).
Somewhere you requested feedback on scoring. I find my scores are much higher if I do some basic narrowing down, then just do some guessing. If I only enter numbers that I have found by deduction, then not only is my time about 3x as much, but my scores are about 15% as much(85% lower) . It seems like it could be adjusted to be skewed more toward favoring length of play than errors, i.e., scores should be about equal either way it’s played (guessing or deduction).
Good game, btw.
oops, tried to cancel 1st 2 comments
Recently, I upgraded my iBook G4 OS from Tiger to Leopard. Ever since then, the widget doesn´t respond with the first tap of the keys and in general is very slow. Any ideas? Thanks for your time, awesome widget.
I use this widget too much; It’s helped me learn how to work the puzzles very quickly and figure out some advanced elimination techniques . I’m getting the diablo puzzles done under 7:30 now, still room for improvement : )
Great graphics, but for the next version please change the pencil marks feature so that when eliminating pencil marks they are erased altogether, instead of striking them out. It’s extremely confusing and the crossed out pencil marks are hard to distinguish from the not crossed out ones. It would make more sense to have the pencil marks disappear the same way as when a number is entered. I’d appreciate it if that was taken into consideration.
I dont know what went wrong but the game is only making pencil marks. I play this game often but all of a sudden it got stuck in pencil mode. Any suggestions?