...A Pencil-and-Paper Algorithm for Solving Sudoku Puzzles J. F. Crook T he puzzle Sudoku has become the passion of many people the world over in the past few years. The interesting fact about Sudoku is that it is a trivial puzzle to solve. The reason it is trivial to solve is that an algorithm exists for Sudoku solutions. The algorithm is a tree-based search algorithm based on backtracking in a tree until a solution is found. If all a person needs to do is sit down at their personal computer, punch in the numbers given in the puzzle, and then watch a computer program compute the solution, we can reasonably ask why a person would bother to struggle to solve Sudoku puzzles. The reason is that people enjoy struggling with pencil and paper to work out Sudoku solutions. Herzberg and Murty (2007, p. 716) give two reasons for the enjoyment of this struggle: First, it is sufficiently difficult to pose a serious mental challenge for anyone attempting to do the puzzle. Secondly, simply by scanning rows and columns, it is easy to enter the “missing colors”, and this gives the solver some encouragement to persist. This paper develops an algorithm for solving any Sudoku puzzle by pencil and paper, especially the ones classified as diabolical. down into nine 3 × 3 subboards that do not overlap. We call these subboards boxes and number them from 1 to 9 in typewriter order beginning in the upper left-hand corner of the board, as displayed in Figure 1. The notation...
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...Introduction Have you ever heard of mind games before? We are not talking about brain teasers or the John Lennon song, we’re talking about psychological games that almost everyone plays among each other all the time. You may ask your self, why do we play games? We humans are curios about surrounding and environment, playing games that engage and challenge our curiosity makes us feel more aware brain power, and that in itself gives us a sensation unmatched and our activities. Games usually seek out stimuli just slightly more complex than their preferred level of stimulation and eventually games provide that sort of stimulation. They also help the mind develop by teaching cooperation and competition, exploration, and invention. Mind Games: Definition Mind games or brain games are activities that are fun but challenge your brain. Games that make you think, strategize, and remember information, are all games that will help train your mind. In fact, many of these basic characteristics are what you find in many of the games you already play. Moreover, mind games are psychologically manipulative and deceptive practice intended to deceive or confused somebody. The purpose of these games is to improve your memory, thinking, reaction time, and cognitive ability. These games are especially...
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...Factory Rebecca Peretz has a passion for riddles and puzzles. Her favorites are the Japanese logic puzzles that have become very popular in recent years. Rebecca and a few of her friends have begun work on a new Web site called The Japa- nese Puzzle Factory (JPF), where they plan to create and distribute Japanese-style puzzles. Eventually the JPF Web site will include interactive programs to enable users to solve the puzzles online, but for now Rebecca is interested only in the design and layout of the pages. You’ve been asked to help by creating a draft version of the Web page describing the Sudoku puzzle. Figure 5-76 shows a preview of the design and layout you’ll create for Rebecca. HTML and XHTML Tutorial 5 Working with Web Tables Rebecca has created some of the content and designs for this page. Your task is to complete the page by entering the code and styles for the Sudoku table as well as adding some background images to other sections of the page layout. Complete the following: 1. Use your text editor to open the jpftxt.css, stabletxt.css, and sudokutxt.htm from the tutorial.05\case1 folder included with your Data Files. Enter your name and the date in the comment section of each file. Save the files as jpf.css, stable.css, and sudoku.htm, respectively, in the same folder. 2. Return to the sudoku.htm file in your text editor. Add a link to the jpf.css and stable.css styl...
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...worried about your friend, Mike who is addicted (上瘾了的，入了迷的，沉迷… …的) to computer games. You want to persuade your friend to play Sudoku, a number game. Use the notes below to write a conversation between you and Mike. In the conversation: * Persuade Mike to switch to Sudoku * Explain the game to him * Recommend a book to him Suit Qi : Hi, Mike. Where are you hurrying to? Mike : Home, Jerry. I’ve got to catch some sleep. Suit Qi : Were you playing games last night? Seriously, Mike, I’m worried about you and your addiction to computer games. Mike : You must be joking. Suit Qi : Why don’t try Sudoku, a number game? Mike : I’ve seen it in the newspaper but it looks boring, through. Suit Qi : You might find it boring at first, but once you’ve got into it, you will be hooked. Mike : What is the game about? Suit Qi : Well the Internet says it is a number placement puzzle and the objective of the game is to fill a 9x9 grid so that each of the nine boxes contains the digits 1-9 only one time. Mike : What’s the origin of the game? Suit Qi : It originated in Japan and Sudoku means sole number in Japanese. I think you shouldn’t spend so much time in front of the computer starring at the screen. Try Sudoku for a change. It gives you Mental exercise. Mike : How do I get started? Suit Qi : Don’t worry. I can lead you a very useful book Sudoku for Beginners’ by Yukio Suzuki. Read it and see whether you like it. Mike : Thanks. When can I have the book? Suit Qi : Any...
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...Contents Executive Summary 3 Aim 3 Relevance in Today’s Environment 3 Survey Analysis 4 Assumptions 6 Hypothesis 6 Multitasking: 6 Methodology 6 Task 1 (Sudoku Puzzle): 6 Task 2 (Word Puzzle): 7 Experiment 1: 7 Experiment 2: 7 Experiment 3: 7 Results and Findings 8 Interpretation 9 Are women better at multitasking? 10 Conclusion 10 APPENDIX 12 References 16 Executive Summary The question that is under consideration is whether multitasking is good and how it affects performance. Initially a survey was floated for the students of Indian institute of Management Bangalore which was done to get a general perception about multitasking among the MBA graduates. We found that a majority think that multitasking improves productivity. To validate this we conducted experiments in which subjects were made to do two tasks under three different conditions. In the first experiment, subjects were made to perform the two tasks sequentially, in the second they were forced to switch between the tasks and in the third they were free to do in their own way. Results of the experiments show that the performance was better when the tasks were scheduled (Experiment -1) than during multitasking (Experiment- 2). However, the performance was no better when the subjects were free to do the tasks as per their will (Experiment-3). Also, women are perceived to be better multi-taskers than men but the results did not show any significant difference for the same. ...
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.../* New Perspectives on HTML and CSS Tutorial 5 Case Problem 1 Sudoku Puzzle Table Style Sheet Author: Rebecca Peretz Date: 3/1/2014 Filename: stable.css Supporting Files: green.jpg, gold.jpg */ /* Sudoku Puzzle Table */ table.spuzzle { border-collapse: collapse; } table.spuzzle td { border: 5px outset gray; } table.spuzzle th { font-size: 8px; color: gray; } table.spuzzle tbody th { height: 40px; } /* Subtables within Sudoku Puzzle */ table.subTable { border-collapse: collapse; } table.subTable td { border: 1px solid black; color: blue; font-size: 20px; height: 40px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 40px; } /* Subtables with gold background cells */ table.spuzzle td.goldBox td {background: url(gold.jpg) no-repeat 50% 50%; } /* Subtables with green background cells */ table.spuzzle td.greenBox td { background: url(green.jpg) no-repeat 50% 50%; } ----------------------- stable.css should be opened as text The table data cells within spuzzle table should have a 5-px outset gray border A style rule should collapse the borders of spuzzle/subTable tables For data cells nested within goldBox class, gold.jpg should display as background, centered within the cell, not tiled For data cells within the subTable table, styles should be added to a) Set font size to...
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...Factory Rebecca Peretz has a passion for riddles and puzzles. Her favorites are the Japanese logic puzzles that have become very popular in recent years. Rebecca and a few of her friends have begun work on a new Web site called The Japa- nese Puzzle Factory (JPF), where they plan to create and distribute Japanese-style puzzles. Eventually the JPF Web site will include interactive programs to enable users to solve the puzzles online, but for now Rebecca is interested only in the design and layout of the pages. You’ve been asked to help by creating a draft version of the Web page describing the Sudoku puzzle. Figure 5-76 shows a preview of the design and layout you’ll create for Rebecca. HTML and XHTML Tutorial 5 Working with Web Tables Rebecca has created some of the content and designs for this page. Your task is to complete the page by entering the code and styles for the Sudoku table as well as adding some background images to other sections of the page layout. Complete the following: 1. Use your text editor to open the jpftxt.css, stabletxt.css, and sudokutxt.htm from the tutorial.05\case1 folder included with your Data Files. Enter your name and the date in the comment section of each file. Save the files as jpf.css, stable.css, and sudoku.htm, respectively, in the same folder. 2. Return to the sudoku.htm file in your text editor. Add a link to the jpf.css and stable.css styl...
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...japan in April 1984 as “Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru” which is as "the numbers must be single" and it was named by the head of Nikoli Co., Ltd., Mr. Kaji Maki. After a period of time the name was changed to Sudoku at which is defined as su = number, doku = single. Puzzle is popular for two reasons introduced by Nikoli is the number of givens...
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...Sections 3.3 and 3.4 Follow the instructions in Sections 3.3 and 3.4, complete the following components: The opening screen: Continue, New Game, About, and Exit Landscape-specific layout Create the Sudoku project by yourself and follow the instructions (before section 3.5), so that your program doesn’t have About box, Settings menu, etc. Submitting example code downloaded from publisher site won’t earn credits. PART II: CodeScanner Application Similar to the Sudoku user interface, create an interface for a new application called CodeScanner. The interface will look like the following figure: 1 Submit Submit a zip file including the following contents: A zip file on your working folder for Sudoku project. On my computer, it is “C:\Users\rbai\workspace\Sudoku”. To create the zip file, you can browse to the folder, right click, and select “Send to” -> “Compressed (Zipped) folder”. A zip file on your working folder for CodeScanner project. Screen copies of Sudoku and CodeScanner running in your emulator with your customized desktop background. Screen copies should be saved as separate image files, instead of contained in a word document. Submit the overall zip file to D2L. Double check your file on D2L to make sure everything is correct. Grading Sudoku project after sections 3.3 and 3.4 (50 points) CodeScanner Interface (50 points) 2...
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...Lester Marcaida * National Anthem Remo De3lovino and Jeffrey Lonceras * Exercise (Bear Dance) SAST,YES-O, and Math Club * Yell Campers * Opening Remarks Mr. Casipit and Mrs. Rossel Garcia. Flag, Poster and Slogan Making:………………………………………………….. 8:00-9:00 * 1 participant/group Ice Breaker:………………………………………………………………………………… 9:00-9:30 * Rubber Band/Head Count Scrapped Art and Logo Making:…………………………………………………. 9:30-10:30 * 1 participant/group Word Puzzle, Rubik’s Cube, Sudoku:……………………………………….. 10:30-12:00 * 1 participant/group Tagis Talino:…………………………………………………………………………… 10:30-12:00 * 4 participant/group Lunch (Command Bracelet and Trivia):……………………………………….12:00-1:00 Ice Breaker:………………………………………………………………………………….1:00-1;30 * Ingatan si Mother Egg/Head Count Obstacle Race:………………………………………………………………………………1:30-2:30 Energizer:…………………………………………………………………………………….2:30-2:40 * Bear Dance Trail Blaze:…………………………………………………………………………………..2:40-4:40 * 20 stations Show and Tell/Trivia:…………………………………………………………………..4:40-5:10 * 1 participant/group Awarding:……………………………………………………………………………………5:10-5:30 * Certificates and Medals Closing Remarks:………………………………………………………………………….5:30-6:00...
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...been playing video games I have been able to get to know people from around the world the share the same interest in game as I do. A game type that has let me get to know these people is the MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game). A couple games that are this type are World of Warcraft and Rift. A friend that I have met through playing video games is Edwin. I met him when I was playing the game called Rift. We are able to go months without talking to each other and when we get bake together online we talk as if we had never stop talking. Friends like these can become life-long friends. Another advantage to playing video games is that it can help with memory. Games that I have played are Brain Age, a quizzing game, and Sudoku Samurai a more advanced...
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...<Button android:id="@+id/new_button" android:text="@string/new_game_label" /> </TableRow> <TableRow > <Button android:id="@+id/about_button" android:text="@string/about_label" /> <Button android:id="@+id/exit_button" android:text="@string/exit_label" /> </TableRow> </TableLayout> </LinearLayout> String.xml code <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <resources> <string name="app_name">Sudoku</string> <string name="action_settings">Settings</string> <string name="main_title">Android sudoku</string> <string name="continue_label">Continue</string> <string...
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...text for explanations of these dimensions. Physical health: Physical health in my life is being able to make it to the gym at least three days out of the week, or even taking walks to make sure that I do not become over weight. Social health: Everyone needs someone. I like being able to talk to people. I have my boyfriend whom I live with, and my family. I also talk to people all day at work, it really makes me feel like I am needed and loved. I don’t feel alone. Intellectual health: I like to play Brain Age because it helps me exercise my brain. I read once in a health magazine, that keeping your IQ up and solving problems even if they are basic helps contribute to your intellectual health. A lot of people do word search and Sudoku. Environmental health: Environmental factors around you. I live in the city, so there is a lot of smog and pollutants from cars and people leaving their trash everywhere. Making sure that your house is clean, which I am OCD about, contributes to our environmental health as well. Emotional health: I tend to stress. I like to find ways to manage that like reading a book, or even writing. Lately I have picked up painting. My job can be pretty stressful, and so can my father. Since we are not close I always seem to find my mind wandering what I did wrong to deserve not being loved. So I try to occupy my mind with other things so there is no stress. Spiritual health: I find this one to be your soul. Making sure that my spirits...
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...1. Read More ‰- Intelligence begins with reading. The more you will read, the more you will absorb and therefore the more intelligent you will get. 2. Set Goals ‰- Goals create structure in life and only through proper structure can you increase intelligence. 3. Meditate ‰- When you meditate you calm your brain. This peace and tranquility is crucial in building intellect. 4. Make Notes ‰- The body remembers by doing. So by making notes on everything you do, you will increase memory and intellect. 5. Play Sudoku ‰- Playing Sudoku challenges your brain and helps you think logically. It is a brain game and according to the American Alzheimer‰’s Association and it might helpreduce the risk of Alzheimer‰’sdisease. 6. Stay Hydrated ‰- Our brains depend on proper hydration to function properly. Brain cells require a delicate balance between water and other elements to operate at max efficiency.So try to keep you brain replenished and drink the medically recommended amount of water every day. 7. Minimize “Bad” Television ‰- Watching TV nowadays with all of its reality shows or just simply watching re-runs is one of the worst things you can do for your intelligence. While it can be relaxing you don`t stimulate your thinking. Try tuning into a documentary or the news every now and then. 8. Exercise ‰- Exercise keeps your body fine-tuned and energetic; it is a great way to increase your productivity and intelligence. 9. Mentally Simplify –...
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...important to teach dancers new movements when they are redoing and trying to remember the old ones. Remembering dances are found with practicing constantly and repeatedly and also remembering. The participants consisted of eighty-four undergraduate students, twenty of which were men, from the University of Trier. They were given course credit for their participation. Four participants were missing from the results due to video recording errors. The experiment took place at the University of Trier; three different laboratory rooms on campus were used. Each participant had a personal computer; this included speakers and a camcorder for recording, which was targeted at the feet for recording purposes. In the room, there was also an average Sudoku puzzle, written instructions and a consent form, pen, and a tape marking where to stand on the floor. A video included a professional dancer who explained to the participants all of the dances, which included four dance figures for the participants to memorize the dances to each of the names. The names were Tamambo, Pachanga, Alacran, and Elegua. These dances were basic and easy to follow with the video acting as a mirror to the participant with dance moves like left, right, back, and forward. Each of the dances began with the left foot and followed a simple beat. Experiment one consisted of two different groups of participants, such as the retrieval-practice group and the control group, who are supposed to learn four named dancer...
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