Absolutely Nasty Sudoku Level 1 Spiral-bound – March 1, 2007

My second book ... It's fantastic.

Are you tired of Sudoku puzzles advertised as hard that don't use a single advanced technique? If so, give this series a try. Even the Level 1 puzzles need the occasional Y-wing or chain, and it just gets better from there in the other books.

I'm one of those people who has to have a Soduko going every minute of everyday. I've been doing them for about six years. I was looking for a book that was challenging enough to take some effort, but not so that I would be completely stuck and couldn't move forward. This book is perfect, just what I was hoping for. The puzzles are a good fit for my ability right now, though I'm looking forward to the challenge of the rest of the series. Here's what else I like: size easy to hold, not huge as some books are; spiral bound - an absolute requirement for me, prefer to work on puzzles with the book folded back; quality paper, I can scribble and erase easily without tearing through the paper; good black/white contrast makes it easy on the eyes; two puzzles per page with plenty of room for pencil notes around the edges. And easy to read. In the past I have mostly ordered large print Sudoku books and wondered how I would do with this smaller print, but it's just fine, very easy to read. It is taking me about 30 minutes per puzzle. I'm having fun and happy with this Sudoku in every way. On to Book #2!

If you reach for the airline magazine the minute you board the aircraft, immediately flip to the sudoku, and finish the puzzles (along with the crosswords) well before takeoff -- this is just the thing for you. This book contains page after page of fairly challenging but not impossible puzzles. I'm no expert, but I can generally manage the daily puzzles in our local newspaper. I've been able to solve a few puzzles in this book without resorting to any of the techniques referenced in the introduction (like jellyfish, finned X-Wings, Gordonian polygons, and turbot fish, to name a few), but others have left me stumped . . . for now. (The Mensa Guide to Solving Sudoku, which I haven't read yet, promises to help.)This book is an ideal travel companion because of its size and format. It's fairly small -- about 6" x 9", 1/2 inch thick -- so it easily fits in my purse. It lies perfectly flat -- the spiral binding is is uniquely done so that the wire is exposed on the top & bottom of the book rather than the outside edge, and it works very well. The paper is thick, opaque, high-quality; the paper and the print on it can withstand anything your eraser can dish out (along with a coffee spill or two). The grids are large enough for scribbling numbers in the margins. The answers are in the back.Overall, at less than 3 cents per puzzle, you can't beat this for entertainment value! If I stick to "nasty" sudoku and stay out of the airport gift shops, who knows how much I can save!

This is an excellent book, with lots of difficult puzzles. Be warned that book 1 in this series does not (as the front matter says) require any very difficult techniques. This is not a negative, however: one really nice thing about this series as a whole is that it provides you a clear path of improvement. If you are using the  Mensa Guide to Solving Sudoku: Hundreds of Puzzles Plus Techniques to Help You Crack Them All  or Mastering Sudoku Week by Week: 52 Steps to Becoming a Sudoku Wizard , this is a great series to have alongside.One problem I have with most Sudoku reviews is that they are not specific about what techniques are and are not required, so I will attempt to list here all the ones I've found required in book 1:* Elementary techniques (cross-hatching, single cell, single candidate)* Locked candidate elimination* Naked pairs, triples, and quadsI will do reviews of the further books in the series as I get to them, including required techniques.The book is spiral bound, which is very nice, but I would have rather had the cover not continue over the binding. I suppose it's a trade-off, but it would be easier to have it lay flat without the cover there. Some might dislike the concept of paying for Sudoku books at all - countering that puzzles are available online for free - but I think there's great benefit in having a book you can take with you.Overall, a great series of books. Start by buying the one that applies to you and get going improving your Sudoku!

These are about as difficult as the hardest ones is a typical “challenging” book. I’ve never heard of any of the techniques the editor touts and have never sought tips on sudoku. My self-made techniques have worked through the first sixteen; certainly not an order of magnitude harder than others.

Difficult, challenging, hard to complete, a lot of fun for those looking for hard-to-work Sudoku puzzles this series is the ONLY book to hae truly hard puzzles. If you want hard puzzles that make you think and look everything over twice, the Absolutely Nasty Sudoku book series is for you. Each book is harder than the last, making the fourth book an ultimate test of your Sudoku abilities and your patience. This series is for those who know hard to work Sudoku puzzles and can finish a newspaper puzzle in under five minutes.I am now solving these puzzles for a third time and have yet to solve each puzzle. This is a series you can count on to make a prime solving event each time you open the book, and every time to try the book. If you an get every puzzle in one of these books then you are a true Sudoku master.

If you are finding most of the puzzles in the newspapers too easy and are looking for something more challenging then as far as I am concerned this series is the only choice. Admittedly this first book is quite easy and doesn't require techniques more difficult than naked trebles or x wings but as you go through the series it increases steadily in difficulty so your are able to judge your improvement. By the beginning of book 2 more advanced techniques are needed like xy and xyz wings and then book 3 introduces swordfish and forcing chains etc. Having solved all the puzzles in books 1 to 3 I am now on book 4 and so far haven't been able to solve any so it looks like it's back to the drawing board. If you need help rather than looking at the answer I would highly recommend "Pauls Pages" sudoku website which will give you clues and so help you to work out the answers for yourself.I should add that the quality of the paper is excellent so there is no problem using a rubber as there is with some books with flimsy paper. I also find having a spiral binder a great help as the page not being used can be folded back completely out of the way.

This is about the same level as, say, Times Fiendish (that is to say, I can finish the early ones in about fifteen minutes and none of them require anything but basic techniques.) The paper is great as it will take some rubbing out -- though, to be honest, I tend to transfer something I need to attempt a second time to a printed out grid. Lots of reasonably brain teasing puzzles.It gets harder later on.

Goodness, and there's me thinking I was good at Sudoku! I normally do Super Fiendish so thought this one would be a good next step up but it's defeated me! I'll keep bashing away at it though in the hope that I might crack it sooner or later

An excellent book. Definitely tougher than the 'difficult' levels in newspapers. These puzzles have forced me to develop new strategies and solving techniques and have greatly improved my Sudoku abilities ..... all this for a few quid! A great buy and must have for any serious Sudoku addict.

The puzzles are too simple to be called 'Absolutely Nasty'. For example, puzzles 43 & 44 were each solved in under 2 minutes. I suppose the synopsis of the book said basic and intermediate techniques but it also said that these were 'mind blowing puzzles' - disappointed. Will jump to level 3!