What do you think?
Rate this book
Taking Sudoku Seriously: The Math Behind the World's Most Popular Pencil Puzzle
Packed with more than a hundred color illustrations and a wide variety of puzzles and brainteasers, Taking Sudoku Seriously uses this popular craze as the starting point for a fun-filled introduction to higher mathematics. How many Sudoku solution squares are there? What shapes other than three-by-three blocks can serve as acceptable Sudoku regions? What is the fewest number of starting clues a sound Sudoku puzzle can have? Does solving Sudoku require mathematics? Jason Rosenhouse and Laura Taalman show that answering these questions opens the door to a wealth of interesting mathematics. Indeed, they show that Sudoku puzzles and their variants are a gateway into mathematical thinking generally. Among many topics, the authors look at the notion of a Latin square--an object of long-standing interest to mathematicians--of which Sudoku squares are a special case; discuss how one finds interesting Sudoku puzzles; explore the connections between Sudoku, graph theory, and polynomials; and consider Sudoku extremes, including puzzles with the maximal number of vacant regions, with the minimal number of starting clues, and numerous others. The book concludes with a gallery of novel Sudoku variations--just pure solving fun! Most of the puzzles are original to this volume, and all solutions to the puzzles appear in the back of the book or in the text itself. A math book and a puzzle book, Taking Sudoku Seriously will change the way readers look at Sudoku and mathematics, serving both as an introduction to mathematics for puzzle fans and as an exploration of the intricacies of Sudoku for mathematics buffs.
226 pages
First published December 22, 2011
40 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 16, 2022
I like doing a daily Sudoku and find that I can solve them all 100% of the time. But I wanted clues on how to do the ones that take me the longest - where I have to start making 'educated guesses'. Well, that is called "Ariadne's Thread" found on page 15. The remaining 185 pages discusses more exotic forms of this game as well as the the math behind all 'latin square' games.
So you need (mathematically) about 18 cells filled in to start a Sudoku puzzle. More that 18 can become easier, but not necessarily. If there is only 18, then these 18 must be chosen VERY wisely to yield unique answers. I have done puzzles in books/newspapers where multiple answers exist (was that by accident?)
I wanted more focus on the traditional Sudoku puzzle that you commonly see on daily puzzle-pages. This was a very small percentage of this book. I would like to have seen more focus here. But putting "Latin Squares" in the book title would have destroyed book-sales, I'm sure.
The book is mathematically very strong, so you had better like reading Mathematics. The text was very concise. I liked the color-coding that was used to help teach points throughout this book.
I don't really recommend this for people that simply want to get better at their daily Sudoku puzzles. This is for serious gaming puzzle-people. But the book must be "OK", since it hooked me into reading this entire book in just two sittings (however, I am one of those nerdy engineering type people).
So you need (mathematically) about 18 cells filled in to start a Sudoku puzzle. More that 18 can become easier, but not necessarily. If there is only 18, then these 18 must be chosen VERY wisely to yield unique answers. I have done puzzles in books/newspapers where multiple answers exist (was that by accident?)
I wanted more focus on the traditional Sudoku puzzle that you commonly see on daily puzzle-pages. This was a very small percentage of this book. I would like to have seen more focus here. But putting "Latin Squares" in the book title would have destroyed book-sales, I'm sure.
The book is mathematically very strong, so you had better like reading Mathematics. The text was very concise. I liked the color-coding that was used to help teach points throughout this book.
I don't really recommend this for people that simply want to get better at their daily Sudoku puzzles. This is for serious gaming puzzle-people. But the book must be "OK", since it hooked me into reading this entire book in just two sittings (however, I am one of those nerdy engineering type people).
January 22, 2021
"Taking Sudoku Seriously" applies mathematics to the popular puzzle game, Sudoku. The authors stress that mathematics does not consist of manipulating symbols and doing arithmetic like a robot. Real mathematics is similar to solving a puzzle.
Sudoku raises questions as you play it. For example, how many unique games of Sudoku are possible? What is the minimum amount of initial numbers needed to make up a unique puzzle?
The book explores combinatorics, graph theory, and Latin Squares. The book also gives us puzzles to solve in the form of Sudoku games and old mathematical riddles.
Taking Sudoku Seriously is an enjoyable book. I enjoyed reading it, and I felt that the book's length was enough to get the authors' message across.
Sudoku raises questions as you play it. For example, how many unique games of Sudoku are possible? What is the minimum amount of initial numbers needed to make up a unique puzzle?
The book explores combinatorics, graph theory, and Latin Squares. The book also gives us puzzles to solve in the form of Sudoku games and old mathematical riddles.
Taking Sudoku Seriously is an enjoyable book. I enjoyed reading it, and I felt that the book's length was enough to get the authors' message across.
October 17, 2020
Very cool book for those who aims to read the fellow-thinkers' thoughts about puzzles as an important concept of human's life. I enjoyed the book a lot. It sometimes felt that different chapters' topics were too far math parts - how could they even be related themselves and to sudoku in particular - but they were, and the relation reveals while you keep reading.
Written by true mathematicians ❤️
Written by true mathematicians ❤️
March 11, 2016
I enjoyed this immensely. It is interesting and understandable without feeling watered down. Even though I'm no math wiz, I felt invited into the math community for a tour, and not a 3rd grade field trip kind of way. Wonderful executed.
April 2, 2018
It's a great book for anyone who does sudoku. The authors do their best to explain the mathematical (i.e. logical) thinking in as clear terms as possible, and if you like math, you'll find it super accessible. Some of that stuff still went over my head, but I've never been that good at math.
The puzzles range from simple to challenging (I wasn't able to finish some; I'll try again sometime in the future), and they come in all kinds of variants. Hours of fun! And the book is printed on coated paper, so the pages can take a lot of rubbing out the pencil.
The puzzles range from simple to challenging (I wasn't able to finish some; I'll try again sometime in the future), and they come in all kinds of variants. Hours of fun! And the book is printed on coated paper, so the pages can take a lot of rubbing out the pencil.
August 18, 2019
A beautifully produced book, with thick pages and color figures. If you're interested in higher-level Sudoku questions, like how many unique boards there are or what is the minimum number of clues necessary to solve, and are more than usually mathematically schooled, this is the book for you.
June 9, 2020
This was a really fun math book, using sudoku as a foray into basic group theory, combinatorics, graph theory etc. There's a lot of really interesting puzzles in the book, particularly in the last chapter on sudoku variants.
Since this book is intended as an introductory math book for people who aren't mathematicians, most longer proofs are skipped. I had hoped there would be more proofs and theorems, but it's really more of an exploration of various mathematical fields. Still cool though.
One interesting thing is that in the book, the author mentions how the minimal-clue sudoku had not been proven yet. However, since publication it has been proven that the minimum number of clues is 17! Really cool to see that people are still active in this field.
Since this book is intended as an introductory math book for people who aren't mathematicians, most longer proofs are skipped. I had hoped there would be more proofs and theorems, but it's really more of an exploration of various mathematical fields. Still cool though.
One interesting thing is that in the book, the author mentions how the minimal-clue sudoku had not been proven yet. However, since publication it has been proven that the minimum number of clues is 17! Really cool to see that people are still active in this field.
February 7, 2018
Absolutely fascinating if a bit overwhelming at times.
December 1, 2018
Read this if you enjoy puzzles, logic, combinatorics, or math in general!
January 9, 2013
A very interesting book, written by 'professional' mathematicians, who took Sudoku as an entry into fascinating mathematical puzzles and some of the underlying theorems.
They explain the principles behind Latin squares, move to Greco-Latin squares as well as a number of matrix conversions, explaining the underlying mathematical principles on the way. They address several design considerations of Sudoku's as well as open questions and peculiar Sudoku including those where diagonals and zones have to be taken in consideration.
Overall, it will probably be an interesting read for those who like puzzles as well as those interested in mathematics. And, of course, the book contains many interesting, challenging and original Sudoku's and variants.
They explain the principles behind Latin squares, move to Greco-Latin squares as well as a number of matrix conversions, explaining the underlying mathematical principles on the way. They address several design considerations of Sudoku's as well as open questions and peculiar Sudoku including those where diagonals and zones have to be taken in consideration.
Overall, it will probably be an interesting read for those who like puzzles as well as those interested in mathematics. And, of course, the book contains many interesting, challenging and original Sudoku's and variants.
Want to read
September 27, 2016If you like Sudoku puzzles and math , there is something for you to like in this book.
I am in a mild Sudoku phase, so although some of the book is overkill for me but portions are interesting. that which interests me are advance tips to solve which are new to me, how does one create a puzzle, how many unique puzzles are there. I am less interested in sudoku variants which are a large part of the book.
This is written by puzzlemaker(s) https://brainfreezepuzzles.com/ and calculus professor(s).
The kind librarians at NPL got this for me through Inter-library Loan.
also, relating to the subject, here is a youtube video that I found regarding approach + notation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF5cM...
I am in a mild Sudoku phase, so although some of the book is overkill for me but portions are interesting. that which interests me are advance tips to solve which are new to me, how does one create a puzzle, how many unique puzzles are there. I am less interested in sudoku variants which are a large part of the book.
This is written by puzzlemaker(s) https://brainfreezepuzzles.com/ and calculus professor(s).
The kind librarians at NPL got this for me through Inter-library Loan.
also, relating to the subject, here is a youtube video that I found regarding approach + notation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF5cM...
January 20, 2013
This is a book about the math behind Sudoku. There's quite a lot of it.
Here is my full review.
January 20, 2015
Fun book for recreational math enthusiasts. Touches on some very interesting issues in math pedagogy and philosophy of math as well. Terrific entry in the pop math literature.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews