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Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Insanity, Thy Name is Sudoku

Never mind that I usually can't even spell it or pronounce it, Sudoku drives me absolutely bonkers. First let me make two points: 1) I love puzzles 2) I abhor numbers and have never been a math-girl and 3) I have little patience when equations don't add up. You're probably thinking wondering why indicated that I had two points, yet listed three. Please refer to point #2.

As I mentioned above, I love puzzles. I love crossword puzzles, Scrabble, word finds, Boggle, and any/all word games available on Facebook. See a pattern here? These are games involving letters. I can stare at a Scrabble board for 20 minutes, considering all the possible moves and strategizing like an Army general. I look at a Suduko puzzle for two minutes and I need a vodka tonic and a straitjacket.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and she was saying that the frustrating part about Sudoko is that if you place one incorrect number, it destroys the chances of ever correctly completing the entire puzzle. Then you must start all over again. And you may not even figure this out until you are well into the figure-fest. What is this about? I may as well not even begin this evil enigma. At least with a crossword puzzle, you pretty quickly figure out if you have an incorrect answer because it immediately affects the connecting word. That's about as absolute as I can get. That's why I love Scrabble. It's all about possibilities. There is no categorical conclusion with this game. Your tidy rack of tiles is a delicious color palatte from which you will create your own vernacular Van Gogh! Once a Facebook friend challenged me to a game of Sudoku and I nearly began hyperventilating as I reviewed the request. So sorry... I would rather scrape seventy of my cat's crusty hairballs from the carpet than poise my pencil above a Sudoku puzzle.

So please, do not ever ask me to particapate in this "fun" activity. I will play Boggle with you until the sun comes up, but if you give me a Sudoku puzzle book as a gift, I will slide it under by cat's hacking mouth as she is regurgitating a hairball.

2 comments:

  1. I used to feel the way you do about Sudoku. I hate math, numbers, etc. I love crosswords, am betting I'd love Bogle (haven't ever played it) and don't get me started on Scrabble. Then, I got a Nintendo DS one Christmas along with the BrainAge game. It has Sudoku on it, so I tried it...and I am so hooked. I love this thing. Mind you, I love the electronic version. A lot easier to deal with than paper and pencil. I don't think I could ever play it on paper.

    I've gotten rid of a book or two using that hacking-cat-hairball trick. "Oh man, I meant to read that, but my cat accidentally got sick on it and I had to throw it out. I'm so sorry." :}

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  2. I would like to try BrainAge, Susan. It looks like something I could easily get hooked on! I think electronic Sudoku would be better, but not much!

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