Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Sudoku/archive1

Sudoku
There has been something of a craze for the puzzle in the UK with most national newspapers now offering a daily puzzle. This follows on from the popularity of the puzzle in Japan and has been a precursor to its popularity internationally. It has been variously described as addictive, a mental exercise, a Rubik Cube of the 21st Century, a classic meme, etc. The purpose of featuring the article is to respond to this interest and may encourage people to contribute further to the subject. The art of solving the Sudoku puzzle is far from perfect. Sudoku lends itself well to the Wikipedia community because the article is international, combining several disciplines in which contributors are often very strong: mathematics, computing and diagrams. In addition the article traces the history and terminology of the puzzle - something which is rare in the world of puzzles. JPF 21:54, 23 May 2005 (UTC)


 * Support: but a few quibbles. First of all, this paragraph: "Sudoku is recommended by some teachers as a mental exercise. It has also been suggested that it can slow the progress of Alzheimers. However, some people may find solving the puzzle addictive."--this seems a little flip to me, and should probably be reworded. Secondly, the reference used in the mathematics section isn't listed in the references section. Also, I'd like to know if larger puzzles (e.g. the 16-by-16 grid mentioned) are harder or easier to solve than the standard 9-by-9.
 * Addressed apart from the final point on hardness of larger puzzles.JPF 13:18, 26 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Support, althought I have edited it too recently, so more outside opinions would be welcome. -- ALoan (Talk) 09:43, 26 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Oppose Nothing on gatti 5 Su Doku, or the habit of giving time limits, etc. Also, has a Japanese more familiar with its history looked this over? I just get a feeling that something else might be missing, jguk 13:04, 29 May 2005 (UTC) OK, didn't see those bits. I'm still uneasy, so will stay neutral. Has a Japanese reviewed the article though? I do think this is a must, jguk 19:10, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * What is gatti 5 Su Doku? There is a mention of time limits in "The Challenge" section. As to the last point, a "feeling" is rather difficult to address. Can you be more specific? OpenToppedBus - Talk 09:25, May 31, 2005 (UTC)
 * Reading again I see that "gattai 5 Su Doku" is mentioned, in the "Variants" section. OpenToppedBus - Talk 09:35, May 31, 2005 (UTC)


 * Oppose as I'm still confused how you are meant to play this game. - Ta bu shi da yu 06:58, 30 May 2005 (UTC)
 * I'm not certain how this objection can be addressed. "The puzzle is played on a grid, most frequently a 9×9 grid made up of 3×3 subgrids (called "regions"). Some cells already contain numbers - the "givens". The goal is to fill in the empty cells, one number in each, so that every column, row, and region each contains the numbers 1 through 9 once." This seems pretty clear to me - what do you find confusing, and what would help to make it less so? OpenToppedBus - Talk 09:25, May 31, 2005 (UTC)


 * Support. I think the article is written pretty well, and is pretty informative, and pretty interesting.--Fangz 23:32, 31 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Support. As an enthusiast I found this clear, informative and (to the best of my knowledge) comprehensive. --Theo (Talk) 17:05, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)