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Sudoku on the iPod

HMTKSteveHMTKSteve
edited June 2007 in Video Games
I admit to being a fan of Sudoku puzzles. When you have a job that is on par with that of the Maytag repairman you have a lot of downtime.

I recently found a Sudoku game for the iPod in the the iTunes store. I figured $5 for this game would be OK as the iPod is not as ubiquitous as the DS. If I have my head phones in and turn the thing face down no one will know I'm playing a game.

Let me tell you right now that I wasted $5. It's not an interface problem (you get used to that) it's a game play problem.

See, when I first started playing with it I began to notice that my ability to solve the puzzles when going up faster than it should have. The real reason I was getting faster was not due to skill but due to familiarity! It was giving me the same puzzles in the same order!

As soon as I turned the thing off it would reset it's internal counter and give me puzzle number 1 again when I turned it back on! Grrr....

The only saving grace is that you can input a puzzle from a newspaper and solve it with the iPod. It saves me the trouble of writing in the notations.

Comments

  • AprecheApreche
    Insert rant about how Sudoku is a mindless waste of time here.
  • ProfPanglossProfPangloss
    Yes, it's a waste of time. That's why people play it; to waste time.
  • AprecheApreche
    Yes, it's a waste of time. That's why people play it; to waste time.
    I don't know about you, but I don't have time to waste.
  • HMTKSteveHMTKSteve
    Yes, it's a waste of time. That's why people play it; to waste time.

    I don't know about you, but I don't have time to waste.

    I have 6.5 hours to waste every day at work.
  • AprecheApreche
    Yes, it's a waste of time. That's why people play it; to waste time.
    I don't know about you, but I don't have time to waste.
    I have 6.5 hours to waste every day at work.
    Do something productive.
  • HMTKSteveHMTKSteve
    Yes, it's a waste of time. That's why people play it; to waste time.

    I don't know about you, but I don't have time to waste.

    I have 6.5 hours to waste every day at work.
    Do something productive.
    I'm a repair technician. I only work when things break.
  • HankHank

    I'm a repair technician. I only work when things break.
    But "productive" need not mean "productive for your employer". You could:
    • Read Homer and Virgil in the original Greek and Latin
    • Teach yourself Latin and/or Greek so you can do the first thing
    • Re-study some subject you neglected in school (I'm an amateur history major now)
    • Train a Pokemon to level 100
    • Dissect a piece of equipment
    • Read the entire contents of Project Gutenberg.
    • Work through a set of Pimsleur language tapes and learn a foreign tongue (I enjoyed Russian)
    • Wank
    • Write limericks, bawdy or otherwise
    • Rewrite a device's operating manual in verse
    Or similar...

    Cheers,

    Hank
  • AprecheApreche
    Train a Pokemon to level 100
    I don't think that's productive either.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    edited June 2007
    When you turn Pokémon off it leaves little achievement in your life. It is just empty enjoyment. However, if you were to train a really awesome pokémon to level 100 and sell it some of the effort may have been for something. This will probably never happen as people have action replay.

    "Read the entire contents of Project Gutenberg." (I give up trying to get quote tags to work.)
    Its only a matter of time before some poor sap does.

    I would personally recommend you read the blog and articles of Steve Pavlina as even reading one will improve your life. The man is a legend.
    Post edited by Omnutia on
  • AprecheApreche
    I would personally recommend you read the blog and articles ofSteve Pavlinaas even reading one will improve your life. The man is a legend.Steve Pavlina is an ass. Most of his articles are full of lies and bullshit. Take this for example. The man seriously believes that by believing he will get money, that he will somehow get it as if by magic. Judging by his site the man appears to either be a complete lunatic with no grip on reality, or a typical flim-flam con-artist. I personally believe he is both. Read randi.org instead, and you will be much better off.
    Wait, scratch that. Just use some got-damn common sense. If you need some guy on the Internet to tell you how to live a better life, that's pretty fucking sad.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    Look, the guy is a lunatic and if you take everything he says as writ then you too will go crazy but I like the way he writes and that he's not actively trying to cause anyone any harm or scam them. He's not a miracle worker but I'd be a lot worse off without him. Some of us sad people need hope too.
    I stand by my recommendation, reading Steve's various postings will be useful use of your time.
  • AprecheApreche
    edited June 2007
    Look, the guy is a lunatic and if you take everything he says as writ then you too will go crazy but I like the way he writes and that he's not actively trying to cause anyone any harm or scam them. He's not a miracle worker but I'd be a lot worse off without him. Some of us sad people need hope too. I stand by my recommendation, reading Steve's various postings will be useful use of your time.
    He's probably not trying to hurt people, but he very much is trying to make money in shady ways. He's basically the same as Roland Piquepaille. You make a blog full of bullshit content that is designed to make it onto sites like Digg and Slashdot. Next, you push as hard as you can to get to the top of those sites with every underhanded SEO method available and sell expensive ads on your site. Sure, he's not actively trying to give you harmful advice, but he's not trying to give good advice either. He's just trying to say whatever will get the most hits.
    If you think he's so great, show me one thing on his site that isn't bullshit. Better yet, let's count the percentage of his "articles" that are wackjob vs. ones that make sense. The numbers will show that Steve Pavlina deserves no respect.
    Post edited by Apreche on
  • bunnikunbunnikun
    Sudoko is for people who have nothing better to do. I don't have time to play it. I guess it could be useful if your waiting for a doctor's appointment or something although I'd just play my Pokemons.

    Itunes games generally suck anyways, so I don't even bother. They're cheap for a reason.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    "He's probably not trying to hurt people, but he very much is trying to make money in shady ways. He's basically the same as Roland Piquepaille. You make a blog full of bullshit content that is designed to make it onto sites like Digg and Slashdot. Next, you push as hard as you can to get to the top of those sites with every underhanded SEO method available and sell expensive ads on your site. "
    Worryingly I can wholly believe that. However, even if the effect is placebo its still worth something. You, Apreche (Scott) have direction and meaning in life which I lack but I also lack the common sense you have in such abundance. As such I am trying to learn. Most of the articles are whack job but hardly any contain no sense at all.

    How would you suggest I gain direction in life?

    I like sudoku but don't peruse it as a hobby as once I worked out the various mechanisms to solve it I lost interest.
  • CorbinCorbin
    edited June 2007
    It's really not hard to quote things all you have to do is make sure that on the bottom of the page Html is selected as the format and then type before the start of the quote and after the quote is finished if you want to cite someone you type to finish the citing. then to finish the quote. I have this comment formatted as text so the html code doesn't affect the instructions. Needless to say if you copy this then paste it and have it formatted as html it would look much different.

    The above instructions are for the normal comment editor, if you turn on visual editor in the account preferences there may be an easier (translated "gui") way to do this, but I don't use the visual editor because I prefer the normal editor.

    Also Scott just sounds cranky today, no need to flatter him it just makes his otaku cock larger and we don't need that. ^_^
    Post edited by Corbin on
  • AprecheApreche
    I have this in text so the html code doesn't affect the instructions.
    You know you can do and or and to teach people some HTMLs. You can also use the fancy visual editor I went through all the trouble of installing, but nobody wants to use it.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    edited June 2007
    Thanks Mitsukai (three times?). I'm used to hanging around BBCode forums where
    was enough.
    I'm going to just start pretending that certain posts don't exist as, while it goes against my better judgement to be closed minded, its not worth the hassle.

    Back to the sudoku. If you get bored there are some variations that are practically evil.
    Post edited by Omnutia on
  • SailSail
    edited June 2007
    I'm going to just start pretending that certain posts don't exist as, while it goes against my better judgement to be closed minded, its not worth the hassle.
    Hmmm...

    /tongue and cheek
    Post edited by Sail on
  • rhinocerorhinocero
    I have this in text so the html code doesn't affect the instructions.You can also use the fancy visual editor I went through all the trouble of installing, but nobody wants to use it.
     



    I use the visual editor!
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    Any chance of adding 
    <blockquote>
    tags to that?</blockquote>
  • HungryJoeHungryJoe
    How would you suggest I gain direction in life?
    If your avatar is a picture of you, a haircut would be an excellent start . . .
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    edited June 2007
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/fred_mcdonald/484378290/
    Commendations to anyone who can notice something strange about the shot.
    What that doesn't show you is the dent in my head. I like the longness though I'm aiming to get it to the length where it can be easily tied back bit doesn't form a ponytail.
    Post edited by Omnutia on
  • AndrewAndrew
    edited June 2007
    What that doesn't show you is the dent in my head. I like the longness though I'm aiming to get it to the length where it can be easily tied back bit doesn't form a ponytail.
    You're starting to look like Claudio from Coheed and Cambria.
    image
    Post edited by Andrew on
  • ZeehatZeehat
    Takethisfor example.
    I hate people like this. It's the same bullshit as "The Secret."
  • AprecheApreche
    Takethisfor example.I hate people like this. It's the same bullshit as "The Secret."
    You are correct, it's the exact same bullshit.  
  • SailSail
    What that doesn't show you is the dent in my head. I like the longness though I'm aiming to get it to the length where it can be easily tied back bit doesn't form a ponytail.
    You're starting to look like Claudio from Coheed and Cambria.
    image
    Lawl!! Good call, Andrew.
  • trogdor9trogdor9
    I have this in text so the html code doesn't affect the instructions.You can also use the fancy visual editor I went through all the trouble of installing, but nobody wants to use it.
     

    I use the visual editor!
    Me too!
    /Hey, at least it's better than that WordPress v2.0 shit was
  • DiagorasDiagoras
    I have only two games on the iPod: Tetris and iQuiz. Tetris was a waste of my money. The controls were frustrating and there were too few levels. Tetris DS is much superior. But the second game, iQuiz, was essentially a 99 cent upgrade of Music Quiz, with a little extra. Of course, it's a music quiz, so you don't expect that much out of it.

    I guess that's why I am not disappointed by it.

    As for Sudoku, which I never got (and thanks to HMTKSteve, never will) I don't see any point. And it sounds like it controls bad: I guess you have to scroll through numbers with the click-wheel.

    Of course, I'm no expert.
  • spiritfiendspiritfiend
    edited June 2007
    I got an iTunes gift card. Since I don't really care for DRM music, I bought some of the games. Not only are the Sudoku controls terrible, but it also very quickly drains the iPod batteries if you play for any significant amount of time.

    By the way, I find it easier to carry the iPod than the DS for everyday portable entertainment, even though the quality of the entertainment is lower.
    Post edited by spiritfiend on
  • HMTKSteveHMTKSteve
    I use the brightness control on Sudoku to lower my brightness real low. This allows it to play a little longer.

    The controls are not the problem. The problem is that once you turn it back on it throws the same puzzles in the same order at you!
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