Sudoku Xtra 11
Oct 22nd
Sudoku Xtra 11 is now available, and it is packed with even more puzzles then last month!
The cover features a Boomerang Samurai, made up of 10 overlapping 8×8 puzzles, and then later on there’s a double-page spread with a real X factor, the facing Return of the Boomerang 1 & 2 – consecutive and odd/even-pair variants.
There are also heyawake, yajilin, nurikabe, masyu, dominoes, calcudoku, slitherlink, killer sudoku prime, killer sudoku pro +/-, variant size jigsaw, hitori and many more puzzle types. And there’s a second huge 13-grid 9×9 Samurai, with a Consecutive Samurai 13-X – every bit as huge and intimidating as you might imagine!
The Community Puzzles section this month welcomes another new contributor, Deb Mohanty, a key member of the Indian puzzle community and author of some very well-respected puzzles and competitions. His “No 4 in a Row” puzzles will challenge your ability to both spot the “obvious” and also reason using uniqueness logic! There are also more Labyrinth puzzles, more Haijo from Vexus, an alternative set of Yajilin from Thomas Collyer, and the hexagonal ‘Hexagodoku’ from Clarity Media. David Millar’s mighty Knight Samurai Sudoku +/- will test your Sudoku variant skills to the limit, with its five grids of attacking knights and positive and negative numbers. And that’s just some of what’s in the section this month.
Sudoku Xtra 11 is available for download as a PDF, as well as pre-printed from Lulu and also from Amazon.com (eligible for free super-saver shipping!).
Sudoku 16×16
Oct 14th
And to complement the Killer Sudoku I posted a moment ago, here’s a 16×16 puzzle for those who like these. Just place 1 to 9 and A to G in each row, column and 4×4 box. Only “scan and place” logic is needed for this, I promise!
Killer Sudoku
Oct 14th
Sudoku Xtra 11 is out now, but I’m holding off the announcement post until it’s available on Amazon.com too. In the mean time, here’s a Killer Sudoku puzzle.
Just place 1 to 9 in each row, column and bold-lined box. Each dashed-line cage should add to the given sum, and you can’t repeat a number in a cage.
Sudoku Xtra 10 – over 60 puzzle types!
Sep 8th
Issue 10 of Sudoku Xtra magazine is now available, and it’s packed with over 60 different types of wordless logic puzzle!
With 125 separate puzzles there really should be something in there for everyone, so whether you like huge Samurai Sudoku puzzles such as the 13-grid Samurai X, or just encountering a wide range of different Japanese logic puzzles, then there’s something in it for you. And don’t be confused by the name – the puzzles include not just Sudoku and a huge range of variants, but also Hanjie, Nurikabe, Yajilin, Slitherlink and many more.
To celebrate the 10th issue I’ve featured a range of 10-themed puzzles in the main section, including some with 10-shaped givens, 10 sides, 10-related layouts or 10-based values in the puzzles (for example a powers of 10 +/- Killer Sudoku!).
Meanwhile the Community Puzzles section just continues to get better and better thanks to the incredible skill and generosity of those contributing puzzles. New this issue is a page of Labyrinth puzzles (as seen in Beyond Sudoku) from Nathan Roberts, as well as Navigrids plus a new puzzle from the Vexus Puzzle Design stall. There’s also a page of challenging Battleships puzzles courtesy of Clarity Media, and on top of that there’s an awesome loop puzzle called Castle Wall from Palmer Mebane/MellowMelon.
The incredibly talented David Millar has crafted some special issue 10 puzzles, with some Sum Sudoku that have only “10″ clues, and a Slitherlink with only “10″ pairs in the grid! Meanwhile Grant Fikes has created three brilliant classic Nikoli-style puzzles, and there’s another visually-stunning Altair Slitherlink and more from Jim Bumgardner. Not only that but also Tom Collyer has created two more incredibly impressive Nurikabe-Sudoku cross-over puzzles, which really put all your puzzle-solving skills to the test.
All that, and I’ve not even listed everything that’s to be found in the Community Puzzles section.
Sudoku Xtra is available now from www.SudokuXtra.com
Samurai 8X
Sep 6th
When I was making Sudoku Xtra 10 I wanted to put in a really big Samurai Sudoku puzzle. In the end because I had a square page area available beneath the instructions I went with a 13-grid one (just as a one-off to see what sort of reaction it got!) but I had started off intending to use an 8-grid one. It seemed a shame to let it go to waste, so I’m posting it here.
- Place 1 to 9 into each row, column, main diagonal and 3×3 box of each of the eight 9×9 grids.
- Note that, as in a regular Sudoku, only the rows, columns and main diagonals within the eight underlying 9×9 grids are guaranteed to contain all of 1-9. Any row, column or diagonal not entirely within a single 9×9 grid has no restriction on its content.
So best of luck – you don’t need it, but it might help anyway! 
Calcudoku
Aug 17th
It’s been an age since I’ve posted new puzzles on here directly, mainly because all my puzzle-making effort has been focused on Sudoku Xtra, Sudoku Pro, PuzzleMix and a major book I recently completed.
In any case, there’s no time like the present to fix that so here’s a simple 6×6 Calcudoku. Just place 1 to 6 in each row and column and make sure the given number results when the stated operator is applied between the numbers in each bold region.
Sudoku Xtra 9 puzzle magazine now out!
Aug 12th
Issue 9 of my Sudoku Xtra magazine is now available for either download as a PDF, or pre-printed from Amazon.com (US) or Lulu.com (elsewhere). With an incredible 127 logic and number puzzles across over 50 types of puzzles, this month’s issue features a giant cover PivotPix picture logic puzzle (also known as Sym-a-Pix and Spiral Galaxies).
This issue has the biggest Community Puzzles section yet, with some truly astonishing puzzles contributed by the cream of the world’s puzzle authors. From Colorlink to a Hanjie-Nurikabe cross-over, and from Symmetric Heyawake to Lying Sum Sudoku, there’s something for everyone.
The rest of the magazine as always has some new variants and rearranged content in, including the interesting Killer Sudoku 1 3 5 7 9 -2 -4 -6 -8 (guaranteed to challenge even the best Killer solvers), Odd-Pairs S and more. With greater variety than any other puzzle publication, including a huge range of Sudoku variants, Sudoku Xtra really is incredible value.
Sudoku Xtra 8 now out
Jul 1st
Sudoku Xtra issue 8 is now available for download! Printed copies are available from Lulu already, with Amazon.com due to follow in the next week or so.
There’s an ‘S’ theme for a few of the puzzles this month, as you can see on the cover (right).
This issue I’m very excited to welcome some brand new Community Puzzles section contributors – Thomas Collyer, the two-time UK Times National Sudoku Champion; and Grant Fikes, one of the most prolific authors of Japanese puzzles outside Japan itself – who have very kindly donated some fantastic puzzles to this issue. There are also some brilliant Slitherlink/Sudoku cross-over puzzles by David Millar of The Griddle, and that’s only half of the section described so far!
The rest of the magazine as always has some new variants and rearranged content in, including Killer Prime (Killer Sudoku with prime numbers…) and Skyscraper S (a twisted 6×6 Skyscraper variant!). At just £3.99/$5.99 for a download it’s still incredible value even when compared to cheaper mags – with 116 puzzles that’s less than 4p/6¢ a puzzle, and you’d have to average around 4 a day to get the whole issue complete in time for issue 9!
With over 50 different types of puzzle in issue 8, what are you waiting for?! 
The return of Sudoku Pro magazine!
Jun 6th
After the demise of Accolade Puzzles it had begun to look like it was the end of the road for Sudoku Pro, the puzzle magazine I supplied all the puzzles for and which was packed full of many Sudoku variants and other Japanese puzzles. But now, thanks to the support of the magazine’s new owner, My Hobby Store (publishers of a wide range of other hobby titles), Sudoku Pro is back!
Issue 51 of Sudoku Pro is on sale in independent newsagents now – you won’t find it in WH Smiths or your supermarket, but your local newsagent will be able to order it for you if they don’t already have it on the shelves. Or alternatively you can subscribe via the My Hobby Store website, and save some money and get it delivered to your door as soon as it’s available every month. At £22 for 12 issues it’s pretty amazing value. I have issue 51 in my hands and it looks as good as ever, now being in a slightly smaller and therefore more easily portable format.
If you enjoyed Sudoku Pro before then you’ll certainly enjoy it again, since the selection of puzzles is almost identical. If you’ve never read it but would be interested in a magazine packed full of Sudoku variants and other Japanese puzzles, then please do seek it out to ensure it sells enough issues to keep going strong!
Sudoku Xtra 7 magazine now out
May 26th
Sudoku Xtra issue 7 is now out! It’s available for download and also pre-printed from Lulu (for UK and most of the world), with the Amazon.com pre-printed version (for the US) due to follow in around a week or so (once they update their database).
Issue 7 of Sudoku Xtra contains even more large-page Japanese puzzle fun, with an incredible 116 varied logic and number puzzles. A special section in this issue is devoted to giant puzzles, with the 13 full-page puzzles including Hanjie, Nurikabe, Yajilin, Slitherlink, Hashi, Samurai Sudoku variants, Kakuro and more.
Sudoku Xtra offers greater variety than any other puzzle publication, with a huge range of Sudoku variants that include Jigsaw, Extra Region, Skyscraper, Consecutive and many more. Other featured puzzles include Calcudoku, Futoshiki, Hitori, Killer Sudoku and a range of variants, including Zero Killer Sudoku Inequality!
Designed to print on either A4 or Letter paper, or pre-printed on similarly large paper, Sudoku Xtra features puzzles at a range of difficulties, so is suitable for both logic puzzle fans and casual solvers alike. No matter what you like, you’re sure to find many puzzles to enjoy in Sudoku Xtra issue 7.
There’s also another great Puzzle Community section too, thanks to the generous contributors. Puzzles sent in for issue 7 include Navigrid, Mini Killer Sudoku, Knighted Sum Sudoku, Fillomino and more.
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