Posts tagged magazines

Sudoku Xtra 9 puzzle magazine now out!

Issue 9 cover

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.

Available from the Sudoku Xtra site now!

Sudoku Xtra 8 now out

Sudoku Xtra 8Sudoku 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!

Sudoku Pro 51After 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

Sudoku Xtra Issue 7 coverSudoku 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.

Get Sudoku Xtra 7 now.

Sudoku Xtra 6 available worldwide

Sudoku Xtra issue 6 coverI’m pleased to announce that Sudoku Xtra issue 6 is now out and available for the full triumvirate of download and self-print, pre-printed from Lulu (recommended for most of the world) and also free same-day posting from Amazon.com (recommended for US). 

It’s packed with a frankly ridiculous 133 separate puzzles. The range of content includes:

  • Light-up / Akari
  • A large cover Nurikabe puzzle
  • -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 Killer Sudoku – back by popular demand!
  • A third Jigsaw 6×6 Variety Pack of miniature variants
  • An extra-big Yajilin
  • Killer Inequality Sudoku – lots of symbols on a grid!
  • Dominoes - first time back since issue 1
  • Plus all of the regular puzzles, from Skyscraper to Samurais to Calcudoku to Hashi to Hanjie to Kakuro and so on…


There’s a bumper-packed Puzzle Community section too, thanks to the generous contributors. Just look at some of the types that are in issue 6: 

  • Yin Yang Sudoku
  • Sudoku Minus (a trickier version of Sudoku Times!)
  • Hexagon 25
  • Klump
  • Modula
  • and more!

So if you’d like a copy (and if not, why not?! :-) ) then just pick one of these links:

Download and self-print *  Lulu *  Amazon.com

Have fun! :)

Sudoku Xtra Issue 5

Sudoku Xtra issue 5

I’m very pleased to announce that issue 5 of Sudoku Xtra magazine is now available for download or in pre-printed form from either Amazon.com (US) or Lulu.com (recommended for rest of world).

This issue has even more puzzles than the previous ones, with a pretty mind-boggling 131 separate logic and number puzzles!

New content includes:

  • Suraromu – the latest loop puzzle from Japan
  • PivotPix (a.k.a. Tentai Show / Sym-a-Pix)
  • -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 Killer Sudoku!
  • An extra page of Yajilin, designed to help you get into the puzzle
  • Some new Sudoku combinations

Plus the regular stuff is there too, including:

  • Another Jigsaw 6×6 Variety Pack of miniature variants
  • More Sudoku at more sizes than ever before
  • Lots of Sudoku variations on a theme
  • All of the other regular puzzles, from Skyscraper to Samurais to Calcudoku to Hashi to Hanjie to Kakuro and so on…

And the generous puzzle community contributors have been as creative as ever. Just look at some of the types that are in issue 5: 

  • Kuromasu / Kurodoko
  • Sudoku Times (outside products)
  • Hexagon 25
  • Shapely Alleys and Skyscrapers
  • Modula
  • Pathfinder
  • and more!

As always, it’s designed to print well in black and white on either A4 or Letter paper, using up most of the space and without pointlessly wasting ink on large dark areas. If you have a colour printer there’s a small colour trim to each issue – this month’s is orange – but this prints fine as a greyscale. Pre-printed copies have a colour cover but black and white interior.

So check it out!

Sudoku Xtra magazine issue 4

Sudoku Xtra magazine Issue 4 cover

Issue 4 of Sudoku Xtra magazine is now with us!  I really think I might be putting too many puzzles into it, because typing up the list of content just knocked me out with how much is crammed into its 52 large-format pages!  Is too much possible?  I don’t know, but look at this enormous list:

128 puzzles in total, including several seriously giant ones.  Brand new for this issue:

  • Samurai Star Killer Sudoku Pro
  • Number Link Samurai
  • Odd Pair Sudoku
  • Samurai Odd Pair Sudoku
  • Sudoku Inequality Jigsaw
  • Jigsaw Sudoku 6×6 Variety Pack (including toroidal, inequality, X, consecutive and killer)
  • Killer Sudoku Pro Jigsaw
  • Sudoku 15×15 and Sudoku 18×18
  • Killer Sudoku 15×15
  • Odd & Even Pair Sudoku
  • Killer Sudoku Prime

Regulars from issue 3:

  • Hanjie
  • Masyu
  • Calcudoku (three times as many as in previous issues!)
  • Slitherlink
  • Consecutive Sudoku
  • Hitori
  • Samurai Star
  • Samurai Star Jigsaw
  • Number Link
  • Jigsaw Sudoku 8×8, 9×9 and 10×10
  • Toroidal Sudoku and Toroidal Inequality
  • Kakuro
  • Futoshiki
  • Killer Sudoku
  • Skyscraper
  • Skyscraper Sudoku
  • Samurai Sudoku
  • SSSS: Skyscraper Samurai Star Sudoku
  • Sudoku Inequality
  • Sudoku Extra Regions
  • Jigsaw Sudoku Extra Regions
  • Killer Sudoku Jigsaw
  • SOS: Samurai Outside Sudoku
  • Outside Sudoku
  • Sudoku 8×8
  • Sudoku 12×12 and 16×16
  • Samurai Extra Regions
  • Yajilin
  • Nurikabe

Adding to that already exhausting list still further are the community puzzles: 

  • Heyawake
  • King’s Journey (also known as Hidato[TM], Numbrix[TM] and many other names)
  • Mosaic (Minesweeper picture puzzle)
  • As Easy as ABC
  • Knight’s Tour
  • Shapely Skyscraper
  • Isolate
  • Klump

And all of this for just £3.99 or $5.99 – it really is fantastic value!

If you’d like to get hold of it just pop on over to the Sudoku Xtra website!

Sudoku Xtra Specials: Sudoku 25×25 Volume 1

I’ve had many, many, many requests over the past years for a book of giant 25×25 Sudoku puzzles, so I have now finally made just such a book available!

Right at the moment it’s only available in printed form, but I’ll have download copies available in the next couple of days – as soon as I’ve added a purchase mechanism to SudokuXtra.com in fact!

I’ve decided that I’m going to make a series of similar books of particular requested puzzles, all of which will be branded as “Sudoku Xtra Specials”.  In this way I can stay organised by keeping all of my download/printed content under the ‘Sudoku Xtra’ heading.  It means that you’ll always be able to find all of my new content in one place, without searching around my various sites.

This book is probably the nicest collection of 25×25 puzzles you can find, if you’re a fan of such things.  Every puzzle has really nice 8-way symmetry – having noticeable patterns in puzzles like this is pretty unusual, and it can help with the solve too.  Just as in my magazines, I’ve thought about what’s sensible in a puzzle like this so they can all be solved without needing pencilmarks.  How exactly would you go about making A-Y pencilmarks in each individual square anyway?!

If you get hold of it please do let me know any thoughts you have on it.  In the same way as for Sudoku Xtra magazine, it’s designed to be printed at home on either an all-together or a page-by-page basis.  And if you get a pre-printed version from Lulu or Amazon.com (already complete but waiting on listing now) then it’s on a large A4 (Lulu) or 8″x10″ (Amazon) page, so there’s plenty of room to write in the solutions.

If there are other books of puzzles you’d like to see, please let me know in the comments here or on the Sudoku Xtra forums – feel free to repeat any requests you’ve made before! Next up is 16×16 Sudoku but after that it’s all open. I was thinking of doing Inequality Sudoku third, but what do you think?

Sudoku Xtra issue 3 now available!

I’m really pleased to announce that issue 3 of Sudoku Xtra magazine is now available for download!

This issue is packed full of all sorts of puzzles, including SOS (Samurai Outside Sudoku!), Toroidal Inequalities and many more.  Community puzzles include picture puzzle Mosaic from Clarity Media, and some fantastic Slitherlink-Masyu cross-over puzzles called Shotgun Slitherlink from David Millar of The Griddle.  There’s also some brilliant Klump and Navigrid puzzles from Vexus Puzzle Design.

With 121 puzzles it will almost certainly take you far more than the month until issue 4 to complete, so you’d better get hold of it as soon as possible! :)

Pre-printed versions will be available in the next couple of days, but you can download and print it yourself immediately!

Sudoku Xtra issue 2 now available

Sudoku Xtra issue 2 cover

I’m very pleased to announce that as of 24 hours ago Sudoku Xtra issue 2 is available for download or ordering in printed form.

It contains a staggering 121 puzzles, with only just a few of each type so there is a huge range of variety. At just £2.95/$4.95 it really is great value, but if you’re still not sure take a look at the sample part of issue 1 still available on the Sudoku Xtra site.

New puzzles for this issue include some crazy Sudoku variants, such as Samurai Killer Calcudoku Inequality, and a whole load of novel community-supplied puzzles, including Puzzle L and Knight’s Tour.

With so many different puzzles you’re sure to find not just one but lots of puzzles you’ll enjoy, so check out Sudoku Xtra today! :)