Being the blog of Pete Hopkins. This pirate kills fascists.

Friday, March 23

Ponturo: More Obsessable Than Sudoku

I was up late last night blasting through 100 Ponturo puzzles from Mind Candy (this was half obsessive puzzle trance and half me thinking that they would at some point end). There’s numbers and logic and something about Japan, so the obvious comparison must be made to Sudoku:

Ponturo is like Sudoku crossed with NP-complete*

I’m drawn to Ponturo because it’s quick and fresh, and there’s a boardgameish appeal to its archipelago presentation. Also it requires less focused concentration than Sudoku, so it pairs well with television watching.

Play puzzles for free on the Ponturo page of We Love Puzzles. There are also instructions. And the tempting allure of many more Japanese puzzle games.

* = Though Ponturo itself is, I believe, solvable in polynomial time. It just has an NP feel.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:17 PM

    Just what I needed, another time waster

    Thanks..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous2:59 AM

    i aver deb .. exactly wat i also needed .. though i must admit at first sight it looks a tad easier than sudoku (or are first impressions deceiving ? )

    thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous8:49 AM

    Played all those puzzles, and yes, very addictive. What I really like is the fact that it only requires the mouse, so I can spare the batteries in my wireless keyboard :)

    ReplyDelete