01.20.06

Sudoku

Posted in addictions, comics, games at 11:38 am by spryken

Unless you have many hours to burn, avoid this game at all costs!!

Sudoku is a crossword style puzzle. Meaning that is played on a grid like a crossword. There are no words involved, just numbers. But don’t worry, no math either. I won’t go into explaining the rules here, check out the website.

My rant is on the amount of time I spend on the game. I started playing online last year at DailyInk.com (no affiliation). I started playing print versions in the newspaper last Thanksgiving. The difference is the online version is computer generated (a Java Applet) and is not necessarily a “logical” game. That is, there may be more than 1 correct solution and you reach a point where you have to guess. The print versions are “logical”. There is only 1 correct solution and you should never have to guess. I would suggest the print version for that reason.

I have spent hours working the puzzles. The ones I really like are hard - extremely. Sometimes I like the easy ones, but I really like the ones that take a long time to solve. Of course, as you work you learn more and better strategies and so your working time decreases.

Sudoku has all the traits for a great individual game. It is simple to learn, challenging enough to keep you interested and addictive. As if I have time for that…. That’s why I refuse to buy computer games. I know that I will burn away productive hours sitting in front of the computer……..wait a minute…..that’s what I’m doing now…….

Oh well, there are worse addictions than Sudoku and blogging……… ;)

01.15.06

Geocahcing

Posted in games at 11:51 pm by spryken

I got a GPSReceiver(GPSr) for Christmas. I now participate in a game that is world wide. Geocaching.

Geocaching is a modern day treasure hunt. Remember how as kids, we would hide or bury a treasure. Then we would make treasure maps to give to friends. Sometimes the maps would lead to more clues instead of the actual treasure. Geocaching is very similar, except you give the treasure hunters the longitude and latitude of the treasure or next set of coordinates. The hunters would then use a GPSr to find it. Of course GPSrs are only accurate to within 10-20 feet, so some hunting is still required. Also the treasure hiders will work very hard at making the treasure cache inconspicuous. I am a newbie at geocaching, but I have been right on top of a cache and not found it for about an hour.

What is in the treasure cache to make a grown man hunt for an hour? Nothing. Usually the cache is just some inexpensive toys that the kids can swap. The idea is you take something and leave something. You usually sign a log book to let the hider know you were there. The thrill is in the hunt and in the days outing. Caches can be in parks, utility easements or in urban areas. They can be quite small or rather large. The excitement is the hunt. Why climb the mountain? Because it is there!!!

The most interesting cache I have found to date (not that I have found many) was a themed cache. International cash cache. The idea was to place some foriegn currency in and get some out. Just looking at the different types of currency was fasinating.

Geocaching……….Modern day treasure hunts. What fun!!!