The problem is not with the Kindle functionality, which seems to be fine. I am not even bothered, as some seem to be, that your Whispernet needs to be turned on, because the puzzles are actually downloaded as you play them. I subscribe to a newspaper and a couple of blogs, so I keep my Kindle online all of the time anyway, and am accustomed to recharging it every three or four days, or more often if I am using it a lot.

The problem with this collection is that the sudoku puzzles themselves are poorly designed. It looks to me like the “authors” have little to no understanding of sudoku at all. I am sure they got some completed grids from the solution section of a sudoku book and tried to make the puzzles “their own” by simply changing the givens, the numbers already filled in on the grid before you start solving. The problem is, they didn’t realize that if you don’t choose the given numbers carefully, you can end up with more than one possible correct solution, at least for some grids, where there are subsets of numbers that can be interchanged without violating the rules that stipulate that each digit can only occur once in each column, in each row and in each three-by-three box.

So far, I have solved three puzzles — the free sample, and numbers 2 and 5 from the ten I purchased. In all three cases, I solved the puzzle down to such an ambiguous outcome. In the case of the two easy puzzles (the sample and number 2), I got to a point where there were four cells left, two in one box and two in another, in parallel rows, and the two numbers needed to complete the puzzle could be entered in either order to complete the puzzle successfully. At that point, all you can do is guess which solution the authors intended. In one case, I got the message that I had completed the puzzle correctly, and in the other case, I got a message saying I had four boxes filled in incorrectly, even though my solution was every bit as valid as theirs.

The moderate puzzle (number 5) leads to a slightly more complicated outcome, with 10 boxes involved in what are potentially two different but correct solutions. Again, when you solve the puzzle down to this point, you have essentially successfully solved it, no matter which of the two ways of completing it you choose, but you will get the message saying you were correct only if you choose the solution the authors intended in their apparent ignorance.

The technology is there, and the Kindle should be a good tool for doing sudokus and other puzzles. However, unless you enjoy frustration, I would recommend that you stay away from this particular series.

Unfortunately, since you do have to momentarily turn on the wireless to load each individual game, you will not be able to use this while traveling outside wireless areas or while on an airplane.

Having said that, I think it is great that someone has finally made a game that can be played on the Kindle (especially one so mentally stimulating like Sudoku!)

My personal interest in this is to supplement my newspaper subscriptions on the Kindle that don’t come with the puzzles you would otherwise get with a physical subscription. With this I get to satisfy my momentary impulses to either read an interesting article from a newspaper or play a quick Sudoku game.

Great Idea!

Also, once you are done with the games that come with this, the author has published two more volumes with more playable games.