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| | January 27, 2006
Sudoku and My Sister
Wow, it seems like everyone is talking about Sudoku these days! I didn’t really notice it at first, since hey, I work for a game company – not only does everyone here talk about games (all the time), but my friends who know I work here want to talk about games (all the time). So I guess I was a little bit slow to realize that it wasn’t just me. | |
| If you haven’t heard of Sudoku, it goes something like this: the game board is a 3x3 grid of smaller 3x3 grids (if that’s tough to envision, we’ll just call it a 9x9 grid separated by lines into nine 3x3 sections… just keep reading, and I promise this will make sense). Anyway, each of the nine squares in a column can contain a single number, 1 through 9. The same is true for each row. Additionally, each 3x3 grid must contain all the numbers 1 through 9. The tricky bit, though, is that each number can only be used once in each column, row, and grid. For easy puzzles, several numbers are revealed for each section; the harder the puzzle, the less numbers you have to work with at the start. The trick is to use these given numbers to determine the placement of all the missing ones. Easy- to medium-level puzzles can be solved over a lunch break, but the hard- or fiendish-level ones can take all afternoon. This is a great game for people who love playing with logic!
It’s amazing that nobody seems to agree on when exactly Sudoku was invented, or by who, or what exactly it was based on. (It’s even more amazing how loud a group of allegedly grown-up human beings can be while debating this point.) But everyone does seem to agree on one thing: the game is addictive as heck. I was bitten by the Sudoku bug last November, so I’ll second that verdict. As will my sister, apparently.
Let’s set the wayback machine for two weeks ago. It’s Tuesday afternoon, I’ve just returned from an actual sit-down lunch (a rare treat!), and just as I’m digging back into the support mailbox, I get a frantic phone call from my sister. Turns out that all the Sudoku books she got for the holidays were too easy, and she was in search of something diabolically challenging. (Too easy! Well, she does have a PhD.)
So being the kind and caring sibling that I am, and knowing full well that my sister has children to manage, a house to clean, and important community duties to fulfill… of course I immediately send her the link to our Pop Culture hub and all the Sudoku she can possibly play.
Her laundry may pile up and the dust bunnies stage a coup, but what sort of sister would I be if I didn’t distract her from her daily tasks and help add a little logic and calm to her frantic life? (Yay me.) | |
| Collapse: Moxie Has a D’OH! Moment
So, as you may have guessed from last week’s ramblings, I have a fond weakness for some of the older MSN Games. One of the many that I’ve been playing off and on for ages is Collapse!®, a fast-paced game with falling bricks and the occasional bomb.
Anyway (now, I believe I mentioned I’ve been playing this for years, right?), I was enjoying a game of Collapse the other day after lunch, and one of my coworkers stopped to watch. After a while, he asked why I wasn’t clicking on any of the bombs.
On the bombs? You’re supposed to click on the bombs? Here I’ve been playing for ages, and I always thought I had to click around the bombs to keep them from exploding! Turns out that clicking a bomb makes all the bricks of that color disappear.
Scotty, ahead Embarrassment Factor Seven. Still, you can imagine how much better I am at Collapse now… heh… | |
| Whoops!
Tech time! This week, let’s feature an error that sounds a whole lot worse than it is:
“Dear Moxie: I keep getting a "Whoops" error as I try to sign on to the Hearts game. It says that I must contact the administrator of my Windows 2000 Pro, but I am the administrator. I recently installed this version of Windows. Previously I was using Windows 98 SE and didn't have any problems. Is there some way I can get to the Hearts site?”
Well, if you’re the administrator on the system, you’re already halfway to fixing the problem. All this error means is that you need to install ActiveX before you can play the game. When you get the “Whoops!” error, just click the yellow bar at the top of your browser window to allow ActiveX to load. (On some monitors, the bar will be pale yellow, on others it will be bright and sunshiny. On mine… well, it looks like an overripe lemon with a fungal condition, but then, I’m in dire need of a new monitor.)
Anyway, if you have any questions about the “Whoops!” error or loading ActiveX onto your system, just pop over to this handy support article and click the multiplayer “Do it!” link at the bottom of the page.
One last happy “squee!”
I’m so thrilled; my little Coffee Break column just got its first feedback letter! Cooler still, the message originated halfway around the world, from Deb in Greece:
“Dear Moxie: Just wanna say best wishes, you go girl!”
Thanks so much, Deb, and you bet I will!
See you next week! | |
