My wife noticed that I was doing the Sudoku puzzles in our local rag instead of the crossword. They start easy on Monday and increase in difficulty towards the end of the week. She decided I should have a thick book of Sudoku puzzles to take up the next twenty years. She bought me a copy of Jumbo Sudoku for Christmas. You can get your copy by calling 1-800-327-6388 (Time, Inc.). Tell them that Taylor Jones, the hack writer, sent you.

The puzzles in Jumbo Sudoku are rated easy to fiendish. However, watch out for the ones labelled easy. Some are easy; others are harder then those labelled fiendish.

To solve a puzzle you just look at it. Pretty soon the right side of your brain will solve it for you unless you are left-handed. Im not sure what you do then.

Look at a sub square. What numbers are missing?

Look at a full-length row. What numbers are missing?

Look at a full-length column. What numbers are missing?

Okay, write in the missing numbers.

Easy, right? What, you still have missing numbers?

Try this: Look at the three sub-squares forming a 3 x 9 column. Say there is a 9 in the left column of the top square. There is another 9 in the right hand column of the bottom square. Surely, there must be a 9 in the MIDDLE column of the center square (and I didnt call you, Shirley).

What, the nine is already there? Good!

If not see if you can determine which of the three elements is the 9. If there is only one blank space, it is the 9. If you cant determine which square it is, then put a tiny 9 in the boxes it could be in.

Keep doing this until you are done.

If you cant solve even an easy Sudoku puzzle, may I suggest having a friend help you?

You can also switch to the Danish board game, Husker-du? Don't play this with little kids. They forget nothing and will beat your pants off.

If that doesn't work, RUN!

The End