Stage #2: Sudoku Is The Most Annoying Game Ever!!
A few weeks ago I wrote about the 4 Stages of Sudoku. If you didn’t read that article, just click here to read it now…
In case you don’t remember the 4 Stages, here they are again:
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Stage #1: Sudoku Ecstasy
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Stage #2: Sudoku Is The Most Annoying Game Ever!!
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Stage #3: Here I Am
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Stage #4: Mastery
Now, in the next few issues of this newsletter, I’ll go over each stage, how to know if you’re in that stage and how to get to the next level quick, and easy.
Ok, today we’ll go over:
Stage #2: Sudoku Is The Most Annoying Game Ever!!
Well, the honeymoon is over. It’s at this stage that you start to really know what you don’t know. At this point you’re just trying to survive… let alone solve a puzzle!
This is by far the most frustrating stage, and… it’s also the stage where… most people simply…
Give Up
You see, back in Stage #1 (the ecstasy stage) you had no idea what you were getting yourself into… it was basically love at first sight. And as always, anytime you fall in love with something without knowing anything about it… well, let’s just say trouble always comes.
And it’s no different here with Sudoku.
Have you ever heard the term…
Ignorance Is Bliss
Well, there’s a reason for that saying… it’s true! You see, in the beginning you didn’t know what you didn’t know.
So at that moment you were in bliss because you had no idea what was coming up next.
You played a few easy games, maybe some intermediate puzzles and you felt really good, because hey you can solve them!!
What you didn’t know is that the skills you used to solve the easy ones would not be the same ones you could use to solve the harder puzzles.
I mean sure, you knew there would be a difference, but you had no idea it would be THAT hard!
So don’t feel bad if you’re at this stage. It happens to everyone and believe me you’ll get beyond this point quickly.
The first thing to keep in mind is that this is the absolute WORST time to give up on sudoku.
If you were in a 20-mile marathon… would you give up at around mile 10? Of course not… you’re halfway there.
Giving up at this point would be the same. Even though it’s the hardest and most frustrating of all the stages, giving up here would be insanity because you haven’t even seen it through yet.
You don’t know enough about it to decide if you like it or not.
The next thing to keep in mind is this:
Forget the fancy stuff… master the fundamentals.
Yeah I know, that’s boring, but… it won’t be boring in a few short weeks when you’ve made huge progress and everyone else you know is pulling their hair out trying to solve the harder puzzles!
And by fundamentals I mean: 1 through 9′s, double-double’s, taking in the whole puzzle, looking for things like symetry, basically the foundation of sudoku solving.
Now, it’s funny because it’s at this stage where so many instructions out there teach you more and more techniques, and even more complex strategies. The reasoning is that the fundamentals just aren’t that important. This would be:
WRONG!
This is the perfect time to learn about and master the fundamentals because it helps you build a strong foundation from the very beginning.
Wouldn’t you first learn the fundamentals of, say, driving a car before getting behind the wheel and hitting the highway?
The fundamentals are crucial at this stage so learn them and practice them!
Another thing to keep in mind here is this:
There’s no way you can automatically be good if you’ve never had any exposure to sudoku.
Don’t automatically assume you’re making no progress simply because you’re just “not getting it”… you’re simply learning something new.
Wouldn’t you give yourself enough time to learn something like a new language?
Then do the same with your sudoku… you’ve got to give it time.
The absolute best thing you could do for yourself at this stage is to practice every moment you can. Play often. Get new puzzle books. Go over and review the Sudoku Professor videos (you do have your own copy of the videos right? If not, click here and get them now…) The point is, you have to keep at it and just enjoy what you do know, and let your brain figure out the rest.
Believe me when I tell you, whether you know it or not, your brain is learning. And it’s figuring out what’s going on and you will get better!
Even though this is the most frustrating stage to be in, it could also be the most valuable.
But only if you let it. You’ve got to take advantage of it and really master the basics.
Wanna know something funny?
When really good players practice, and learn, do you want to know what they focus on? Yup, the basics, the fundamentals!
The sudoku players at the very top are always perfecting the basics. Sure they’ll add new tricks and strategies to their bag of tricks, but… most of their time is spent on getting the basics mastered.
So don’t ignore this stage… practice your basics and get ready for Stage #3…
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