pmactoo wrote:What is the point of having a timer on the game if people are only going to cheat. I play the game because I like it and I would like to see where I stand against other players who also choose not to cheat.
Cheating says a lot about one's character and cheating on something as insignificant as a game indicates a big flaw in one's character. Of course my words will have no affect on those who choose to cheat - why would they since they have no conscious - I felt it needed to be said.
Best times:
easy: 00:39
medium: 00:43
hard: 01:04
extreme: 01:33
the strategy that improved my times significantly:
1) digit entry style: buttons; entry mode: digit first; auto pencil: erase; highlight: both - doesn't actually help you solving the puzzle, but reduces tap count by a lot.
2) solve the digits with the most prefilled cells first: the more prefilled cells of a digit there are, the more likely it is to find the difinitive solution for the missing ones. The more cells are filled in total, the more likely it is to find definitive solutions for the digits with less prefilled cells. if there's just one prefilled solution for digit 7, ignore the digit completely until you have solved the rest of the puzzle. this always works on easy and medium, most of the times on hard and sometimes even on extreme.
3) if you're typing in solutions for digit 5 that overwrite pencil marks for digit 3 and 4 leaving you with definitive solutions for digit 3 and 4, remember to fill them in immediately after having solved digit 5.
4) don't switch to pencil marks and back a lot: if pencil marks lead to a definitive solution in other boxes, just type the definitve solution in without wasting your time on pencil marks. this often leads you back to the initial cells and allows you to type more definitve solutions in right away and therefore reduces tap count. easy puzzles can mostly be solved without pencil marks. Once you're comfortable with that you can start leaving more and more pencil marks out on medium/hard/extreme.
5) work out your own strategy before accusing other people of cheating, you "big flaw in one's character" guy! if you use this strategy to get quicker, i'm really happy about having spoiled the challenge of finding your own.
