(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)

While we continue to search for a new S* S* identify for this series, besides self-setting sudoku, we are taking a short break from daily posts. A Sudoku Siesta if you will.

It is hard to be prompt with new prompts when we have to create the prompts, and then the puzzles, and then publish here too with all our other commitments. But if there are new prompts you want to see our AI Dr. Sudoku fulfill, or other examples of recent S* S* that you are inspired to make yourself like more Science Sudoku, let us know.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
Dr. Sudoku: It is 2008. You are an aspiring Sudoku constructor, trying to show fresh ideas for kids and adults at a Silicon Valley event for your first competition as setter. Make some age-appropriate themes / difficulties that highlight creativity.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: The Race for FIRST (Playoff)

Author/Opus: This puzzle, by Thomas Snyder, is adapted from a 2008 motris livejournal post.

Rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each white cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:45, Expert = 7:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
Dr. Sudoku: It is 2008. You are an aspiring Sudoku constructor, trying to show fresh ideas for kids and adults at a Silicon Valley event for your first competition as setter. Make some age-appropriate themes / difficulties that highlight creativity.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Puzzled, Eh? (Adult Puzzle #3)

Author/Opus: This puzzle, by Thomas Snyder, is adapted from a 2008 motris livejournal post.

Rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each white cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
Dr. Sudoku: It is 2008. You are an aspiring Sudoku constructor, trying to show fresh ideas for kids and adults at a Silicon Valley event for your first competition as setter. Make some age-appropriate themes / difficulties that highlight creativity.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Valley (Adult Puzzle #2 after #1 = Silicon)

Author/Opus: This puzzle, by Thomas Snyder, is adapted from a 2008 motris livejournal post.

Rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each white cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:30, Master = 4:15, Expert = 8:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
Dr. Sudoku: It is 2008. You are an aspiring Sudoku constructor, trying to show fresh ideas for kids and adults at a Silicon Valley event for your first competition as setter. Make some age-appropriate themes / difficulties that highlight creativity.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Four Square

Author/Opus: This puzzle, by Thomas Snyder, is adapted from a 2008 motris livejournal post.

Rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each white cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
Dr. Sudoku: It is 2008. You are an aspiring Sudoku constructor, trying to show fresh ideas for kids and adults at a Silicon Valley event for your first competition as setter. Make some age-appropriate themes / difficulties that highlight creativity.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Have a Nice Day

Author/Opus: This puzzle, by Thomas Snyder, is adapted from a 2008 motris livejournal post.

Rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each white cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
Dr. Sudoku: It is 2008. You are an aspiring Sudoku constructor, trying to show fresh ideas for kids and adults at a Silicon Valley event for your first competition as setter. Make some age-appropriate themes / difficulties that highlight creativity.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Tic-Tac-Toe

Author/Opus: This puzzle, by Thomas Snyder, is adapted from a 2008 motris livejournal post.

Rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each white cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:20, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
They say your vision changes as you age, but this may be hard to sense when the objects under view are changing too.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad; to access letter entry mode, go to settings (gear symbol) and at the top in tools section select “Enable Letter Tool” and then hit the 9/A button in the numberpad.)

Theme: United States Jigsaw Sudoku, 2025/08/10

Author/Opus: This is the 20th puzzle from “Dr. Sudoku”, our AI-powered puzzle engine pushing the limits of sudoku intelligence.

Rules: Insert a letter from AFKLNTVWY into each cell so that no letter repeats in any row, column, or outlined region. Note that the blue region, the original author’s birthplace, has one cell connected only by a corner to the rest.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:00, Master = 14:00, Expert = 28:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
They say your vision changes as you age, but this may be hard to sense when the objects under view are changing too.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad; to access letter entry mode, go to settings (gear symbol) and at the top in tools section select “Enable Letter Tool” and then hit the 9/A button in the numberpad.)

Theme: United States Jigsaw Sudoku, 2006/06/09

Author/Opus: This is a repost of the first Sudoku (second puzzle) on Thomas’s original blog from nineteen years ago.

Rules: Insert a letter from AFKLNTVWY into each cell so that no letter repeats in any row, column, or outlined region. Note that the blue region, the author’s birthplace, has one cell connected only by a corner to the rest.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 4.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:00, Master = 20:00, Expert = 40:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
To Thomas: I know you are a chemist, and so I expect this puzzle will contain a very specific amount of memories for you.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Erlenmeyer Flask

Author/Opus: This is the 19th puzzle from “Dr. Sudoku”, our AI-powered puzzle engine pushing the limits of sudoku intelligence. (Editor’s Note: For this post, the AI took a prior pattern Thomas used for a newspaper puzzle and created a fully new and interesting experience from it.)

Rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each white cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.