Trividoku #1
As with a regular Sudoku puzzle, you have a nine-by-nine grid of spaces. To solve the puzzle, you need to fill in each space with a digit 1 - 9 so that each row, column and 3 x 3 box contains exactly one of each digit. Every puzzle also starts with about twenty "givens". These are the digits in the puzzle that help make it so that the puzzle can be filled in with a correct solution.
With a Trividoku, we take out nine of the given digits and replace them with Trivia matches. Take a look at the sample below. It's the first puzzle in the book and is intended to be a gentle introduction to Trividoku.
Here's a sample puzzle:
Now here are the Trivia Clues
| President | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (A) | Ronald Reagan | (1) | 1789 - 1797 |
| (B) | Woodrow Wilson | (2) | 1817 - 1825 |
| (C) | George Washington | (3) | 1861 - 1865 |
| (D) | John F Kennedy | (4) | 1901 - 1909 |
| (E) | Abraham Lincoln | (5) | 1913 - 1921 |
| (F) | Franklin D Roosevelt | (6) | 1933 - 1945 |
| (G) | Teddy Roosevelt | (7) | 1961 - 1963 |
| (H) | Bill Clinton | (8) | 1981 - 1989 |
| (I) | James Monroe | (9) | 1993 - 2001 |
How to solve a Trividoku
The best way to start is to look at the Trivia to see which ones you can easily fill in. George Washington was our first president, so it's pretty clear that you're going to match up (C) George Washington with (1) 1789 - 1797.
Since George Washington matched (1), that means that the square in the grid with the (C) (for Washington) has a "1" filled into it. So fill in a "1" in the square in the top row, seventh column. At this point you should also cross off the (C) and the (1).
| President | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (A) | Ronald Reagan | (1) | 1789 - 1797 |
| (B) | Woodrow Wilson | (2) | 1817 - 1825 |
| (C) | George Washington | (3) | 1861 - 1865 |
| (D) | John F Kennedy | (4) | 1901 - 1909 |
| (E) | Abraham Lincoln | (5) | 1913 - 1921 |
| (F) | Franklin D Roosevelt | (6) | 1933 - 1945 |
| (G) | Teddy Roosevelt | (7) | 1961 - 1963 |
| (H) | Bill Clinton | (8) | 1981 - 1989 |
| (I) | James Monroe | (9) | 1993 - 2001 |
Keep matching things up as long as you can. You can then use normal Sudoku rules to find the rest of the answers.
Errata
pg 97: (6) Roger Young should be "Rodger Young" with a "d".