Help me choose...?

Hi,
I was a subscriber to Sudoku Pro before it went under, and believe it or not I'm just finishing Issue 49 now! So I need something for the summer hols, and I see that Sudoku Pro is back from the dead, along with Sudoku Xtra too. Having never seen Xtra, I wondered if you good folks could help me decide which to get -- Pro or Xtra?

(With Pro, I tend to jump to the 3-hourglass puzzles immediately, and then do the easier ones as fillers when I'm tired or only have a few minutes to spare. My favourites are Slitherlink, Inequality, Futoshiki, and the varieties of Killer and Jigsaw.)

Thanks for any advice,
Kevin

While I'm resisting the urge to say "get both", I think it would at least serve you well to pick up a back issue of Sudoku Xtra just to see what it's all about and possibly make a better personal decision if you can't have both.

That being said, I can't be of much help since I'm not at all familiar with Sudoku Pro, but it looks like other forum-goers might have a better answer for you.

If you liked Sudoku Pro before then you will still like it - in fact you should like it even more because it now has a slightly wider variety of puzzles. So if you know you like it then it's a safe bet. It also costs less and you don't need to print it yourself (or pay extra for a pre-printed version). By contrast Sudoku Xtra is definitely a more 'specialist' title - there are many more puzzles and on average they're harder, plus you'll also encounter a wider variety of content. But I've actually pushed back some of the Sudoku Xtra work into Sudoku Pro now, so I've upped the design and difficulty of some of the puzzles there too.

Why not download the Sudoku Xtra preview (click the red puzzle mag at the top-right) and take a look at it? That should help you decide.

Of course my real advice is to buy both! Then at least you'll have all the facts available and you can choose which you prefer going forward.

Hello Kevin - if you read some of the other threads you will see how much we all enjoy Xtra. It sounds as tho you like a challenge so I would definitely give it a go. Some of the newer variants (consecutive, odd pair and skyscraper) are excellent and there are always some fun guest puzzles at the end. There are far less easy ones than in Pro so its quite a challenge to complete the puzzles before the next issue arrives - I have never managed yet!

The new Pro is also good and handy sized but I like the fact that I can reprint odd pages of Xtra when things go sadly wrong (surely not!)

Good luck - if you ever finish a skyscraper samurai star come on here again and cheer loudly. I for one will salute you. Sue

Gareth, thanks for the link to the preview -- what an amazing variety of puzzles! Harder is definitely better, so I'll give it a whirl and report back after my hols

Sue, how did you know that I just can't resist a challenge?!

Thanks for the help,
Cheers,
Kevin

Hi Kevin

Glad you decided to give Sudoku Xtra a go. I am sure you will really enjoy it. As someone who does both, I have to say that good as Sudoku Pro is, Sudoku Xtra has so much more variety and a few new challenges each month. And as you have mentioned to Sue, you obviously like a challenge! The beauty of this magazine is that whilst retaining some old favourites each month, there is always something new in it as well which means no chance for boredom to set in. I personally never manage to complete everything (but have a very good go before giving up with some!) but it's great when you conquer a particularly difficult one, or just learn how to do a fairly straightforward new puzzle type.

Anyway, have a great holiday and do come back and tell us your thoughts. Christine