Hacker News Reader

Comment by huytersd | Hacker News Reader

I expect it not to be called sudoku at that point. Call it what it really is- a nonomino or kakuro or whatever.

Why is it okay to call the game a nonomino or kakuro, when it's entirely unlike either game, but so obscene to call it a sudoku, the rules of which it includes?

And it's not called a sudoku, by the way. It's called a sudoku variant. And yes, with classic sudoku requiring 17 clues, you just have to add additional hints to make anything with 16 clues or less solvable. And a lot of variant puzzles are still a lot harder than anything you'd find in a newspaper.

There are lots of interesting patterns and strategies emerging from variants that scratch just the same logical itch as sudoku does. And sometimes ideas from variants get picked up by setters for classic sudokus, like the Phistomefel ring, which was popularized by a setter who mainly sets sudoku variant puzzles.

The linked video is very much a nonomino.

They only call it a sudoku when it is a sudoku. I.e sudoku rules apply. There are additional constraints, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a sudoku. Los Alamos chess or crazyhouse chess is still chess, isn't it? Chess is really a family of games, and the same is true of sudoku.

No, los alamos chess is los alamos chess. No one refers to it as just chess. The furthest someone might go would be chess with or without castling. There’s pai gow poker and Texas holdem poker and they’re referred to as such because they’re games with different rules. I don’t particularly care to die on this sudoku hill but it bothers me enough to say something.

People very, very frequently refer to holdem as just poker. I've also heard five cars draw referred to as just poker. If you asked someone playing PLO what they're playing, a lot of people just say 'poker' and then elaborate if it becomes necessary.

That’s because it’s by far the most popular form. No one is going to call pai gow just poker.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com