I have come to a crossroad. I'm turning 70 in a couple of weeks, and I've been writing the Surfnetkids reviews for 27 years. It's time to figure out what's next for me, and what's next for Surfnetkids.com. So, with that goal in mind, I'm taking a June/July summer break from writing weekly updates. Hopefully I'll find a new way forward that preserves what's gone before, but gives me more free time. Thank you all for your years of support.

Sudoku is a logic-based number puzzle that does not involve arithmetic. Although first published in an American puzzle magazine in 1979, Sudoku gained popularity in Japan in 1986 before becoming an international craze in 2005. The goal is to enter a numerical digit from 1 through 9 in each cell of a 9×9 grid, without repeating a number in any row, column, or 3×3 sub-grid. After picking up some on tips at the following sites, you can try your skills at the Surfnetkids Daily Sudoku Puzzle.

British journalist Paul Stephens explains the Sudoku-solving techniques of crosshatching (eliminating rows and columns), slicing and dicing (a different way to look at crosshatching), and penciling in. When you've solved as much of the puzzle as you can using these three techniques, Paul recommends that you "start finding numbers for squares instead of squares for numbers" by applying five rules. He summarizes it all by offering three keys to successful Sudoku solving: total accuracy, completeness, and maintenance.

Visit this Sudoku.com page for five easy tips on improving your Sudoku game. Here's the first one: "Look for the easy play first: When you first start to play a Sudoku puzzle, look for where you have the easiest opportunities to add a number. Usually this is where there is a crowded square or a row that is almost full of numbers. Sometimes, especially on the Easy-rated Sudoku puzzles, you can quickly use process of elimination to figure out where to place a number."

You'll find the seven basic rules of Sudoku near the bottom of this page. Above that you'll find fifteen techniques that will take your Sudoku skills to the next level. Each of these techniques is rated Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced, and includes both a video and written summary. Learning how to use Notes is described in the fourth technique. "If you get stuck on Sudoku grid and don't see the obvious solutions for the rest of cells, you should use Notes. With the help of Notes you should fill in all the possible options for each blank cell, focusing on the numbers that are already on the Sudoku grid."

This eleven-page free PDF e-book from Michael Mepham of the Daily Telegraph requires the free Adobe Reader. For solving really difficult puzzles, it introduces methodological analysis and bifurcation, "the technical terms for picking a likely pair of numbers, choosing one and seeing where the number you have chosen gets you." It is an excellent resource for high-school students and adults, but does make reference to "a couple of slugs of scotch at the pub," so it may not be appropriate for every audience.

To be used as a last resort when solving paper-and-pencil puzzles, or as a learning tool, Sudoku Solver will step you through a solution to a puzzle of your choosing. Start by entering your unsolved puzzle in the grid or selecting one of their 12,393 sample puzzles. Then you'll be able to either solve for a single cell, or solve the complete puzzle. If you choose to solve the entire puzzle, you will also get a step-by-step review of how the puzzle was solved.