How to Compare Sudoku Solving Times Fairly

Compare like with like

An Easy puzzle and an Extreme puzzle may use the same grid size, but they demand very different work. Easy boards often open through singles and direct scanning, while harder boards may require full candidate notes, pairs, fish, wings, or chains. A ten-minute Extreme solve is not slower in any meaningful sense than a five-minute Easy solve. Even two puzzles carrying the same label can differ because difficulty describes the hardest reasoning required, not a guaranteed completion time for every person. The fairest comparison uses the same puzzle, the same difficulty system, or a shared Daily Challenge. Shapedoku's Daily Challenge gives everyone one common board, which makes its leaderboard more informative than comparing unrelated grids. When you compare personal progress, group results by difficulty and mode. Your best Hard time belongs beside other Hard times, not beside a relaxed Easy warm-up.

Record the rules of the run

Hints, mistakes, pauses, and note styles all affect time. A solver who fills complete candidates may begin more slowly but avoid repeated rescans later. Another player may use few Notes and rely on memory. Neither approach is automatically better, but the results are not identical tests. Hints can also turn a long search into an immediate placement, while error feedback may reveal a wrong tap before it creates a deeper contradiction. If you care about fair records, decide what counts before starting. You might track clean times with no hints, casual times where the first free Hint is allowed, and challenge times played under Speed, No Mistakes, or Perfect Run rules. Shapedoku's separate modes help because each mode defines a clearer kind of achievement. Avoid treating a paused game resumed hours later as directly comparable to one solved in a single sitting, even if the timer handles both in the same way.

Use time as feedback, not a verdict

A faster solve can mean your scanning improved, but it can also mean the puzzle happened to suit techniques you already recognize. A slower solve may be more valuable if it taught you a new pattern or produced a careful no-hint finish. Look at trends across several puzzles rather than judging one board. Median time is often more useful than a single personal best because it is less distorted by an unusually easy grid or one brilliant run. Also track accuracy. Saving thirty seconds is not progress if rushed taps create mistakes and restarts. On online leaderboards, admire the top times without assuming every gap reflects talent alone. Experience with the exact interface, device size, input speed, and familiarity with shape positions can all influence results. The calm goal is to reduce wasted searching while preserving proof for every placement.

• Match the puzzle, difficulty, and game mode.
• Note whether hints, mistakes, or full candidate marks were used.
• Separate personal bests from typical times across several boards.
• Track clean finishes as well as raw speed.
• Use leaderboards for motivation, not as a measure of intelligence.