Your number is up: Prisoners hit out at ‘impossible’ Sudoku puzzle

A group of convicts in the U.K. have complained to their local paper after it printed what they deemed was an ‘impossible’ Sudoku puzzle. Prisoners in Exeter, south west England, sent a letter to the local paper insisting the pubished number puzzle could not be solved. Inmates Michael Blatchford and Shane Smith said they and 84 other inmates had been stumped by the teaser and as they are only allowed one paper a week, have been unable to find out the answers.

I am sadly writing this letter in a lot of disappointment. As you will see, I’ve enclosed last week’s Sudoku page and we – along with 84 other prisoners – believe you printed a hard Sudoku which is IMPOSSIBLE to complete.

The prisoners penned in their letter to the local paper.

The prisoners shared their disappointment in the note which was printed on prison notepaper. They were upset as they could only access the Thursday edition and were unable to verify the answers. Following the complaint, staff at the Exeter-based paper double checked the puzzle and verified it could not be completed. After carefully examining the prisoners’ attempt, staff at the paper found they had made several key mistakes in its middle section.

Odd News Sudoku