A few people in my classes do the Times one every day in lessons. I can never do it- I don't understand how. =/ I prefer the cryptic crosswords in the Telegraph.
I usually do them in the car or on the train. In boring lessons I start messing around with coins I happen to have in my pocket, I got a nice knuckle roll going after much practice!
steerpike
I don't understand how people can do them it's so difficult!
You've just got to keep at them and have patience. Once you find a couple of numbers the rest just seem jump out at you.
I do the Times' difficult/fiendish ones occasionally. I'm certainly not addicted though . If you're really into them you should look for ones on the net that have been designed to be ridiculously hard (makes fiendish look easy!).
A few people in my classes do the Times one every day in lessons. I can never do it- I don't understand how. =/ I prefer the cryptic crosswords in the Telegraph.
You have to use a process of elimination. For example, I know this takes ages, but a good starting strategy pencil in every square each number which it could possibly be. Before long you'll find one that must be a certain number which you can mark in properly with pen and eliminate that possibility from all of the row, column and square.
Another technique is to look for possibilities which are the only possibility in that row/column/square. For example, if in one column you don't have a 5 and you've worked out that only one of the boxes could possibly be a 5, it must be a 5! Likewise, you can search rows and squares in the same way. This is where marking in all possibilities in pencil comes into its own and really makes it easier; it's essential on really tough puzzles!