Sudoku Puzzle Book Errors

[Barquentine]

My father-in-law does hundreds of Sudoku puzzles. We buy him puzzle books full of them. He has identified around 25 puzzles out of 200 in one particular book had errors - i.e. they were impossible to complete without altering one or two of the printed numbers. He wants to know what recompense he could seek for his reliance on a puzzle-book's integrity. I cannot think of any duty of care or fitness for purpose arguments that could legally assist him. Can anyone else think of anything? It reminds me of recent reports of GCSE and A-Level text books containing errors.

[Buenchico]

The retailer (rather than the publisher) can be required to provide a refund for the cost of the book, as it wasn't 'fit for purpose'.

However, even though the publisher isn't legally responsible for compensating you (as the purchaser), it's likely that the publisher would want to know about the errors and might make some 'gesture of goodwill' towards you or your FIL.

[ToraToraTora]

how does he know they are invalid? does he have the answers and thus can prove the printing was wrong?

[Old_Geezer]

There are sites on the Net that will solve sudoku puzzles for you as they are coded with all checks you can try to work out the values. If they can't solve it then it's very likely to contain an error.

[Peter Pedant]

failing to solve a soduku usually means to me that I have made a mistake

in terms of a legal challenge - you must be kidding !
a book is wrong or has a typo - that doesnt mean it generates money for the reader under any analysis

I admit the type setter of the Naughty Bible ( thou shalt commit adultery ) instead of the usual commandment had his nose split and was put in the stocks and/or flogged...
fligged as he might have put it.

but you know - come arn - we have moved on from that

no cause of action and
he cant show a loss.

what about a cross word clue
Pius' handle - dead loss and in Genet ( 2,2)

dead right - no no

[Mamyalynne]

I realise this is in the Law topic, but I feel this is an occasion for a wittily composed letter to the publishers - not too heavy on gripe but more in fun.

I'm sure it will result as Buenchico says with something in return.

[jno]

a more than 10% failure rate is certainly not fit for purpose. You could do as Buenchico says, though I suspect any gesture of goodwill would just be another book, possibly no more accurate.

TTT, puzzle books usually have the answers printed at the back.

[ToraToraTora]

All they do is create a random valid grid then remove most of the numbers. It's most likely an error with the solver. I do these sometimes and an error does not always manifest itself until much later and then you realise it's a c0ok up but too late. I'd be very surprised if their really is an impossible grid simple because of the process used to set them.

[ichkeria]

Is it actually possible for a sudoku grid to contain an error? As in: it leaves ANY solution impossible? Other than of course a number appearing in an illegal position. Interesting.
If the solutions show the printed numbers HAVE moved then that is pretty poor. Do they?

[ichkeria]

A quick check shows yes it's possible of course

[Baldric]

Are you sure your FIL is as good at solving Sudoku as he thinks he is?

[ToraToraTora]

"TTT, puzzle books usually have the answers printed at the back" - yes that is why I asked if the answer actually also had the fault, ie were all the printed numbers in the original puzzle still in the same places in the answer and is the answer valid? I would like to see a sample of one of these "faulty" puzzles.

[Peter Pedant]

// A quick check shows yes it's possible of course//

we are in Law and not maff . .. BUT
an inconsistency or one inconsistency will lead to all figures 1-9 being the right answer for every blank square

this follows from maff logic where if axioms A,B,C lead to D,E,F etc
then (not A), B C will lead to notD NotE and not F

and so you can see one inconsistency leads to the whole lot

Turing said apparently that in terms of the Enigma machine - one inconsistency - would lead to everything being true and a short circuit and so the machine could rotate to the next state -
( the plug boards shortened this process lots)

Too FEW numbers to start off with should lead to more than one answer being consistent -
but I am gonnna have to ask Jim360 about that one