How well do you think you know the tube? Think you could name all 430 Underground, Overground and DLR stations off the top your head? Time to prove it. Tubedoku, a new daily puzzle created by Sam Dawes, will put your tube knowledge to the test.
Tubedoku is a 3×3 grid that you have to fill with six different tube stations that satisfy the descriptions both the row and column. Similar to the New York Times’ Wordle, a new puzzle is released every day.
Unlike regular sudoko, there are normally multiple possible answers for each square. For example, a station that’s on the Central line and has no repeating letters could be Bank or Fairlop, and a station ending in Green and in Zone 2 could be Bethnal Green, Parsons Green or Kensal Green.
When you click on a square, all the stations will appear in drop down menu for you to find the one you’re after (technically, this can allow you to cheat and fill the grid out without much thinking at all, but come on, there’s no honour in that). If you get an answer correct, the square will turn green.
The real challenge is to work out the ‘golden station’ – the one tube station that meets all six criteria. If you find this one it’ll appear on the grid in yellow.
If you find yourself completing the puzzle with ease, take it one step further and switch to hardcore mode. You’ll have to fill in the answers completely freehand, without the drop down menu. Of course, you can still cheat if you play while on the tube – just look up at the nearest map.
Dawes told Time Out: ‘I’ve always loved daily puzzles, and one day on the Underground I realised the tube map itself was the perfect theme. Each Tubedoku uses an algorithm to build a fresh puzzle grid around the hidden golden station. It’s been amazing to see that others enjoy it too.’
Try Tubedoku out for yourself here.
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