def board_to_string(board):
    """Converts the board from multidimensional list to a string for seeding into sudoku-solutions.com to verify/test.
    Also returns number of givens in the puzzle."""
    board_string = ''
    givens = 0
    for row in range(9):
        for col in range(9):
            if isinstance(board[row][col], list):
                board_string += ' '
            else:
                board_string += str(board[row][col])
                givens += 1
    return board_string, givens