Sudoku - a great & stimulating game

Posted on December 25th, 2005.

sudoku puzzle

Sudoku is a logic-based placement puzzle, also known as Number Place in the United States. The aim of the canonical puzzle is to enter a numerical digit from 1 through 9 in each cell of a 9×9 grid made up of 3×3 sub grids (called “regions”), starting with various digits given in some cells (the “givens”). Each row, column, and region must contain only one instance of each numeral. Completing the puzzle requires patience and logical ability.

The root of Sudoku lies in an 18th century brainteaser called Latin Squares invented by a mathematician named Leonhard Euler who hails from Basle, Switzerland. The Japanese copied the basic concept and introduced it to the world as suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru, which translates as “the number that is limited only to unmarried or single”. Sudoku attained international popularity in 2005.

Playing this puzzle is not easy as you think. It is not the matter of guessing where the numbers are (like jigsaw puzzle, guessing where the right pieces should be put), but every solution has its own logical explanation.

It’s said that Sudoku also can force your brain to think logically. This should be applied to the children, so that their fresh brain can develop better. The elderly also should try this to stimulate their brain.

There are lots of Sudoku resources. Below are a few:

Web Sudoku - Billions of Sudoku to play online
Sudoku Assistant - A step by step Sudoku helper by Andrew Stuart
Sudoku puzzle - how to solve
Daily Sudoku

Now, I myself am trying to solve Sudoku. The easy one is very hard. Arghh….

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