The Sudoku Game - Say again!?!

If you've never heard of the word Sudoku, it comes across as a bit of a mouthful. Sudoku is a puzzle based on numbers and elimination. It is set out as a grid consisting of 9 squares by 9 squares. Each set of 3x3 squares has a thicker border around it to create the impression that there are 9 large boxes (3x3) with 9 smaller boxes (cells) within.

Some numbers are given to start off with and these are called, surprisingly, 'givens'. To 'win' at a Sudoku Game you must fill in all the blank boxes so that when each line of boxes; horizontally, vertically and within each of the large boxes, contain all of the numbers 1-9 but no more than once.

For example, if you read across 9 small cells, each number from 1-9 must appear, but only once, and the same if you read any row downwards. On top of that, within each of the larger boxes (consisting of 9 cells), there must be every number 1-9 but only once.
It is the 'givens' that determine how to correctly fill out the cells and boxes. You could play this game with alphanumerics, pictures or patterns; this is why a Sudoku Game isn't classified as a mathematician's game!

Where did the Sudoku Game come from?

Even though the name sounds Japanese, the game itself originated either in New York or the United Kingdom. It was first introduced in the 1970's, by a man named Howard Garns under the publication "Math Puzzles and Logic Problems". This 74 year old house designer and 'logistician' called the game 'Number Place'.

Japan caught on in 1984 when a magazine by the name of Nikolist published it under the name of Sudoku; 'su' is Japanese for Number and 'doku' is Japanese for single; in other words, "the numbers must be single". Since then, Sudoku Game has taken off around the world!!

Was the Sudoku Game always this way?

Rumor has it that the president of the Nikolist magazine was actually 'Nikoli'. He added two criteria to the Sudoku Game, namely that all the 'givens' must be entered in rotationally symmetric patterns and that they must be limited to 30.

It was only a matter of time before electronic versions began appearing. In 1989 Loadstar/Softdisk Publishing included the game in a computer called the Commodore 64 and named it "DigiHunt".

New Zealand wasn't long to follow after... Wayne Gould in 1997 spent 6 years developing the computer software that would make the puzzles very fast after having spotted it in a bookshop. There was even a TV show!! Sky One aired "Sudoku Live" in July 2005. But this game has many other names like "Squared Away" and is available through many mediums including puzzle books and your cell phone!

Variations of the Sudoku Game

There are a few run-offs of Sudoku Game; some of these are a scaled-down version with only 4 grids and 2x2 boxes either side of the square, right up to 'Number Place Challenger' which uses one 6x16 tables!! Other rules make the game more interesting; for instance having each number on the diagonals in the centre required to be unique.

Multi-Sudokus or 3D Sudokus are also new developments. A man called Dion Church released the 3D Sudoku game in 2005 and 'Gattai 5 Sudoku' has 9x9 tables that cross over at the edges.

Other logisticians have substituted alphabet letters or symbols for the numbers. In the 'Code Doku' the letters must spell a sentence.

India, as recently as this year, released 'Greater-Than' or 'Comparison Sudoku'. A highly detailed game it requires all the symbols to be used in ascending order in every square.

In the end, all you need to know about this game is that it's a logical puzzle with its name coming from Japan. There are heaps of variations to suit any sort of puzzle fanatic and all stretch and extend our logical capacities.

Summary:

The Sudoku Game is that it's a logical puzzle with its name coming from Japan. There are heaps of variations to suit any sort of puzzle fanatic and all stretch and extend our logical capacities.