Sudoku is a classic puzzle game that is beloved worldwide. The history behind its creation and popularization spans continents and generations. The original concept of Sudoku, known as the “Latin Square,” was created by Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in the 18th century. The Latin Square had a similar objective: no numbers could appear more than once in the same row or column. This logic game laid the foundation for what would eventually become Sudoku.

In 1979, an American architect named Howard Garns published a game called “Number Place” in a magazine. The game featured a 9 x 9 grid divided into 3 x 3 subsquares with some numbers already filled in. The objective was to fill the remaining squares so that each row, column, and subgrid contained all numbers 1 through 9 exactly once. This game would eventually be called Sudoku. The word “Sudoku” was coined after appearing in a Japanese newspaper in 1984. Sudoku is an abbreviation of the Japanese phrase “suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru,” meaning “the numbers must remain single.” The game became a worldwide sensation when Wayne Gould, a retired judge, developed computer programs for Sudoku that were published in 2004.

Whether you are a seasoned player or a curious novice, solving a Sudoku puzzle can be a rewarding and boredom-busting experience. It is purely a logic game, so no math is involved. Sudoku can easily be found in print, online, or in the app store. So why not give it a try? You may find yourself captivated by the challenge of this timeless game. Happy solving!

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