The History Of Sudoku
By Brandon Dillon

Sudoku is a challenging logic-based puzzle that has become a worldwide sensation in only the last few years. Many sudoku players wish to know the history of this addictive puzzle. This article will outline the puzzle's origins, how it came to be so popular, and where we can expect the history of sudoku to take us tomorrow.

Magic Squares

The history of sudoku begins here...with the magic square. Magic squares are a group of numbers arranged into a square. Within this square each row, column, and often times diagonal will equal the same total number...as if by magic.

Magic Squares are old enough to be legendary; two separate cultures claim to be its origin.

The Yih King (an ancient Chinese book) speaks of the Lo Shu legend. According to the story, the "river god" demanded 15 sacrifices and communicated this demand by spitting out a turtle with a magic square on his back...all numbers miraculously equaling 15 in any order.

The Jabirean Corpus -Islamic writings compiled in the late 9th / early 10th century - is also cited as the first recorded appearance of the magic square. The writings say that magic squares (known as wafq in Arabic) can ease childbirth.

Really, magic squares have little in common with sudoku puzzles, and their history is more entertaining than important to our study. They can look similar ...but that's about it. There's no arithmetic involved when solving sudoku, and numbers don't even have to be used (a puzzle maker could use colors, fruits, letters...whatever; the puzzle would still be solvable).

I mention magic squares here for one reason; they spawned the creation of the next step in our journey...the Latin Square.

Latin Squares

Latin Squares are a device used in statistical analysis and also in multiplication tables. The Latin Square must have the same set of symbols in each row and each column, and any number can occur only once in each row or column. This makes Latin Squares more closely related to the modern day sudoku puzzle.

Leonhard Euler, a Swiss mathematician, is credited with the creation of the Latin Square in 1782 or 1783. His paper, entitled "Investigations on a new species of Magic Square", was the first appearance of the Latin Square. The paper was based on Euler's extensive research on the Magic Square, including the paper entitled "On Magic Squares" presented to the St. Petersburg Academy in 1776.

It is important to note that Euler did not view his creation as any type of puzzle, and many rules that sudoku puzzle makers now follow are not necessary in the creation of Latin Squares.

"Number Place" - Sudoku gains popularity

In 1979, Dell Magazine published the first 'sudoku' puzzle (it wasn't named that yet) in its Pencil Puzzles and Word Games magazine. They entitled it "Number Place". The Latin Square is said to be the inspiration for "Number Place".

The puzzle designer is not recorded, but there are two theories. One names Walter Mackey, one of Dell's puzzle constructors.

However, Will Shortz (New York Times puzzle editor) used a rather impressive deduction to name an alternate possibility. Shortz went through the list of contributors in several Dell magazines, taking note of a single name that was always present when a Number Place puzzle was published, and absent otherwise.

That single name is Howard Garnes, a retired architect and freelance puzzle constructor.

How Sudoku Got Its Name

Japanese company Nikoli published the puzzle for the first time in Japan. This happened in April 1984, and was published in the paper "Monthly Nikolist". The original title was 'Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru'. Kaji Maki, the president of Nikoli, later shortened this to "Sudoku", which translates to "unwed number" or "single number".

Also, Nikoli were the first to add two new rules that make Sudoku what it is today: First, puzzle makers can give no more than 32 clues in each puzzle. Second, each puzzle must be 'symmetrical'.

Another interesting tidbit to note: Nikoli holds trademark over the name Sudoku in the country of Japan. All competitors in Japan must title their puzzles differently to avoid copyright infringement.

Sudoku and Computers

Computers aided in the explosion of the sudoku craze. How? They allowed the ability to create unique puzzles quickly and without much human effort or mistake.

Loadstar/Softdisk published the first home computer version of Sudoku in 1989 for the Commodore 64. It was entitled "Digihunt" and is still available to this day.

But the real craze began under the tutelage of Wayne Gould.

Wayne Gould, a retired Hong Kong judge and computer programmer, developed a computer program to create sudoku puzzles quickly. Gould accomplished this feat over a 6-year time span (1997 to 2003).

Showing an astute marketing mind, Gould solicited The Times, a British paper, to include his puzzle for free. The only catch: they had to include his web address with each puzzle he submitted. The Times agreed and published "Su Doku" on November 12, 2004.

The Sudoku Explosion

The Times inclusion of Sudoku puzzles set an international craze in motion. Now, Sudoku is a household name. There are websites, online forums, blogs, articles, and all sorts of products dedicated to Sudoku. One would be hard pressed to find a major newspaper that doesn't include the puzzle on a daily basis.

The Future of Sudoku

One question remains to be asked. Is the craze just a fad?

That's hard to tell. If you use Google's Zeitgeist 2007 year-end review as any marker, then the demand for sudoku may be subsiding. In fact, it's ranked 8th in the list of fastest falling search terms.

But newspapers are still printing new puzzles at breakneck speeds, new books on sudoku are published every month, sudoku tips abound on the Internet, and thousands of people can't get enough of the challenging puzzle.

So, what does this all mean? Nobody knows for sure. One can only hope that the history of sudoku will span far into the future... keeping us all focused on the missing numbers, pencils clenched in hand.

Brandon Dillon is an avid Suodoku Player and admitted sudoku addict. He is also the founder of playsudokutips.

You can access free sudoku tips, view pictures related to this article AND view the bibliography at the following site:

http://www.playsudokutips.com

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How To Quickly And Easily Win At Sudoku!
By Andrew Jamaz

Do you know just how popular Sudoku has become? If you search Google for the word Sudoku, you get an incredible 61 million webpages! Even the mis-spelling, Suduko, has 428,000 results!

When you know some simple tips, it's easy to become a better Suduko player, just like once you get familiar with wordsearches, crosswords or hangman you realize that there are strategies and ways to play which increase your chances of solving the puzzles faster.

The first thing to do is recognize that whatever Suduko puzzle you're playing, it will have a solution. Don't get frustrated or angry if you seem to reach a dead-end. By allowing yourself to get irate, you just cloud your judgement and make it more difficult to solve the puzzle. Instead, say to yourself, "Wow, this is a tricky little puzzle. I'm going to get much more satisfaction solving this one than if it had been easy and I solved it in two minutes"!

The next thing to do is try several easy suduko puzzles and decide which basic strategy works for you. Everyone's different, so I can't tell you which strategy you'll prefer. Let's go over which two strategies people use.

There's the "mental gymnast" who can hold, in memory, the possible numbers for each cell, row, column and region. If you have a monster memory, this strategy may suit you. It may also suit people who want to improve their memories. Of course, if you start with anything less than a monster memory, you will experience frustration while trying to adopt this strategy. On the other hand, the payoff is that your memory will be improving with each attempted puzzle.

The other strategy is called "elimination" and you attempt to solve the puzzle by writing in each possible answer for the sections you're working on, then, as you discover correct answers, you eliminate possible solutions from other areas. Hence, over time, you eliminate more and more wrong solutions leaving you with the right answer. Over time, the puzzle solves itself. If you're going to use this strategy, I would suggest writing the possible solutions in tiny-sized writing in pencil, and when you're sure of an answer, enter it in large-sized writing in pen. You don't want to get confused as to which parts of the puzzle have been solved and which parts haven't!

I hope these tips help you solve Sudoku puzzles faster and get more enjoyment out of what is a fun pastime.

Did you know you can play Sudoku puzzles online for free. Come and enjoy a game of Sudoku with us. We'll be happy to see you!

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Surprising Benefits Of Becoming A Sudoku Addict
By Jed Baguio

Human beings have always sought to challenge their minds since time immemorial. To test their mental skills, they involve with word and number puzzles and riddles. Numerous puzzles and games have become popular throughout history. Crossword Puzzle is one and had millions of people writing in small boxes trying to complete rows and columns of words and phrases. It was so popular that has a standard feature of most newspaper all over the world.

Rubik's Cube is a simple colorful block that became so popular that is considered a phenomenon in the 1970s. Spotting groups of friends of all ages gathered a person trying to solve the puzzle would not be uncommon. If they were able to solve the Rubik's Cube then it has almost become bragging rights for individuals then.

One puzzle seems to be dominating the rest in terms of popularity now in the millennium. It is called Sudoku that is a Japanese numbers puzzle. It appears to be harmless at first but it is not. It is composed of a simple grid of nine squares that contains smaller squares for a total of 81 squares all in all. The mother squares are the nine large squares and belong to the "regions" or one of the three grids of the puzzles. In each of the eighty one squares, it contained the numbers between one and nine.

In 1986, it emerged in Japanese mainstream life. The player must fill in each region, row, and column of the grid in order to win the game. No spaces should be in the grid. One rule is that each of the areas can only contain a particular number once and that is the hard part. Givens are squares that already have numbers and you can see this at the start of the game. Then the players need to supply number to the blank squares adhering to the rules...CONTINUE

Article taken from http://CompleteSudokuGuide.useful-tips.com

Written By Jed Baguio
Original Article Location:
Surprising Benefits Of Becoming A Sudoku Addict

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Sudoku -- Mind Games At Their Best?
By Gabriel J. Adams

Sudoku is a logic based puzzle, somewhat similar to a crossword puzzle, except it uses digits instead of words. The name Sudoku is an abbreviation of a Japanese phrase which means “the digits must remain single”. It is also sometimes called Number Place or Nampure.

The history of Sudoku

You can find predecessors of Sudoku as early as 1895, when an early version or variant of Sudoku appeared in a French newspaper.

The game now known as Sudoku was not invented until 1979, however, and was actually invented in Indianapolis, not Japan. Sudoku became widely popular in 1986, when the Japanese puzzle publisher Nikoli found and published the puzzle.

The game of Sudoku

Sudoku is based on a graph of squares, nine squares by nine squares. This graph is sub-divided into 9 3x3 squares or regions. The board looks much like 9 tic tac toe games all together.

The game is played by placing digits (1-9) in the squares on the game. Easy enough. The tough part is that each region (3x3 square), each diagonal row, each horizontal row, and each vertical row of squares must contain one of each of the nine digits, but may not have duplicates.

Each Sudoku game has some of the fields pre populated with numerals, called givens or clues. The difficulty is not necessarily related to how many fields are populated, though.

Difficulty

Sudoku is a very simple game in its construction, but it can require some serious brain effort and skill to solve. Publishers often rank games according to difficulty, using 4-5 levels to organize games by their difficulty.

Accessibility

Sudoku puzzles are published in many newspapers and magazines around the world. They are also available in print form, and as computer games. Probably the easiest way to get them, though, is from a website that features free Sudoku puzzles. Many websites can also generate custom puzzles for free.

Visit http://www.sudoku-puzzles.net for free Sudoku puzzles.

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Boost Your Child's Brainpower with Sudoku
By Lindsay Small

In less than a year the Sudoku bug has infected huge numbers of the UK population, and it is fast spreading across the world! Why has a simple logic puzzle become so popular, and how can your kids benefit?

Sudoku puzzles were first published in the US in the 1970s and are sometimes known as "Number Squares". They have been popular for many years in Japan, where the name "Sudoku" (meaning "single number") was coined. The current craze was started late in 2004 when a UK newspaper started publishing the puzzles. Within weeks the puzzles were picked up in other newspapers and Sudoku became the pastime of choice for commuters, parents – and even kids!

From a parent’s point of view, Sudoku puzzles are perfect for long journeys, waiting rooms, and rainy afternoons. They are being found more and more in the classroom as teachers wake up to their benefits and use them as time-fillers for children who finish early, as whole class activity, or as "homework". Indeed, the UK government-produced Teachers magazine has recommended that Sudoku puzzles are used in the classroom as brain exercise!

As well as developing your child's logic and reasoning skills and concentration, Sudoku puzzles, if done at the right level, build your child's confidence. Children of all abilities enjoy the challenge of a Sudoku puzzle, if the puzzle is age-appropriate. Bear in mind that many of the puzzles published in newspapers are too difficult for younger children, so it is worth seeking out puzzles made especially for kids. Children as young as five years old can try the 4x4 grids, then build up to the 6x6 grids and finally the traditional 9x9 grid.

Why are Sudoku so appealing? Firstly, although Sudoku grids usually use numbers, your child does not need mathematical skills to solve the puzzles – only logic. Using logical reasoning appropriate to his/her age, your child decides how to place numbers into a Sudoku grid. There is only one correct answer for each puzzle, no guessing is necessary, and the rules are easy to learn. The more puzzles you do, the better you become. Each puzzle typically takes a child about 20-30 minutes to complete, and gives them a real sense of satisfaction when finished!

And that, really, is the secret of their popularity. You feel good when you finish one! And then you want to try another one, and another ….

Lindsay Small is the owner of Activity Village, packed full of fun and educational activities for kids. Do you have children aged 2-10? Visit http://www.ActivityVillage.co.uk to find free kids crafts, printables, educational resources, worksheets, coloring pages and puzzles, jigsaws and, of course, Sudoku puzzles!

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A Short History on Sudoku
By Allison Thompson

Now being hailed as the Rubik’s Cube for the 21st Century, Sudoku has become the fastest growing puzzle game throughout the world. Sudoku which in some cases be spelt as “Su Doku” and is pronounced as “Soo Doe Koo” is an abbreviation of the Japanese phrase “suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru” meaning “the digits must remain single”. Although many people believe it to be of Japanese origin, it isn’t. The only thing truly Japanese about it is the name.

In Japan there is a Publishing House called Nikoli who publish the countries leading puzzle publication “Monthly Nikolist” and it was members of the staff that noticed there was an interesting number puzzle game called “The Number Place” being published in the American version of their puzzle magazine called “Dell Puzzle Magazines”. So in April 1984 Sudoku as it is known in Japan and across the world made its debut in the “Monthly Nikolist”, although it was originally known as “Suunji wa dokushin ni kagiru” by Kaji Maki the president of the company at the time. Although the maiden issue of Sudoku enjoyed some modest success, its success is really down to the fact that the Japanese people are puzzle crazy.

It was only after a couple of significant changes had happened which resulted in the puzzles popularity taking off. Firstly the name was changed to Sudoku (which is a lot easier to remember) then Nikoli Publishing House introduced 2 new rules for the game in 1986. These were that the numbers were to be arranged symmetrically and the given numbers could not exceed 30. Today you will find that there are at least 5 publishing companies now producing a monthly magazine which is solely devoted to this game in Japan. As for the name Sudoku it is rather a brand name instead of being a generic one and it has been legally registered by the Nikoli Company in Japan. Because of this any other company producing versions of this game must provide their own names for their versions.

Other stories that are doing the rounds concerning who created Sudoku are various; one being that it was created by a team of puzzle creators in New York. Then the other story also doing the rounds is that a retired architect and puzzle enthusiast by the Howard Gerns invented the game. Yet although these stories conflict because they credit its invention by different people, they do in fact agree on two points.

Firstly that Sudoku was first published in 1979 by Dell Puzzle Magazines with the title “The Number Place”.

Secondly that both Gerns and the puzzle creators from New York were inspired to produce their own versions by the game called “Latin Square” of Leonhard Euler. Leonhard Euler was a Swiss mathematician who presented a paper called “De Quadratis Magicis” at the St Petersburg Academy in 1776. He demonstrated that a magic square can be created by using 9, 16, 25 or 36 cells (blocks). However there were conditions that he imposed on the value of the number variables which brought about the creation of his magic square, this then evolved into Latin Squares on later papers that he presented.

But the versions of Gerns and team puzzler’s games differed from Euler’s in 2 ways. The first being that Euler’s version does not have any regional restrictions and secondly that Euler did not create or intend to create a puzzle. But it was the fact that Gerns and the team from New York saw the potential of a hit puzzle being produced from Euler’s work and thus proceeded to create what would be the grandfather version of modern day Sudoku.

In 1997 a retired judge based in Hong Kong called Wayne Gould happened to see a Sudoku puzzle in a Tokyo bookstore and he decided to produce a digital version of the puzzle, which he worked on from 1997 until 2003. Then in 2004 he found himself presenting this unknown puzzle to The Times newspaper in UK and within a few days of it appearing in The Times other newspapers had begun to print their own versions. In fact it became so popular that versions of it were soon to be found in Australia and New Zealand, and by 2005 it had become known as the fastest growing puzzle game throughout the world. Soon after American Newspapers were hearing about this fast growing puzzle and by April 2005 the New York Post was publishing it own version of the game also. Which is quite strange really as it originated from New York some 20 years previously?

Because it is a number puzzle and therefore does not require the use of any letters from any particular language, there is no language barrier. The game is now published in many different publications around the world from magazines to newspapers to books solely dedicated to this highly popular puzzle. You will even find websites that now offer digital versions of the game for either a fee or for free and this will certainly guarantee the games continued success in the future. It also makes it more accessible to the younger population. The race is even on for companies to create a Sudoku puzzle which is specifically designed for mobile phone users.

Sudoku is a logic puzzle which challenges old and young alike and in studies carried out it has been found that those who play Sudoku regularly have increased mental skills.

Allison Thompson a work from home mum who has become fascinated by the popularity of the Japanese Number Puzzle Sudoku and has set up a site dedicated to it. If you would like to learn more then please visit http://www.sudoku.oneohtwo.info

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How To Solve Sudoku Puzzles - Tips On How To Win At Sudoku Quickly And Easily
By Tim Gorman

Since its development a few years ago in a Japanese publication, Sudoku has taken the world by storm, reshaping the crossword puzzle page in a thousand different newspapers. The relatively simple seeming number puzzle is an astoundingly relaxing, mind sharpening exercise that millions play every day. Learning exactly how to solve a Sudoku puzzle though is something else entirely. Sudoku can be a hard game if you don’t have an inkling of how it works.

First off, a basic description – Sudoku is a consisted of a 9 by 9 grid. There are nine highlighted boxes of nine smaller boxes within that grid. Within each box and within each row there must be each number from 1 to 9, written only once to solve the puzzle.

For example, if you have the number 2 in the first two rows of a Sudoku grid, you know that a 2 must appear in the third row, more specifically in the only box of nine that does not have a 2. Learning how to solve Sudoku puzzles, means you must be able to find patterns like this easily, looking beyond a simple set at times, three or four levels deep.

One tip many people use when teaching how to solve Sudoku puzzles is to pencil in each of the numbers that could possibly go in each square, crossing each of them out as they’re ruled out. This makes it easier later on to see which numbers have already been used.

Another good tip is to look for any row or box that only has two or three blank spots. You can usually decipher one or two and then the row is complete. Once you have eight spots in a row or box filled in, the ninth number should be obvious, since each number can only appear once.

There are dozens of different methods people use to solve Sudoku puzzles, many of them much more complicated than others, depending on the difficulty of any given puzzle. You can compare the rows to each other and mark down each possible answer in a given box, or track a number carefully throughout the puzzle, by comparing every row to every other row, known as crosshatching.

Of course, describing how Sudoku works in words is incredibly hard. How to solve a Sudoku puzzle best is to simply sit and practice many, many puzzles as often as possible. There are dozens of methods that work wonders for different kinds of thinkers. Most of all, remember to use logic and above all else, patience in solving your puzzles or you might start entering the wrong numbers too early. When that happens, you may as well toss out the puzzle and start over, because every other answer you get could be wrong.

Learn how to master Sudoku with Sudoku Puzzle Secrets a complete guide covering everything you need to know in order to solve Sudoku puzzles to include how to eliminate the extraneous, what exactly unique grids are and how to use them, how to properly search for the lone number and how to use cross hatching to your advantage. Become a master Sudoku player now with http://www.sudokupuzzlesecrets.com/

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Introduction to Sudoku
By Steve Hall

Have you ever played with a Rubik's Cube? You may have mastered the Rubik's cube and are looking for a greater challenge. Try the puzzle game called Sudoku. Sudoku is a number placement puzzle that requires logic skills and patience. It is a fantastic puzzle game that can be found in newspapers, books and on puzzles and games websites.

How do you play Sudoku?

The Sudoku puzzle consists of a series of grids. The grids include one large 9 x 9 grid that houses, nine 3 x 3 smaller grids. The purpose of the game is to place a number from 1-9 in each of the grid cells. You don't have to worry about finding the sum of the numbers of the rows, columns, like in Magic Squares.

No addition is involved; however there are three conditions that rely on each other and must be followed. Each number 1-9 can appear only once in each column, once in each row, and once in each small 3 x 3 grid. Mathematically, Sudoku puzzles are a derivation of Latin Squares.

The famous mathematician Leonard Euler created Latin Squares. They are a prevalent part of discrete math. Basically, a Latin Square consists of an n x n table filled with numbers, letters, or symbols. Each symbol can only appear exactly once in each row and exactly once in each column. Sudoku puzzles take the Latin Square one step further with the 3 x 3 smaller grid constraints. The fact that you have to make sure that each small 3 x 3 grid contains each number 1-9 only once significantly increases the complexity of the puzzle.

Sudoku puzzles come in varying levels of difficulty. The amount of numbers given initially in the 9 x 9 matrix varies. One would think that the more numbers you are given initially, the easier the puzzle would be to solve. This is not always the case because the "placement" of the numbers has a profound effect on the complexity of the puzzle.

Where did Sudoku puzzles originate?

Sudoku is the Japanese word for "placement puzzle". Sudoku swept Japan in the mid-1980's. Before that, however, a puzzle constructor in the United States named Howard Garnes created the first puzzle of this type in 1979. It was called "Number Place" instead of Sudoku. It was published in the Dell Magazine Math Puzzles and Logic Problems.

How do you solve a Sudoku puzzle?

Good question! The key is to have patience and use your logic skills. Don't just use a trial and error method. Many players construct their own puzzle solving techniques and methods, which they share in Sudoku player online forums.

You can start anywhere in the puzzle, but as a beginner start by focusing on the top three smaller 3 x 3 grids. Look at the initial numbers and start with the number "1". Check to see if a "1" appears in the other two smaller 3 x 3 grids. Then find cells in these smaller grids where you can possibly place a "1" while still adhering to the rules. You will also need to take into consideration 3 x 3 grids that are attached to the given grid. It is like dancing on eggshells, but the key is to look for patterns. Logically, you need to prove why a number should go in a certain cell.

Sudoku is a clever puzzle game that will sometimes make you feel like you are going around in circles. However, practicing on different puzzles will help you to understand certain techniques that work and those that lead you to a dead end. The beauty of the game is that there are a great number of Sudoku puzzles to solve. Time yourself. Many puzzle solvers can finish a puzzle in 10 to 30 minutes. Get out your stopwatch and see how fast you can solve a Sudoku puzzle.

Steve is a member of the GrandMatrix team. They provide a broad range of games and puzzle articles and reviews. Read more articles, download and play the latest PC games for free plus enjoy thousands of user submitted puzzles, quizzes and word games at GrandMatrix Free Game Downloads

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Sudoku - Take Your Daily Puzzle to the Next Level
By Jacqui O'Brien

So you love your Sudoku, in fact, you are getting pretty good at it! Truth to tell it’s all getting a bit too easy - ’fiendish’ puzzles just aren’t that scary any more, ‘devilish’ just isn’t that hot, ‘migraine’ doesn’t even give you a headache. You are ready to go onto the next level.

Super Sudoku
The first step up is the 16 by 16 grid, sometimes called Super Sudoku. Instead of 1 to 9, the grid consists of 16 squares either with numbers 1 to 16, or numbers 1 to 9 then letters A to G. The principle is the same as the classic Sudoku, just more of it.

Sudoku X
Then there is Sudoku X, 9 by 9 puzzle grids again, but instead of just using the numbers 1 to 9 in each square, row and column only once, the diagonals of the whole puzzle must also contain 1 to 9 only once. There is a special Christmas edition of these books by Christopher Monckton, cutely entitled Sudoku X-mas.

Samurai Sudoku
Also called Gattai-5 Sudoku, this is a variation on the 9 by 9 grid theme. This time the puzzle consists of five grids, one in the centre and the other 4 overlapping each corner grid of the central one. This means that your numbers must be placed correctly for all the five puzzle squares.

Dion Cube
If you are looking for the ultimate challenge try three dimensional Sudoku – the Dion Cube. This ‘Extreme Sudoku’ puzzle was developed by Michael Mepham, who compiles Sudoku puzzles for The Daily Telegraph. This is truly fiendish. Imagine 9 Sudoku puzzles piled up on top of one another. Not only must each digit appear only once in each row and column of each separate puzzle, but once only in each vertical column and on each face of the cube too.

There ought to be something there to appeal to the most jaded Sudoku enthusiast, and get you reaching for the headache tablets once more.

Jacqui O’Brien is a Sudoku fan and the webmaster of http://www.sudokuonline.co.uk where you can find all the latest news and information on Sudoku as well as the best online Sudoku games and solvers.

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Sudoku, Crossword Puzzles, and Math - A Lovely Trio
By Joe Pagano

You know I have not yet caught on to the sudoku craze but from what I understand this puzzle game can become quite addictive. Maybe that’s the reason I haven’t dived in yet. You see, there is something delectably delightful about solving puzzles and other brain teasers and I simply have way too much to do already. Yet with all my busyness, I try to get in a good crossword or two from time to time, and I make sure to do some brain teasers. You should too and here’s why.

For one, these puzzles keep your mind sharp; for two, these games and brain stimulators keep your mind from wandering into other less desirable territories. The harder your brain works on solving such challenging mind games, the less energy you have to contemplate things like problems and other time consuming frivolities. If you think this proposition is hogwash then take me up on the challenge. Go get yourself a brain teaser, crossword, or sudoku book in your nearest Borders or Barnes & Noble. Learn the rules and start to do these. Watch how after a few days—once the fever has caught on—you are less inclined to frivol away your precious time on senseless and inane absurdities: like what the latest celebrity gossip is and what your neighbor across the street just did to his garden with his new chain saw.

My father was an ordinary mailman yet he had an extraordinary zest for doing crossword puzzles. He had no college education, yet he could pound away at these black and white diagrams until all the spaces were full. I would watch him intently as he racked his brain to get that last clue and complete the grid. Little did I understand the fascination so one day I, the college boy, asked the untutored mailman, “Dad, what is it about those stupid puzzles that you like so much?”

My father, annoyed that he had to lift his head from the clue trail, glacially looked up and stared me down. He responded with utter challenge: “You’re the college boy, let’s see if you know a three letter word for a sea eagle?” “A what?” I retorted, surprised by the question. “A three letter word for a sea eagle,” he repeated. Needless to say, I was dumbfounded by the question and quite challenged by the task. Within a week, I too was a crossword junkie.

When I contemplate the whole concept of brain teasers, math problems, sudoku, crosswords and the like, I marvel at how few people realize the great joy that lies in taking these challenges head-on. Maybe this is why I turned out to be such a normal, fun-loving guy: I had too many challenges on my mind to be sidetracked by nonsense and unproductive thoughts. Try it out for yourself and see whether you too do not become a junkie of the highest order. Indeed, we can afford more junkies like this in the world.

See more at Cool Math Site and Problem of the Week and Cool Brain Teasers

Joe is a prolific writer of self-help and educational material and an award-winning former teacher of both college and high school mathematics. Under the penname, JC Page, Joe authored Arithmetic Magic, the little classic on the ABC’s of arithmetic. Joe is also author of the charming self-help ebook, Making a Good Impression Every Time: The Secret to Instant Popularity; the original collection of poetry, Poems for the Mathematically Insecure, and the short but highly effective fraction troubleshooter Fractions for the Faint of Heart. The diverse genre of his writings (novel, short story, essay, script, and poetry)—particularly in regard to its educational flavor— continues to captivate readers and to earn him recognition.

Joe propagates his teaching philosophy through his articles and books and is dedicated to helping educate children living in impoverished countries. Toward this end, he donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every ebook. For more information go to http://www.mathbyjoe.com .

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Sudoku A Puzzle To Test Those With Agile Minds
By Terry Till

Sudoku is a great mind game that tests the brain to solve which at first looks like a simple puzzle.

The idea if sudoku is to place the numbers from 1 to 9 in a grid without duplicating the same number in any vertical or horizontal line.

The grid that sudoku is played on consists of one major grid which in turn is divided into nine smaller grids of nine boxes.

Each smaller grid has to have the numbers one to nine placed within it but at the same time you have to consider the larger grid, which also has to contain these digits.

There are many free sudoku games online that allow you to play from a simple and easy level of competence upgrading to some very tough levels, which will test even those with the most agile of brains.

I play sudoku myself and find the challenge great fun although beware because this game can become very addictive and it's very easy to spend many hours playing once you begin.

If you are new to the sudoku game it's probably best to start off with the easy level of play and then progress as you get more confident and your skills increase.

Of course as you get better at playing the game you can then even start to time yourself to see how quickly you can solve the puzzle and again most sudoku websites will provide a timer just for this purpose.

Although the sudoku puzzle game can be a great source of endless fun for the individual it is surprising how well this game has become recognised worldwide and now there are competitions taking place on regular intervals.

Copyright 2007 Terry Till

Test your sudoku skills now for free:

http://www.sudokufreegame.com/

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