A Short History of Sudoku

Sudoku's history is a fascinating subject for those who are devoted to the game. You would imagine, based on its name, that Sudoku originated in Japan, but it actually appeared first in the United States and in the UK. Sudoku was first published in the late 1970's in North America in New York by the publisher "Dell Magazines". Dell, a specialist in puzzles of logic and ability, published Sudoku as "Number Place" in its Math Puzzles and Logic Problems magazine.

The American Version of Sudoku

It has not been absolutely determined who designed the modern American version of Sudoku, but some believe it was Walter Mackey, who was one of Dell's puzzle creators. Others believe it was Howard Garns, a 74-year-old retired architect and freelance puzzle constructor from Indiana. The reasoning for believing that it was Garns was because he was always on the list of contributors in issues of Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games that included "Number Place", but his name was always missing from issues that did not.

Sudoku Reaches Japan

Sudoku finally did reach Japan when the Japanese found a "Number Place' in a Dell magazine and translated it as something quite different: su meaning number and doku meaning single unit. It was introduced to Japan by Nikoli in 1984. The puzzle appeared in the Monthly Nikolist in April as "Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru". This can be translated to "the numbers must be there in only on instance". It immediately caught on in Japan, which is only natural, when you consider that Crosswords don't work very well in the Japanese language, and so number puzzles are much more prevalent there than word puzzles.

In 1986, the popularity of the puzzle increased, and Nikoli introduced two different versions of Sudoku. It is now published in many mainstream Japanese periodicals, including the Asahi Shimbun. The trademark name of Sudoku is still held by Nikoli while other publications in Japan use other names.

Sudoku and the Computer

It was not long before Sudoku could be played by computer. "DigitHunt" was created for the Commodore 64 in 1984 by a company called Loadstar/Softdisk Publishing. This home computer version of Sudoku allowed people of all ages to enjoy the game in a convenient manner and on demand, right on their computer screens.

The Modern Sudoku Craze

The Sudoku puzzle continued to grow in popularity and reached craze status in Japan in 2004 and the craze spread to the United States and the UK through pages of national newspapers. With this increased popularity came more analysis and a deeper scrutiny of Sudoku. It was an accepted belief that practically speaking, there are virtually endless solution grids for the 9x9 Sudoku puzzle. In 2005, Bertram Felgenhauer calculated the number to be about 6,670,903,752,021,072,936,960. He arrived at this number using logical computations. The analysis of the number of solution grids was further simplified by Frazer Jarvis and Ed Russell. It has not yet been calculated how many solution grids there are for the 16 x 16 Sudoku puzzle.

Sudoku is now published in a variety of places including the New York Post and USA Today. The puzzle is also reprinted by Kappa in GAMES magazine. The Daily Telegraph uses the name "Sudoku" and you may see the puzzle called "su doku" in other places. Many times you will find Sudoku included in puzzle anthologies which include The Giant 1001 Puzzle Book. In these books Sudoku is usually titled something like "Nine Numbers". Its popularity is such that "Sudoku" is now a well-known word around the world, and is part of millions of Google searches every month.

This article is based on information about Sudoku's history found at http://www.sudokumadeeasy.com/history-of-sudoku/.

Thomas Smythe is an avid Sudoku fan, and has a website devoted to the game at http://www.sudokumadeeasy.com/.

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Big Bad Sudoku iPad Game Review

Dedicated fans of Sudoku do not need me to explain the intricacies of the game or elaborate how addictive Sudoku can be. If you have found your way to this article and play Sudoku, purchasing Big Bad Sudoku needs to be on the top of your list of iPad Apps. Easily one of the best iPad games available, Big Bad Sudoku will provide you with as many Sudoku games as you have time for.

Big Bad Sudoku allows you to choose how the new Sudoku puzzles are created. Either from a pattern generator, or simply randomly generated, all the puzzles created are guaranteed to be solvable. This iPad game has 5 different levels of difficulty ranging from easy, medium, hard, expert, or insane. Games can also be timed for an added level of difficulty.

One feature of Sudoku that adds to the fun is the Puzzle scoring. With puzzle scoring you are graded on how you solve the puzzle as well as the higher score. This provides a way to measure yourself for extra challenges and adds a competitive feel to Sudoku.

Big Bad Sudoku adds more challenges for user by allowing you to play pre-set campaigns. In addition to the difficulty of solving a Sudoku puzzle, the "New Campaign Mode" gives you the challenge of solving a series of Sudoku puzzles. The New Campaign Mode has 50 pre-determined puzzles ranging from Easy to Insane. You advance to the next puzzle by solving the first one and are awarded a cumulative score by finishing all 50 puzzles.

Multitasking & Audio

The game supports iOS4.2 multitasking on the iPad which means you can have it on in the background if you need to do other things. What's really nice about Big Bag Sudoku is the iPad game supports background audio. Users can listen to internet radio through a standalone app or Safari in addition to the iPod features built into the iPad operating system.

Social Gaming

The newest version of Big Bad Sudoku supports social gaming. You can share puzzles you are working on via email, Facebook, and even text messages. Friendly competitions can be set up with your friends. The iPad game will let you know of any games your friends have shared, allowing you to play the same games they have. If you successfully beat their score, you can let all your friends know through Facebook!

Multi-Platform Support

Big Bad Sudoku can be run on any of your iOS devices: iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch. You also only to have to buy it once and are allowed to have it run on all the Apple devices registered to your iTunes account.

John Noel has been a Apple user and technology expert for over a decade. Come visit his website at http://www.myappworld.com/ which helps people find the best iPad apps such as Soudoku for iPad as well as the latest Apple products and the best iPad accessories.

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Tricks For Sudoku

If you know some Sudoku tricks then it would be much easier for you to get around completing a Sudoku puzzle. As we all know, each Sudoku puzzle has its own level of difficulty. Some puzzles are easy to complete, while some are not. It is also important to keep in mind that each player must have the necessary focus and must be in a great condition in order to solve Sudoku puzzles, especially those hard to solve. Below are some of the tips that are sure to help you in completing your puzzle.

START FROM EASY

Just like in most learning activities, beginning from less complex things is better than jumping directly to those difficult ones. Consider solving a 9x9 grid Sudoku puzzle or those with smaller grid sizes that are designed to be solved more easily than the others. Once you start to have a feel on how the puzzle works, it would be easier for you to go one level higher. Hone your Sudoku skills little by little by starting from those simpler puzzles and eventually progress to those more complex ones.

USE A PENCIL WITH ERASER

In Sudoku, the pencil is always mightier than the pen - especially those with erasers on top. Using a pencil allows you to redo or undo your puzzle in case you get it wrong. It also allows you to have a cleaner sheet with nothing of those messy permanent markings that stay on it when you use a pen. Having a clean sheet in front of you makes you feel more focused and less puzzled when completing the puzzle.

SPOT THOSE 3x3 SUB-SQUARES

When completing a classic 9x9 grid Sudoku puzzle, locate those 3x3 sub-squares that contain the most givens. Identifying numbers which should be on their blank boxes should be easy since those sub-squares are already almost complete. This is one great way of doing it faster and easier. After finishing one sub-square, move on to the next sub-square - then to the next.

LOOK FOR THE LUCKY BOX

This one is the easiest way to get around a Sudoku puzzle - looking for the lucky box. It is just so simple. All you have to do is to locate a sole unfilled box which lies on a row, a column, or a sub-square. What is left for you to do is to trace the missing number by counting 1 to 9.

EXERCISE YOUR LOGIC

Sudoku is not entirely a game of luck, however. Lucky boxes are very limited in number in a Sudoku puzzle. So if you want to successfully complete the puzzle, you have to let your brain work and not just depend on luck. Examine and scrutinize the puzzle like how a detective treats evidences in a case. Do not miss a single row, column, or sub-square and keep looking for possible fits.

CHECK - AND DOUBLE CHECK - YOUR ANSWERS

Often times a Sudoku player may think that he or she has successfully completed the puzzle already, only to find out that there are duplicates of a number (or numbers) all over his/her Sudoku sheet. This is undeniably frustrating and is very common to some beginners. This is also the reason why every player needs to be highly thorough in checking if there are any duplicates in each row, column, and sub-square. This mistake may seem small, but its effect on your puzzle - and on you as a player - can be a bit devastating.

BE PATIENT

Patience is indeed very important in solving a Sudoku puzzle. There may be instances when you can't seem to complete a puzzle no matter how hard you try. Just remember that every puzzle has its corresponding answer(s). If you lose your patience along the way, then it would be impossible for you to complete a Sudoku puzzle.

These Sudoku tricks can help every player in completing Sudoku puzzles successfully. Beginners can apply them each time they play Sudoku. It is also great if you try to discover some techniques of your own as you transcend from one difficulty level to the next or from one Sudoku variation to the other.

Gary Spero is the chief editor of http://www.sudoku-tips.org/. As well as being a Sudoku enthusiast he is also interested in self improvement and psychology. To get more information and resources on Sudoku tricks visit his website to sign up for his free 21 day Sudoku Tips Revealed mini-course..

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Other Sudoku Variations You Can Try

Four of the many other Sudoku variations are the Mini Sudoku, Mega Sudoku, Irregular, Sudoku, and the Multi Sudoku. Compared to the classic 9x9 Sudoku puzzle, these variants may have grid sizes other that the 9x9 size. They may also have additional rules that can only be applicable to their type. Take a closer look at these 4 variants that you might also like to work on.

MINI SUDOKU

Completing a Mini Sudoku puzzle by seeing to it that each number should only appear once in every row, every column, and every sub-square is still the primary goal for each player. Mini Sudoku, however, is smaller in grid size compared to the classic 9x9 Sudoku that you most often see. This particular Sudoku variant may either have a 4x4 or a 6x6 grid size.

This means that when you are playing a Mini Sudoku Puzzle with a 4x4 grid size, you should place the numbers 1 to 4 to their corresponding row, column, and sub-square without having any duplicates in any of those three places. Completing a 6x6 grid Mini Sudoku puzzle also goes like that; you must make sure that each row, each, column, and each sub-square only contains a single number from 1 to 6.

Mini Sudoku is especially good for beginners. This is due to its fewer set of numbers that makes it easier and faster to solve.

MEGA SUDOKU

Mega Sudoku may either have a 12x12 or a 16x16 grid size. It is larger compared to the classic 9x9 Sudoku puzzle in terms of grid size. Just like in any Sudoku puzzle, the main aim is to fill those unfilled boxes with numbers 1 to 12 (for the 12x12 grid) and 1 to 16 (for the 16x16 grid) and making sure that each number only appears once in every row, every column, and every sub-square.

As you may be aware by now, Mega Sudoku has a larger grid size compared to the classic 9x9 Sudoku. This means that completing this particular Sudoku variant may cause you a longer period of time. Its level of difficulty, however, still rests on how the givens are prearranged.

IRREGULAR SUDOKU

The first thing that you will note in an Irregular Sudoku puzzle is the shape of its sub-squares. If you try to think about it, it is more applicable to call them "regions" rather than sub-squares since most of them are not really squares. But for this purpose, let us just retain the word sub-squares instead of regions. Just like in other Sudoku puzzles, you are still not allowed to repeat any number inside every sub-square, every row, and every column.

Irregular Sudoku puzzles may have three different grid sizes (6x6, 9x9, or 12x12). Each row, column, and sub-square should posses only one number ranging from 1 to 6 (for the 6x6 grid), from 1 to 9 (for the 9x9 grid), and from 1 to 12 (for the 12x12 grid).

MULTI SUDOKU

If you are looking for a more complex Sudoku variant, then Multi Sudoku is right for you. Multi Sudoku does not only have a single grid but has multiple grids from different Sudoku variants. Because it has more than one variant, it also carries more than one variant rules.

In Multi Sudoku, you will encounter a Sudoku sheet that carries two or more overlapping Sudoku grids. These overlaps can be seen on certain sub-squares which must be solved with two variant rules from each main grid. The goal here is still the same which is completing the puzzle without having a single number appear more than once in each row, column, and sub-square. This is one of the most complex and challenging Sudoku variants that you could possibly try to solve.

Test yourself by trying these Sudoku variations and try to complete them while having fun.

Gary Spero is the chief editor of Sudoku Tips. As well as being a Sudoku enthusiast he is also interested in self improvement and psychology. To get more information and resources on other Sudoku Variations visit his website to sign up for his free 21 day Sudoku Tips Revealed mini-course.

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