The Surprising History of Sudoku

People today tend to marvel at the accomplishments of ancient civilizations, such as demonstrated by the pyramids of Egypt. Those ancient people had such creativity and intelligence, and they did not have TV or radio to entertain themselves. Instead, they relied upon their minds for entertainment, creativity, and solutions to problems.
Every once in a while, when media gets dull and our minds need sharpening, people will turn to riddles and brain twisters. It's how we explore our thought processes, and how we develop our creativity. Without puzzles and riddles, our brains become stagnant. Humans innately love and need activities that twist the mind and form new ideas.
Some of the games we play today are based on those that were played in ancient times, with innovations and changes made over the centuries. Sudoku is a game that may well have been played in ancient times, and it has a beautiful simplicity, yet can be wonderfully challenging. And the history of Sudoku is fascinating, too.
The word "Sudoku" is another name for "number place". Derived from the Japanese language, "Sudoku" refers to a logic-based placement. A type of puzzle game, in other words. The first Sudoku puzzle was published in 1979, in a US magazine. The puzzle traveled to Japan, where it exploded with popularity. If translated into English phrases, the name "Sudoku" would actually be "the digits must remain single", though the word Sudoku is actually an abbreviation of the original Japanese name. The name has gathered various manners of pronunciation in different countries, but the basic standards of the game have not been altered. The puzzle enhances your mental processes. There are simple basic rules to follow when solving a Sudoku puzzle.
Sudoku was created by Howard Garns at the end of his career as a puzzle maker. A retired architect, Garns enjoyed making puzzles as a freelancer, and he knew how to make a great one. He based it on the Latin Square puzzle work by Euler, an ancient game that Garns improved by adding a third dimension. With the addition of a partially completed grid, Garns had a winner on his hands that players immediately loved.
The history of Sudoku took another twist in Japan. After Howard Garns introduced the first Sudoku puzzle in a U. S. magazine, a person named Nikoli in Japan picked it up. While Mr. Garns had his own English name for the puzzle, Nikoli gave it the Japanese name Sudoku.
For the first few years, players used paper and pencil to play the game, but in 1989, a computerized version was introduced. More recently, a Rubik's Cube style version of Sudoku has been constructed.
By 1997, Sudoku had established an enormous worldwide following. In Hong Kong, Judge Wayne Gould decided to create a computer program that can make millions of variations of Sudoku puzzles. He made a deal with The Times of Britain, which began publishing a daily puzzle in 2004.
Nationwide, newspapers would print the puzzles and sell out quickly. World media acknowledged Sudoku as the "fastest growing puzzle in the world". By 2005, Sudoku was at the peak of its popularity.
The history of Sudoku is as interesting as the puzzle itself, with ancient roots, modern influences, and an ocean crossing to reach its full popularity. Fans of Sudoku should toast Mr. Howard Garns for bringing endless hours of puzzling pleasure to their lives.

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Author Terence Uniacke enjoys writing for a variety of web sites, on hobby crafts and other hobby themes.