Sudoku's Storied History

Ancient civilizations did marvelous things, and built wonderful reminders of their skill and creativity, such as the Great Pyramids. They used their intelligence in many ways, including to entertain themselves. They did not have radio or television, but instead relied on their brains to solve problems and develop creative solutions.

Today, when people find the media has become somewhat dull, repeating stories in a cycle -- "the sames" rather than "the news -- they often turn to brain teasers and puzzles as a remedy. Doing so encourages our brain to get a bit of a mental work out, and dusts off unused parts of the mind that need to be worked to keep them healthy. Puzzles and riddles serve lots of purposes, and all over the world, people enjoy challenges that help keep the mind active and thinking up new ideas and strategies.

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.

Howard Garns was a retired architect who loved creating puzzles as a freelance effort, and it appears he contributed the first-known version of Sudoku to a puzzle magazine in 1979. It is similar to the Latin Square, which has been much analyzed by Euler, and is an ancient game. Garns added a third dimension, improving on the design, and he offered his version with some of the fields already filled in. It is immediately popular with puzzle players worldwide once they try it for the first time.

Once the game had arrived in Japan, a few years after its invention, its name was changed from "Number Place" to "Sudoku." A Japanese company copyrighted the name later on, and helped launch the game to Europe and around the world.

Originally, players always found newspapers or puzzle magazines for the source of new games, but in 1989 a computer version of Sudoku was introduced. Some people have even created a three dimensional version based on Rubik's Cube.

Sudoku reached huge global popularity by 1997, and a Hong Kong resident named Wayne Gould created a computer program to create the game, which can spit out thousands of variations in short time. He later developed a business selling the puzzles around the world.

Newspapers in many countries began printing Sudoku puzzles, and they would sell out for that reason alone. Some analysts stated that Sudoku was the world's fasted growing puzzle, and it perhaps peaked in popularity in 2005.

Knowing something of the history of Sudoku adds a nice touch to this enjoyable pastime. From its beginnings in the ancient world, to adaptation using modern computers, to global acceptance, Sudoku has come a long way in a short time. Thanks to Howard Garns for creating a puzzle that brings pleasure and brain stimulation to millions of people every day.

Article Source: http://www.articlemonk.com

Terence Uniacke is happiest writing for several Internet magazines, on hobby center and ultimate hobby themes.
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