Sudoku
Today sudoku is, without doubt, the most popular logic puzzle. Although it seems simple, its solving requires numerous strategies. The first sudoku was made about thirty years ago.
Sudoku is world's number one logic puzzle. It first appeared in 1979 in American magazine „Dell Pencil Puzzles And Word Games“ under the name “Number place”. The author of this problem, Howard Garnes, did not live long enough to see the international success of his puzzle. In the nineties it became popular in Japan, where it got its present name Su-doku (Su=number, doku=one). Its popularity increased worldwide at the end of 2004, when Wayne Gold from New Zealand created computer program and offered his work to London “Times”. The editor firstly did not realized what kind of treasure he had in front of him, but when he solved his first problem, he was delighted. So sudoku began its way towards the glory.
Nowadays this puzzle appears not only in puzzle magazines, but in many daily newspapers also. People are able to fill in the empty squares for days and it is truly amazing how much this game is interesting.
In its original form, sudoku puzzle consists of 9x9 grid of squares divided in nine larger 3x3 squares. The goal is to fill in the grid with the numbers from 1 to 9, such that no number is repeated in a row, column or 3x3 square.
 |
 |
|
Puzzle | Solution |
Solving this puzzle requires logical thinking, but one does not need a high IQ. This is one of the main reasons why people like sudoku so much. When they realize that they are capable of solving the problem, they get excited and look for new and tougher challenges. It has been proved that sudoku improves memory and intelligence. It can be effective as time-killer and developes competitive spirit and winning mentality.
Since 2006 sudoku world championships have been regularly held. In Serbia there have been three national competitions which were also qualifications for the world contests. Serbia has already had international success. In Prague 2007. in individual category Nikola Živanović from Sombor was fifth among 141 competitors from 30 countries, and in team category Serbia was tenth.