sudoku

-------- History---------------------------- Sudoku is an easy to learn logic-based number placement puzzle. The word Sudoku is short for Su-ji wa dokushin ni kagiru which means "the numbers must be single". The roots of the Sudoku puzzle are in the Switzerland. Leonhard Euler created "carré latin" in the 18h century which is similar to a Sudoku puzzle but without the additional constraint on the contents of individual regions. The first real Sudoku was published in 1979 and was invented by Howard Garns, an American architect. The real world wide popularity started in Japan in 1986 after it was published and given the name Sudoku by Nikoli. ---------------Rules and Terms------------------ A Sudoku puzzle consists of 81 cells which are divided into nine columns, rows and regions. The task is now to place the numbers from 1 to 9 into the empty cells in such a way that in every row, column and 3×3 region each number appears only once that is sudoku. A Sudoku has at least 17 given numbers but normally there are 22 to 30. Sudoku is a puzzle game designed for a single player, much like a crossword puzzle. The puzzle itself is nothing more than a grid of little boxes called “cells”. They are stacked nine high and nine wide, making 81 cells total. The puzzle comes with some of the cells (usually less than half of them) already filled in, like this: Sample Puzzle Each little square is called a "cell." Most often, Sudoku cells are filled with numbers (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9), but sometimes pictures or Japanese symbols are used instead. Sudoku Rules & Object of the game The object of the game is simple: Fill in the empty cells! Easy, right? Well, hang on a sec...there is one rule you must follow: no repeats are allowed in any row, column, or block. To put it another way - you must use all nine numbers in each row, column, and block. OK, so what are rows, columns, and blocks? Glad you asked! Take a look at this sudoku diagram: Here we see the same puzzle shown three different ways, in order to highlight the rows, columns, and blocks. Together, I refer to these as the 27 'houses' composing sudoku. Filling in the empty spaces doesn't seem that hard, does it? Actually, very often it's not. Be careful, though - each empty cell has only one correct answer. In fact, you might say the object of the game isn't so much "filling in" the cells as it is "figuring out" what goes in them. You see, the pre-filled cells are not random. They were deliberately placed there in such a way to ensure only one final solution to the puzzle. It is the player’s job to solve the puzzle, cell by cell, until there are no empty cells left! Interesting fact: Because of the rules, every completed Sudoku puzzle will end up with exactly nine of each digit (nine 1’s, nine 2’s, nine 3’s, etc). Sudoku requires no math Yes, you did read correctly! Sudoku requires no math to solve. In fact, Sudoku doesn't really involve numbers at all. The boxes in the puzzle could just as easily be filled with nine letters of the alphabet, nine different pictures, or even nine colors! Numbers are only used because they are well-recognized symbols. I’d be willing to guess that Sudoku’s popularity has suffered because of the numbers. I’m sure it gives many folks the wrong first impression & scares them off… Now don’t get me wrong…I’m not saying you don’t need to think in order to solve a Sudoku puzzle. You definitely need to use the old noggin. In fact, logic and possibility elimination are the keys to the whole thing… The long and interesting history of the Sudoku is quite a puzzle in itself. The name Sudoku or more correctly 数独 comes from Japan and consists of the Japanese characters Su (meaning 'number') and Doku (meaning 'single') but the was not invented in Japan. Sudoku originated in Switzerland and then traveled to Japan by way of America. keywords: sudoku ,sudoku game,play sudoku,enigme math game,my sudoku,