Om Sudoku namaha!

Fans say it’s like crack, but only more addictive. I’m not into crack or pot, but I guess I know what they mean, only too well. Sudoku is addictive, compulsive and obsessive. It’s dubbed by many as the Rubik’s cube of the 21st century.

As The Times says, help your loved ones go puzzle crazy.

If you aren’t a Sudoku fan yet, meet the constructive craze that has taken Britain and now the whole world by storm. It’s a number puzzle, one a 7 year old could give a shot at. It’s got a single solution and can be solved by logic and reasoning. Easy ones could be solved in around 10 minutes while difficult ones could take a whole hour or more. But every minute spent on Sudoku is pure fun, probably because the rules are simple and it’s a complete mind game. It’s the absolute filler when everything around seems boring.


Some interesting stories of the Sudoku and Sudoku-maniacs I found on the web:

British Airways has gone so far as to ban its airline crews from doing sudoku puzzles during takeoff and landing so as not to endanger the safety of its passengers.

Japanese buy 6,00,000 Sudoku magazines a month. UK Times, that started the craze, saw new readership after Sudoku started appearing in papers.

Sudoku is featured in hundreds of newspapers from UK to India to Croatia.

One Wikipedia quote: "Sky One publicity stunt to promote the programme with the world's largest Sudoku puzzle went awry when the 275 foot (84 m) square puzzle was found to have 1,905 correct solutions. The puzzle was carved into a hillside in Chipping Sodbury, near Bristol, England, in view of the M4 motorway."

Observer quote: "The government-backed Teachers magazine has recommended Sudoku as brain exercise in classrooms. It has even been suggested that it can slow the progression of conditions such as Alzheimer's."

One fan quote (via BBC): "I would really like my life before Su Doku back!" he pleaded recently on a website.

I’m not into newspaper crosswords, though I have a fair share of attraction towards number or math oriented puzzles. But I was oblivious to Sudoku that started appearing in Hindu since I had stopped subscribing to printed versions of newspapers after moving to RSS readers. As luck would have it, I chanced upon Sudoku again this winter during my vacation.

Picture this. I solved a couple of ‘Medium’ Sudokus. Curious, I started searching for ‘Difficult’ ones and solved a couple of them. From then on, there was no stopping. I collected about 60 puzzles from all the old Hindus left in home for my return journey back. Little did I know that it wouldn’t even last my 5 day long vacation at home!

All Sudoku links here.