The Latest Craze

Well, I'm not even going to get into what happened at the Super Bowl. It's not even worth it. Neither team played like a Champion, and the referees were horrible. The game wasn't very exciting. Too bad, because it had some potential. Whatever...Pittsburgh won (sorry Jeff), but I still think Seattle is the better team. They would have won that game 8 out of 10 times, in my opinion. Instead I'm going to talk about the "latest craze"...Sudoku.

I'm sure many, if not all of you have heard of this new game that is sweeping the nation...and the world. It's quite simple to play, and addicting as hell. It's pretty much a 3x3 grid of boxes. Each box contains a smaller 3x3 grid. So, in total, there are 81 total boxes (9x9). The object is to fill in each row, column, and box of 9 with the numbers 1 through 9, using each one only once. Each puzzle starts with a few numbers already filled in for you. The easier the puzzle, the more numbers are given to you to start with. The puzzle is complete when you have filled in every box and there are no repeating numbers in any of the rows, columns, or boxes.

So, what is it about this game that is so addicting? I have no idea. I suppose it's a different reason for different people. Me? I'm a numbers kinda guy. I love any type of puzzle that deals with numbers or math. I guess it's because I'm a math geek. Always have been. It comes in handy sometimes. I also happen to enjoy the mental challenge aspect of doing these puzzles. If I start one, I'll work on it until it's finished. It doesn't matter how hard it is, or how long it takes me. That might not be fun for some people, but I love it. I'm that guy.

I don't even know how this whole thing got started. It just kind of popped up suddenly...at least it did for me anyway. The game originates in Japan (go figure), and I happened to run across it one day on one of my favorite fun sites, http://www.ebaumsworld.com. I would play it every now and then, not even realizing that I was already hooked. Next thing I know, my wife had picked up a book of these puzzles and was immediately hooked. Then I noticed that my friends and co-workers had started talking about it...and they were hooked. Now, it's everywhere and everyone is hooked. I've heard it mentioned in the news on TV and I see it in magazines and newspapers everywhere I go. It's crazy! It's like a drug...but it's legal...and it doesn't hurt anyone. Unless, of course, you try to do it while driving or you keep yourself up until the wee hours of the morning trying to finish one stupid puzzle...which I've done. I don't recommend either of these practices.

How long will this craze last? Who knows? As long as they keep coming out with new puzzles, I'll keep doing them. In fact, I'm expecting them to start coming out with new versions to keep it fresh. Bigger grids? Different shaped grids? More numbers? Expect all of these things...but for now, play the classic version and enjoy it. Good luck and have fun! To get you started, here's a few places to go online to play:

http://puzzles.usatoday.com/sudoku/index.html - Currently my favorite site to play on (courtesy of Tamar and Eric, through Jeff).

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/games/sudoku.html - Includes another version called Soku.

http://www.websudoku.com/ - I haven't tried this site yet.

http://www.dailysudoku.co.uk/sudoku/index.shtml - This one has some different shaped grids which I have yet to try out. I knew it wouldn't be long before they did it, though.