Sudoku. Volume 1

Author: Will Shortz (USA)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: When we were kids, we used to play the "Magic Square" game, where we filled in numbers in nine squares so that the sums of the rows, columns, and diagonals were the same. Sudoku looks similar to "Magic Square" at first glance, but the gameplay is quite different. If "Magic Square" is a mathematical game, Sudoku doesn't require any mathematical skills—it requires logical reasoning. The rules of Sudoku are simple: fill in the appropriate numbers in a 9x9 grid so that each row, each column, and each 3x3 box (the part enclosed by thick lines) contains the numbers 1 to 9 without repetition. The game creators pre-fill some numbers as hints, and the number of given numbers determines the difficulty of Sudoku. Since 2005, Sudoku has become wildly popular in Western countries. Major newspapers like The New York Times, The Times, and The Daily Mail have all started columns to serialize it, and millions of people have become obsessed with this "amazing logic game." The British government is recently preparing to introduce Sudoku into classrooms as a game for students to exercise their brains, and the famous Oxford University has even held a "Sudoku Programming Competition" as a beneficial initiative to make students' minds more active. Various Sudoku competitions have also been held in a big way, gradually spreading from Europe to the global stage. However, Sudoku has also brought some negative effects. The Times in London commented, "Sudoku is a dangerous thing—it can make people forget about work and family." A Sudoku enthusiast once left a comment online: "I never thought I would get addicted to it. Nothing else has made me think about it so much all day." Therefore, if you don't have enough self-control, it's best not to easily get involved in this "dangerous thing"!