The Latest Puzzle Craze

I have realized that I have failed you terribly. I haven’t properly informed you of the newest puzzle craze sweeping the nation. That puzzle craze, dear readers, is called Sudoku.

The rules of Sudoku are really quite simple. You are given a 9x9 grid (a grid that is nine boxes wide and nine boxes high resulting in a total of 81 boxes) that is further divided into nine smaller 3x3 grids. Some of the boxes already have numbers and the remaining boxes are empty. You simply fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

Originally from Japan, The Times newspaper began printing a daily Sudoku puzzle shortly after I arrived here. It proved so popular that it wasn’t long before the other newspapers began to include their own daily Sudoku puzzles. Some papers even include several each day; today’s Independent had four: a ‘Quick Sudoku’ on the back page, and three (one ‘Elementary,’ one ‘Intermediate,’ and one ‘Advanced’) on the games page. Other papers rate their Sudoku puzzles differently, perhaps ranging from ‘Easy’ to ‘Fiendish.’ You can even purchase books of Sudoku puzzles.

It’s crazy. It’s nuts. People should really be doing something more constructive with their time.

And just as soon as I finish this Sudoku, I’ll go tell them.