The History of Sudoku

Series Summary

Sudoku is a math puzzle game that uses a multiple number pattern schema to test a player's logic and analysis skills. Given a 9x9 grid with some numbers filled in, the player must find the one and only solution for each empty square; in fact, the term Sudoku is an abbreviated Japanese phrase meaning “the digits must occur only once.” The object of the game is to fill the empty cells in the grid with terms that are not repeated in that cell’s row, column, or 9x9 mini-square. And the relationships between the numbers are of no consequence—in fact any sort of color or shape can be substituted.

The rules are simple and mathematically elegant, but the process of finding solutions can often be quite complex, especially with higher difficulty Sudoku grids. In this free math game strategies series, learn how to play Sudoku, with basic game rules and instructions, as well as tips on how to solve both easy and difficult Sudoku puzzles. Test out 13 different strategies to find out the best way to get Sudoku answers, and refer to these videos whenever you need hints or help on an especially difficult puzzle grid.

Video Transcript

"Hello! My name is Steve Kennedy on behalf of Expert Village. I'm going to be showing you some tips and techniques on how to solve Sudoku puzzles. The origin of Sudoku date back to 1979 where it first made it's appearance in one of Dell magazines. Math puzzles and logic problems. It was called Number place. From there, it was introduced to Japan in 1984. It seemed to have really caught on there because the people seemed to enjoy the numbers rather than the English letter or crosswords so it really found a natural home there in Japan. They called Sudoku, which Su means number and doku meaning single so that's where the name came from. In 1997, a New Zealander by the name of Wayne Gould created a computer program that created all the puzzles. He started shipping them off to The Times, which is a British news paper. They started publishing it in November of 2004. From there, it really took off. It was named by a lot of the puzzles enthusiast as the rubik's cube of the 21st century and also the fastest growing puzzle in the world. It's got a lot of popularity. In our next clips, we'll be showing you what actually constitutes a Sudoku puzzle and also tips on solving it all the way from the basic all the way to the advanced. "