| -THE FIRST ENCOUNTER- | | | | |
| | | | You solve Sudoku Puzzle with reasoning and |
| Like many of you, I was hooked to Sudoku | | | | logic. |
| Puzzles. | | | | |
| | | | Simple? Wait till you try your hands on it! |
| In 2000, a friend of mine from Japan sends me | | | | |
| a strange puzzle. In a box of 9 X 9 grids, | | | | To play Puzzle, you may Click here. |
| there were few numbers listed randomly. | | | | |
| | | | -PLAYING SUDOKU - |
| "Fill in the grid so that every row, every | | | | |
| column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits | | | | Sudoku is no longer a game. |
| 1 through 9" That's all she said. | | | | |
| | | | Though Sudoku Puzzles have become a massive |
| "It's fun. It's challenging. It's addictive!" | | | | craze for grown-ups, I think that kids should |
| My friend warned me! | | | | be allowed to enjoy them too! |
| | | | |
| For the next few days, I was totally stuck | | | | Sudoku is an excellent way for kids to |
| with the puzzle trying to solve the mystery. | | | | develop their logic skills while having fun, |
| I was helpless without any guide or | | | | and children as young as 7 or 8 can begin to |
| help...but I was excited. There were a few | | | | enjoy them. No math is needed to complete the |
| moments I feel like giving up, but I came | | | | puzzles, and no guessing should be necessary |
| back eventually. | | | | either! Children of all abilities enjoy the |
| | | | challenge of a Sudoku puzzle, if the puzzle |
| She told me that the puzzle is called Sudoku. | | | | is age-appropriate. |
| I was totally overwhelmed, I was addicted. | | | | |
| | | | Sudoku develops your child's reasoning skills |
| This is the first time I face Sudoku. | | | | and concentration. |
| | | | |
| To see the Puzzle, click here. | | | | The UK government-produced Teachers magazine |
| | | | has recommended that Sudoku Puzzles are done |
| -SUDOKU RULE- | | | | in the classroom as brain exercise! |
| | | | |
| In a classic Sudoku Puzzle, it consist a grid | | | | Kids gain huge satisfaction from completing a |
| of 9 squares wide and 9 squares deep. The | | | | Sudoku puzzle. |
| lines of squares running horizontally are | | | | |
| called rows, and the lines running vertically | | | | I tried it on my children. They are both weak |
| are called columns. The grid is further | | | | in math. After playing Sudoku Puzzles for a |
| divided by the darker lines into nine 3 X 3 | | | | year, both their math's grade ends up in the |
| square 'boxes'. Some of the squares already | | | | top 10% of the class. |
| have numbers in them. The task is to fill in | | | | |
| the blank squares. | | | | There are benefits in playing Sudoku puzzles |
| | | | for the oldies too - as age catching up, the |
| Here's the rule of the classic Sudoku Puzzle. | | | | sort of exercise and mental workout which the |
| In fact, there's only one rule: | | | | brain gets from playing logic puzzles can |
| | | | help to stop memory decline, make them |
| - Each row, column and box must end up | | | | smarter and even halt the progress of |
| containing all of the numbers from 1 to 9, | | | | Alzheimer's disease . |
| and each number can only appear once in a | | | | |
| row, column or box. | | | | Before I sign off, last word of warning:- |
| | | | |
| This rule has an important side-effect, which | | | | "Sudoku is exciting, it is fun, and it is |
| is the basis of all Sudoku Solving | | | | addictive!" |
| Techniques. | | | | |
| | | | Don't blame me for not warning you in |
| There's no math involved. The grid has | | | | advance! |
| numbers, but nothing has to add up to | | | | |
| anything else. | | | | Have fun. |