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Playing The Game: Sudoku
Modern Sudoku was anonymously revived by a retired Hong Kong Judge Wayne Gould, as a logical game disguised as a numbers game. Most people do look at it as a numbers game but if you would see the way the solutions are derived, logic would surely be the key. It has caught on like wildfire and transcends the boundaries of countries with challenging puzzles in every form and style. Sudoku is not restricted to numbers for one can use colors or objects to represent the grid contents that work on the same basic principle without need of modification of the basic rules.

It is unique among the games currently published in either print or on the internet in the sense that it is different and unusual from other usually boring puzzles that we are attracted to when we are waiting in queue or waiting for our number to be called to be served. Most puzzles found in newspapers are simply word games in disguise that have lost appeal with most readers. Sudoku on the other hand needs not translation from language to language and can be understood by people from all ages. It is a rage in Japan, and is fast getting the attention of Americans and Europeans as the puzzle of choice for the present times to come.

Some people have been so challenged by these puzzles that a new form of depression is evolving out of the problem solving process. “Compulsive Sudoku Syndrome”, as the addiction is called is fast spreading and tickling the brain cells of most people who start out perplexed at the seeming simplicity but end up challenged so much that they cannot stop trying to solve a stubborn puzzle. This has been evident with some people who end up in a trance-like state wherein they are so captivated by the drive to solve a Sudoku puzzle. Others have claimed to have fallen into depression when they fail to solve a quite perplexing puzzle that eludes completion.

Popularity of the game has grown and grown to proportions that have had world contests like the one held in 2006 and again in 2007. Many variants of the game have also arisen as a result of its popularity that have the standard 3X3 grids expanded from 4X4 up to a claimed 100X100 sized grid. A 3D variant Roxdoku further challenged players that eventually led to a multiplayer game variant named Juxtapono. Many more variants have evolved from the basic forms that they are now commonplace in newsprint media and other publications that simply can’t resist having them to give readers a breather from their regular articles. It’s simplicity and the challenge created by these puzzles have offered relief from the already too common word puzzles such as cross words.

The basic games can usually be obtained as a small program from many sites on the internet that generate the uncompleted grids in any combinations that would be desired. Some forms have even revived interest in the hit Rubik’s Cube game named Sudokube that has numbers on the cubes instead of the previously used colors. Whatever form and shape they may take, they still follow the basic rule that no number should occur more than once in the 3X3 grid. That may be the key to it’s success, simplicity or rather the lack of it. The very simple rule if applied can become very complicated for the ones categorized as difficult.

Tom Takihi is the author of this page. If you want to know more about this type game, please try to visit this link www.sudokubrainteaserpuzzles.com/

Even Addictive Games Promote Family Values
There’s been much debate about the effect that video games and online games have in the development of our children and even in the socialization of adults. Reams have been written about the ways in which video games isolate youngsters and encourage a sedentary lifestyle. Some argue that, when adults play video games and online games to the exclusion of other activities, they effectively distance themselves from others and put up emotional barriers.

While moderation and self-control may be important considerations when playing video games and online games, I believe a case can be made that some addictive games promote family values.

Some people grow up in “game” families, and others do not. I’m from a family of avid gamers – and this was long before the advent of video games and online games. Some of my first memories are of going with my parents to their friends’ houses and sitting quietly while they played bridge all evening. My father worked in construction, and so was out of work during the winter. I fondly recall coming home from school and finding my mother, father, and my father’s best friend sitting around the table playing cutthroat pinochle. As I grew older, I spent many weekends up at a mountain cabin, playing hearts with eight or ten other people until the wee hours of the morning.

In our family, we didn’t only play card games. We played every kind of game imaginable – board games, travel games, Mah Jong, outdoor games – you name it. I was the reigning backgammon champion in my college dorm. We also were voracious puzzle solvers. I preferred cryptograms and anacrostics, while my grandmother solved crossword puzzles in pen until she was 94 years old. And, yes, when the first Ataris came out, my mother bought one and we spent countless hours playing Pong and Donkey Kong.

There’s no question in my mind that the addictive games we played united our family and taught us important life lessons. The first lesson, of course, was don’t cheat – and never play with cheaters. That has served me well in business. The second lesson was good sportsmanship: always play to win, but be gracious when you lose. That, too, has been an important life lesson. Even though I try my best, sometimes I don’t come out on top. The third lesson was about the importance of thinking ahead and strategizing to reach your goals. The fourth lesson was about partnerships and teamwork. I had to learn to be a team player, and sometimes a former adversary would become an ally at a moment’s notice.

Most of all, though, our family’s addictive game playing gave us an opportunity to be together, to have fun, and to laugh. We’re all highly competitive, but at the end of the day, we’re all friends.

My son has inherited my love of games and puzzles. To be honest, I couldn’t wait until he got old enough to start playing kid’s games. Like many parents, I played Chutes and Ladders until my eyes crossed! He plays his video games – but we play a lot of them together. We also do jigsaw puzzles together and enjoy working in puzzle books and magazines. He even creates puzzle books for his classmates using the class’ spelling words.

So, while people turn up their noses at addictive games, I say that they can teach important life lessons and instill great family values. Play on!

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies.For tips/information, click here: addictive games
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