Archive for the 'Photo Puzzle' Category
The-colorful-history-of-sudoku
By Terence-Uniacke
People today tend to marvel at the accomplishments of ancient civilizations, such as demonstrated by the pyramids of Egypt. Those ancient people had such creativity and intelligence, and they did not have TV or radio to entertain themselves. Instead, they relied upon their minds for entertainment, creativity, and solutions to problems.
From time to time, when we find the regular media is rather dull, or we feel that our minds need a bit of a workout, we will turn to brain twisters and riddles, or crossword puzzles. It is one of the ways that we explore our thought processes, and how we encourage our own creative side. Without riddles and puzzles, our brains become rather dull themselves. All people have a deep need for activities that shape the mind and help us develop new ideas and concepts.
Some of the games we play today are based on those that were played in ancient times, with innovations and changes made over the centuries. Sudoku is a game that may well have been played in ancient times, and it has a beautiful simplicity, yet can be wonderfully challenging. And the history of Sudoku is fascinating, too.
The word “Sudoku” is derived from the word for “number place.” Based on the Japanese language, Sudoku indicates that it is a logic-based placement. Therefore, it is a kind of puzzle game. The first modern Sudoku puzzle was published in a US magazine in 1979. It was picked up by players in Japan in 1984 and was instantly popular. The original name of the game was abbreviated to Sudoku, which, translated into English, actually means “the digits must remain single.” There are also various different pronunciations of “Sudoku” throughout the world, but the basic elements of the game remain the same. And the mental power benefits also accrue wherever the game is played.
Howard Garns was a retired architect who loved creating puzzles as a freelance effort, and it appears he contributed the first-known version of Sudoku to a puzzle magazine in 1979. It is similar to the Latin Square, which has been much analyzed by Euler, and is an ancient game. Garns added a third dimension, improving on the design, and he offered his version with some of the fields already filled in. It is immediately popular with puzzle players worldwide once they try it for the first time.
Once the game had arrived in Japan, a few years after its invention, its name was changed from “Number Place” to “Sudoku.” A Japanese company copyrighted the name later on, and helped launch the game to Europe and around the world.
Originally, players always found newspapers or puzzle magazines for the source of new games, but in 1989 a computer version of Sudoku was introduced. Some people have even created a three dimensional version based on Rubik’s Cube.
By 1997, Sudoku had established an enormous worldwide following. In Hong Kong, Judge Wayne Gould decided to create a computer program that can make millions of variations of Sudoku puzzles. He made a deal with The Times of Britain, which began publishing a daily puzzle in 2004.
Nationwide, newspapers would print the puzzles and sell out quickly. World media acknowledged Sudoku as the “fastest growing puzzle in the world”. By 2005, Sudoku was at the peak of its popularity.
Knowing something of the history of Sudoku adds a nice touch to this enjoyable pastime. From its beginnings in the ancient world, to adaptation using modern computers, to global acceptance, Sudoku has come a long way in a short time. Thanks to Howard Garns for creating a puzzle that brings pleasure and brain stimulation to millions of people every day.
Article Source: http://activeauthors.com
Terence Uniacke is happiest writing for a variety of well-known contemporary online magazines, on hobby center and ultimate hobby topics.
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Play-and-learn-with-educational-jigsaw-puzzles-
By Marina-Neiman
Jigsaw puzzles have been entertaining children and adults for centuries. Wooden puzzles were originally created by painting a picture onto a flat piece of wood, then using a jigsaw to cut out the pieces. A man named John Spilsbury is credited with making the first commercial jigsaw puzzle around 1760. His educational puzzles were of maps, and were used to aid in teaching young children geography. As the children put the pieces of the puzzle together, they were able to learn where different countries and regions were. Because of ease of mass production, many modern jigsaw puzzles are made from cardboard. Puzzles for younger children may also be made of brightly colored plastic or foam. These puzzles have larger pieces, which are easier for young hands to manipulate. Simple wooden puzzles, often three dimensional, are also common. These puzzles have large, easy to manipulate pieces and often form animal or human shapes.
Jigsaw puzzles can be great educational tools. For very young children, they help problem solving and motor skills, while teaching them the forms of animals, people, and much more. Puzzles for children were the primary form of jigsaw puzzle until 1900 or so, when the first more complicated puzzles were produced for adults. It is common for adults to glue down a completed jigsaw puzzle to save their work, whereas children are more likely to take it apart so that it can be put back together again. Doing jigsaw puzzled develops several functions of the brain at once. Reasoning, deduction, analysis and logical thought are exercised in the completion of jigsaw puzzles, as well as physical hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. This is the case for all jigsaw puzzles, not just the ones marked “educational.”
Jigsaw puzzles can be an important part of the learning process for children, though they should be supplemented with other material. In order to maximize the educational value of a puzzle, it needs to be a part of the learning process,not all of it. A geography puzzle, for example, does not by itself provide all of the information to pass a geography test. The advantage of using puzzles to supplement traditional lessons is that some children are spatial learners. They can better grasp facts when they have some object to move and correlate with their lessons. Visual learners can also benefit from jigsaw puzzles. By seeing the image go together, the information contained within it is better absorbed. Jigsaw puzzles are a fun problem to solve. They can make learning fun and help information to be better absorbed by children. The interesting shapes and process of putting puzzle pieces together, help develop important skills for later life.
Article Source: http://activeauthors.com
Marina Neiman, author and mother of two, writes for www.1888Toys.com – Educational Toys Store, featuring broad selection of educational toys, develpmental games and educational jigsaw puzzles for children.