Sudoku Madness

Big pile o' Sudoku books
Originally uploaded by msabramo.

Newspaper puzzles have always been a nice little pastime - you go through the Jumbles or the crossword and that's about it. Now, sudoku has been added quite rapidly to the puzzle lovers arsenal - and what a craze it has become. It seems almost like you can't get on a subway without seeing someone's head buried in their sodoku puzzle book. Not bad for a math puzzle - but the math haters are told that it isn't real math, so it's okay. The first published sudoku puzzle was actually published here in the good ol' USA in 1979 under a different name. Somehow the Japanese and the Brits got a hold of it and it became a worldwide sensation.

Now there are hundreds of variations of the game, and tournaments being held worldwide. In Britain, there was actually a one-time tournament show which aired last summer called "Sudoku Live." Sudoku started popping up back here in the US last year and books, television stories, and tournaments have exploded. The craze is so popular, that it has spoofed the Hollywood Squares in an edition called "Celebrity Sudoku"

http://datelinehollywood.com/archives/2006/04/30/celebrity-sudoku-game-show-a-ratings-flop/