Modern generations marvel at the intelligence and creativity displayed by ancient civilizations. The great pyramids of ancient Egypt are the perfect example of incredible design and unmitigated human accomplishment. In ancient times, people were dependant on their minds to create, solve, and entertain. Today, most people turn their minds off and turn on the TV or radio when it's time to be entertained. Every once in a while, when media gets dull and our minds need sharpening, people will turn to riddles and brain twisters. It's how we explore our thought processes, and how we develop our creativity. Without puzzles and riddles, our brains become stagnant. Humans innately love and need activities that twist the mind and form new ideas. 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 game also has a fascinating history. First published in 1979 in an American puzzle game book, it was likely invented by veteran puzzle creator Howard Garns. Japanese publishers brought it there a few years later, and gave it a new name, meaning "the digits must remain single", which was later shortened to Sudoku. Japanese players instantly loved the game, and after 1984, it began its long rise to world domination. Millions of adherents around the world have improved their mental agility by playing Sudoku rather than staring at mindless TV shows. 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. For the first few years, players used paper and pencil to play the game, but in 1989, a computerized version was introduced. More recently, a Rubik's Cube style version of Sudoku has been constructed. Sudoku reached huge global popularity by 1997, and a Hong Kong resident named Wayne Gould created a computer program to create the game, which can spit out thousands of variations in short time. He later developed a business selling the puzzles around the world. Newspapers in many countries began printing Sudoku puzzles, and they would sell out for that reason alone. Some analysts stated that Sudoku was the world's fasted growing puzzle, and it perhaps peaked in popularity in 2005. Though the puzzle alone is fascinating, the history of Sudoku adds something to the playing of the game as well. Ancient beginnings, modern computer technology, and a cross-cultural acceptance have all led to its current status. Say a thanks to Howard Garns, for bringing hours of puzzle pleasures to our lives.
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