No Puzzle: Sudoku Sweeps the Country

The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram gives some clues about the popularity of sudoku, the numbers-based puzzle that was invented in the U.S. but popularized over several decades in Japan. Last year, the puzzle was re-introduced to the Western world by the Times of London and the rest, as they might say, is H-I-S-T-O-R-Y.

New York Times puzzlemeister Will Shortz told the paper: "I've been a fan of sudoku for years and an addict since April. Sudoku is just perfect for the international puzzle competition because it doesn't matter where you are from or what language you speak." Shortz will publish three puzzle collections over the next two months.

Shortz isn't the only one to try to solve this sales puzzle. His and other books out in the past month or two include:

• Sudoku Easy Presented by Will Shortz Volume 1: 100 Wordless Crossword Puzzles (St. Martin's Griffin, $6.95, 0312355025)
• The Sudoku Book: An Introduction to Su Doku with 101 Puzzles by Sam Griffiths-Jones (Harriman House, $10, 1897597649)
• The Book of Sudoku: The Hot New Puzzle Craze by Michael Mepham (Overlook, $9.95, 1585677612)
• The Official Book of Sudoku: Book 1 (Plume, $10, 0452287200)
• New York Post Su Doku 1: The Official Utterly Addictive Number-Placing Puzzle by Wayne Gould (Collins, $7.95, 0060885319)
• Sudoku: More than 200 Fun and Challenging Japanese Number Puzzles by Tammy Seto (Gramercy, $5.99, 0517228270)
• The Big Book of Su Doku #1 (Sudoku) by Mark Huckvale (Newmarket, $8.95, 1557047030)

Also check out www.sudoku.com, from which many fans download free puzzles.