Sudoku...What's the Big Deal?

If you don't know what Sudoku is by now then you have either been stuck on a deserted island, (Hopefully the one from 'Lost' and not the one from 'Castaway'. Let's face it Evangeline Lily is way hotter than Wilson the volleyball) or you are in some way disabled, (Coma, brain damage, NDP). If that is the case I will briefly explain it to you. It is a number puzzle game involving nine grids of nine squares each, and every row vertically and horizontally must contain the numbers 1 to 9 only once per row as well as only once per grid of 9. While the game has its origins more than a century ago, it was popularized by a retired Hong Kong judge from New Zealand named Wayne Gould after he developed a computer program that generated puzzles and sold it to the big daily papers in the U.K. back in 2004. After that introduction it has swept the world, addicting billions!

A friend of mine who now lives in Ottawa first made me aware of these puzzles as he feverishly flipped past all the good stuff in the paper to get to the daily Sudoku puzzle. In fact when he left we got him a hand held electronic version and I thought he looked as happy as if he won the lottery and immediately cast his wife a sideways glance (not a nice one either) when she looked interested in it.

Since then I have witnessed more and more people becoming addicted to it, including my boss. I have yet to try a single puzzle but I think that's because I look at it like crack. Everyone knows it is dangerous and addictive so you aren't anxious to head down that road. Now of course I'm worried. You see I am a videogame fanatic and what if my hand held poker or yahtzee game turns out to be nothing more than a 'gateway' game, leading me onto more powerful and more addictive things like Sudoku? It could happen. Think about it for a sec. There I am at a party, I've had a few drinks and out comes the electronic Sudoku game..."Hey man, just try it! I guarantee that you'll like it!" or "Just look at Johnny over there. He tried it and it worked out well for him."

I fear that if I start I won't be able to stop myself! The world has gone Sudoku crazy and there have even been international competitions and tv shows all about Sudoku. I think I am missing something because to me it just looks like squares with numbers in them...

What's next? Is everyone going to get addicted to Hang Man or Tic Tac Toe? For now I think I will just stick with my crossword puzzles.

(meanwhile, Sudoku sits...and waits, knowing that the time will inevitably come and Payne will also become addicted, Muah Ha Ha!)

Until next time remember, no Payne, no gain!