The ‘Father of Sudoku’ dies at 69

Maki Kaji, a puzzle enthusiast and publisher who was known as the ” Father of Sudoku ,” the number puzzle played daily by millions around the world, has died at the age of 69, according to information from his company.

Kaji, a college dropout who worked in a printing shop before founding Japan’s first puzzle magazine, took clues from an existing number puzzle to create what he later dubbed ” Sudoku ,” a Japanese contraction of the phrase “all numbers should be simple” in the mid-1980s.

“It’s like finding a treasure. It’s not about making money, it’s just the thrill of trying to figure it out.”

Maki Kaji, the “Father of Sudoku”

The logic puzzle challenges people to fill in a 9X9 grid of blocks, with nine boxes in each block so that all columns, both vertical and horizontal, contain the numbers 1-9 without repetition . The number of figures completed for a grid at the beginning of the puzzle determines how difficult it is.

“Known as the father of Sudoku, he was adored by puzzle lovers around the world and we would like to express our gratitude to all of you,” his company, Nikoli Co Ltd, said on its website last Monday. The cause of death was bile duct cancer.

Sudoku became popular outside of Japan about two decades ago after foreign newspapers began publishing it. Praised as a way to keep the mental faculties sharp, it is estimated that more than 100 million people worldwide regularly try puzzles. A world championship has been held annually since 2006.

Kaji continued to create and refine puzzles with the help of readers of his quarterly puzzle magazine. He resigned as director of his company in July due to ill health and died on August 10.

Have you ever tried to solve a sudoku? Have you completed it? Tell us in the comments!