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Taking the Fun Out Of Sudoku Number Games

December 30th, 2009 by admin

Sudoku games, as everyone knows, are logic puzzles that have become enormously popular all over the world. Pass times become popular when large numbers of people enjoy them – and people of all nationalities and ages enjoy solving Sudoku puzzles. I fail to understand why there are persons who feel the need to read more into this particular game. The conspicuous inclination to interpret and analyze Sudoku and its rise in popularity are quite baffling. I cannot think of any other game that has been subjected to such scrutiny.

From crossword puzzle aficionados who, for some reason, feel a need to defend crosswords vs. Sudoku by pointing out that the former has ‘educational value’ whereas you learn nothing by mindlessly solving Sudoku, to the many voices advocating Sudoku as a ‘mental workout’ that ‘trains the mind,’ to the philosophers who claim that people who like to solve puzzles are in actual fact trying to avoid the many unanswered questions of the universe, all seem to be bent on achieving a single objective: taking the FUN out of a game that many people, simply, enjoy.

Regardless of the particular point of view of the Sudoku analyzer, my advice to anyone who enjoys solving Sudoku games occasionally, is addicted to them, or is simply curious and considering trying their hand at the game is this: look away. Ignore the article spewing out interpretations of why Sudoku has gained such popularity (because people no longer read and are afraid to face the real world, for example), pay no attention to the speaker pointing out all the benefits of quality crosswords over the computer-generated fad that is Sudoku, nor to those promoting Sudoku as a means of teaching logical thinking that transcends cultural barriers and requires no special talents or as a method to train your brain and regenerate dead brain cells etc, etc, etc.

If you start to believe that by enjoying Sudoku you are hiding from real problems in your life or are perceived as an illiterate member of an uncultured society, you’re bound to at least loose some of the fun you get out of the game. Being patted on the shoulder and told that your Sudoku puzzle is in actual fact a workout, albeit a mental one, can also detract from the fun. It may lead you to spend more time than you actually enjoy solving the puzzles or it could make you feel obligated to try higher levels of solving difficulty.

Puzzles and puzzle games are, and always have been, fun for many people. And that, I believe, is all the ‘Sudoku syndrome analysis’ anyone needs.

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