SUDOKU: A NEW WAY TO WASTE TIME — by Steve Nadis
Just what we all needed–a new way to waste time. A couple of weeks ago, two friends independently told me about Sudoku, the number puzzle that, unbeknownst to me, seems to have taken this country by storm. I had never heard of it and was surprised to see it had been in the Boston Globe all along, as well as in a free Boston paper I never looked at. What’s more, my favorite bookstore (Harvard Bookstore–don’t get me wrong, I never went to Harvard) has four Sudoku books at the front register where the hottest-selling (QUALITY) paperbacks (not Grisham) reside. So now, in addition to wasting a half hour each day on this blog (give or take), I now also waste a half hour (give or take) on the daily Sudoku offering in the Boston Globe and/or in the lesser rag. That’s already an hour out of the day and last I heard each day has only 24 hours. (Can somebody please fix this? Write a letter to your Congressman. Send an email on moveon.org. Or do something!)
It’s possible that not so long ago, I once had a life. But now I’m so busy wasting time, filling the day with one time-killing activity after the next–on top of work, childcare, sock drawer rearrangements, etc.–that I don’t have time to think back that far. I’ve got to fill those boxes with numbers: nine boxes, nine numbers, no duplicates per row or column… You get the picture.
Posted by in 05:49:00
Snake, you might as well take comfort in the fact that not only has Sudoku taken the US by storm, but Europe as well. Here in Greece it is the talk of the town. I have not found time to solve any and the peer pressure is overwhelming. So, consider yourself a part of a global movement: "Sudokers of the world, solve!"
Flubberwinkle
P.S. I found your blog via windfallwoman
You only spend a half hour or so on your blog? And you come up with these fascinating and brilliant entries in that miniscule amount of time? It must be true then. Crossword puzzles and now Sudoku really DO sharpen one’s mind. Hmmm…..I wonder if my head will fit in the pencil sharpener.
P.S. I doubt I could master Sudoku. I have trouble with the confirmation comment box on your blog.
Hey Flubberwinkle — thanks for the note. It’s always interesting to find out how people end up in this quagmire I call a blog. As for you Windfall, don’t dispair. Sudoku is easier than the comment box on my blog which is often very hard, if not impossible, to solve.
I just got back from a trip to England in which my in-laws turned me on to this time-wasting pasttime. Back in the 80’s, there was speculation that Tetris was a plot by the Soviets to lower our productivity. Is it possible that the Japanese are recycling that idea?
Welcome back TB, you could be on to something. Philip K. Dick wrote a whole novel about an elaborate puzzle staged simply to keep one person occupied.
Sudoku did hit Europe a while ago and in recent months has been showing up in a lot of U.S. papers, but the game’s been around for quite a long time: History of Sudoku.
Thanks for the history lesson. It’s interesting to hear that the idea dates back, at least in part, to the 18th century.
I’ve heard of this but refuse to look into it. I know that I would be hooked immediately. I love puzzles of all kinds.
If that’s the case, Roses, please stay away from Sudoku if you want to salvage any semblance of a life.