SUDOKU was born in Japan and became a global sensation. Its popularity surged around 2005. Launching of the Puzzle Magazine "Nikoli"The prototype of SUDOKU, "Number place," was conceived in Switzerland in the 18th century and was popular in America. A Japanese man, Mr. Kaji, was fascinated by puzzles from the late 1970s. In 1980, he launched the puzzle magazine "Nikoli" and introduced "Number place", which was popular in America, to the Japanese audience with the name SUDOKU. Meaning of SUDOKUThe "SU" in SUDOKU represents the Japanese word for numbers. The "DOKU" in SUDOKU comes from the Japanese word DOKUSHIN, meaning ...