Ironically, Sudoku originated in America in the late '70s but it was the Japanese who found them irresistible. While in Japan, Wayne Gould noticed this phenomenon and subsequently convinced the London Times to run the puzzle. The rest is history. In two short years SuDoku captured the fancy of much of the world and made Gould a millionaire many times over.
Alas, all is not well in Puzzledom. There is a growing resentment among crossword puzzle fans and, perhaps more so, among crossword puzzle creators. Let's face it. No one ever made a million bucks creating crossword puzzles. Cruciverbalists ("hardcore" crossword solvers) find no fun in doing puzzles generated by a computer but Joe and Jane Average obviously do. Many people like the fact that all that's required to solve these puzzles is pure logic and perserverance. It's this simple elegance that makes SuDoku so appealing. You don't need to name a river in France or define a dipsomaniac.
Gaffney's article quotes Stan Newman, veteran cruciverbalist and Newsday crossword editor, as saying, "There is a backlash against Sudoku." Whoa! Did he say backlash? (Perhaps he was making a punny crossword clue- Answer: CAT O' NINE TAILS) Just what can those under-appreciated crossword folks do to lash back? I'm glad you asked. For one thing, they gave Gould "an embarrassingly tepid amount of applause" when he was introduced at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. For another, "almost nobody laughed" at his jokes. There's two lashings Gould has had to suffer. However, I think his millions might sufficiently insulate him from any real humiliation.
Where do you stand? Are you for the crossword puzzle or the Sudoku puzzle? Or perhaps both? Please take a moment to respond to this poll. I like all puzzles since they are the heart and soul of my Internet site. I may not solve every type of puzzle but it takes all types to make the puzzling world go round.
You can read the entire Matt Gaffney article by following this link.
