Q 01/05

Which kind of reasoning does solving a Sudoku rely on?

A) Logic

B) Arithmetic

C) Probability

D) Geometry

Answer · why

A) Logic

Logic is all it takes: the digits are only labels, so any nine different symbols would make the same puzzle.

Q 02/05

Under what name did Sudoku first appear in Dell Magazines in 1979?

A) Digit Box

B) Nine Square

C) Number Place

D) Grid Logic

Answer · why

C) Number Place

Number Place was the name at Dell in New York, so the puzzle famous under a Japanese name actually began in an American magazine.

Q 03/05

Which retired Indiana architect most likely designed the modern Sudoku?

A) Will Shortz

B) Martin Gardner

C) Sam Loyd

D) Howard Garns

Answer · why

D) Howard Garns

Howard Garns died in 1989, years before his puzzle became a worldwide craze under a Japanese name.

Q 04/05

How was the anonymous creator of Dell's 1979 grid puzzle identified?

A) He signed his initials on the grid

B) His name only appeared in issues with it

C) His widow found his drafts

D) Dell's editor named him

Answer · why

B) His name only appeared in issues with it

His name only appeared in issues with it, a pattern a New York Times crossword editor spotted by checking back issues.

Q 05/05

Which YouTube channel, run by two British puzzle experts, became a lockdown hit by solving Sudokus live on camera?

A) Numberphile

B) Stand-up Maths

C) Cracking the Cryptic

D) The Royal Institution

Answer · why

C) Cracking the Cryptic

Cracking the Cryptic took off after co-host Simon Anthony quit his investment banking job to solve puzzles on YouTube.