History of Sudoku

The word "Sudoku" comes from the Japanese phrase "Sūji wa dokushin ni kagiru", whichs roughly translates to "single number". The game itself is not Japanese in origin, and was not introduced to Japan until 1984. Its origins are believed to be in the 18th Century Swiss mathematical concept called "Latin Squares".

The modern day Sudoku was likely designed by American Howard Garns, and first published by Dell Magazines in 1979 with the name "Number Place". It then was introduced to Japan in 1984 when published by the Japanese puzzle company Nikoli. In 2004, the game was reintroduced back to the Western world when published by the British newspaper The Times, under the name "Su Doku". From here, it quickly spread to other newspapers and across the globe.