Sudoku Smackdown

I come across articles on Sudoku every day, but none have been as entertaining as The Seattle Times story by Meghan Barr on the Sudoku Smackdown. The article notes early that the event, which was held in conjunction with the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, while called a “smackdown” involved neither smacking or downing. We’re then treated with fun facts about Sudoku:

Consider this: The sale of pencils in England went up 700 percent in the past six months. That’s a number commonly attributed to the rise of sudoku.

Now consider this: For safety reasons, British Airways recently ordered its 13,000 cabin crew members to refrain from working on sudoku puzzles during takeoff and landing.

For the uninitiated, everything is here, including how sudoku became such a big hit.

What I find particularly interesting though is that the article makes it appear as if sudoku is for the younguns. Most of those interviewed are college students. The winner, Byron Calver, is only 20–the same age that Tyler Hinman was when he became the youngest person to ever win the crossowrd tournament. To a degree this actually makes sense to me. Crossword may actually favor older players who have accumulated more knowledge.