Sudoku is a short form of the Japanese phrase “Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru”, which means the digits must remain single.

Sudoku was designed by Howard Garnes, a 74–year old architect and temporary puzzle maker, and was first published in 1979 in a New York puzzle magazine, Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games. It was first entitled as number place. Japanese paper Monthly Nikolist first printed Number Place on April 1984 as “Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru”, as named by Kaji Maki, the president of the Nikoli Company. To this day, Nikoli holds the patent to the name Sudoku. Other publications use other names for Sudoku.

Sudoku is played on a 9X9 grid, with 3×3 sub grids referred to as regions, boxes, blocks, or even quadrants. In every box, some cells already have numbers, called given, or clues. A player has to put a number in each of the blank squares of the box in such a way that the box contains the numbers 1 to 9 exactly once.

Sudoku has effectively invaded publications all over the world, from newspapers to puzzle books. Currently, you can play Sudoku even on your computer or mobile phone. Online versions of Sudoku can be found approximately everywhere on the Internet, complete with random puzzles, solving tips, and even dissimilar download able versions of the game itself. The following are just some of the websites that suggest you an opportunity to play the addictive number puzzle game, Sudoku.

1) www.websudoku.com

This site allows you play Sudoku on 4 dissimilar levels of complexity: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Evil. An aimlessly generated puzzle from billions of puzzles will be offered to players each time the site is first accessed. You can select your level of play and have the site make a different puzzle. A clicking a button lets you to see how well you have solved the current puzzle. Each row or column that has wrong inputted numbers will be highlighted red. You can even download PC and mobile phone versions of the game here. Plus lots of other useful Sudoku stuff can be found here.

2) http://www.dkmsoftware.com/sudoku/

You can take part in Sudoku online here. Select from 4 difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Supreme. You can save or load an exact puzzle that you have played here. For those who love to generate puzzles, or want to try making one, this site allows you to do that. You can download the Pocket PC free trial version, or the full version for $11.95. The site also has a desktop PC version of Sudoku, which has a free trial version, and the $14.95 full version. This site has a distinction of Sudoku, named Sudoku Sniper. This version allows you to play beside another human as both of you try to solve a puzzle simultaneously. You can download the trial version for free, or the Pocket PC full version for $11.95.

3) www.miniclip.com

Even the majority accepted website of mini–games offers its patrons and other players its own version of Sudoku. This online version has cute, smooth graphics. You can put the numbers on the empty squares using the mouse, or the number pad on your keyboard. You can even talk about anything about the game on miniclip.com’s forums page. You can even print a simple black and white copy of the puzzle you are playing. Miniclip offers assist on the game, and allows you post your score on the online scoreboard to see how you well you did compared to other gamers.

4) www.fingertime.com

This website also bids a simple graphical version of Sudoku that you should play online. Click and hold the mouse button on an empty square, choose the number you want to place, and release the button. If the number is incorrect, the square will be red. If the number you’ve selected should be placed on nearby squares, the game will mechanically load them. The keyboard can also be used to play this game. Playing instructions are offered here. A new puzzle is created daily, and the solution to the previous day’s puzzle can be seen the next day. You can see your score on the online leader board.

5) http://www.sudokufun.com/

This site is a Speed Site. A random puzzle is created daily. Players, registered or not, can try and resolve the puzzle at the fastest time probable. Answer the puzzle using your mouse and keyboard, enter any name, and submit your solution. The site will tell you if your answer is wrong. The puzzle will be altered once 7 players were able to solve the current puzzle. Results as to the best times will not be posted until the puzzle has been solved by 7 people so the enthusiasm and tension here is high! Tons of Sudoku stuff is also obtainable here, mainly for registered users. Registration is free so check this out.

There are plenty of sites that will let you play Sudoku online. Feel free to look through the web. For now, these 5 sites will give your hours of Sudoku playing time and lots of sudoku resources. Enjoy yourself and good luck.