Each Sudoku puzzle starts with some of the numbers already entered into the puzzle. Depending on how many numbers are pre-entered and the placement of these numbers determine the difficult level of the sudoko puzzles to print. Ratings of difficulty very but are often rated from 1 start (easy) to 6 stars (very difficult). Some puzzle creators just call them light and easy, easy, moderately hard, very difficult etc. Other puzzle creators have applied far east martial art terms such as white belt, brown belt, green belt and black belt.

We don’t exactly blame you for also joining the ranks of these Sudoku enthusiasts who scour the daily papers, magazines and books dedicated to the game for clues and tips from expert players and techniques on solving the puzzle in record time.

The game that we all know as Sudoku is a relatively recent invention but it can be traced further back to one Leonhard Euler, a Swiss mathematician, who, after studying ancient Chinese ‘magic squares’ started constructing puzzles called Latin Squares at the end of the 18th. Century. These were not actually produced as puzzles, more as mathematical oddities.

We need to leap forward 200 years before the concepts of Latin Squares gave rise to the forerunner of Sudoku puzzles.In 1979, Dell Magazine in the USA published what it called a ‘Number Place’ puzzle. This was the first incarnation of what we now call Sudoku and was attributed to retired architect Howard Garnes.

If you have never tried a sudoko puzzle grids be sure to start with the easiest level you can find. If you buy a puzzle book they are clearly labeled. If you look in a daily newspaper you would normally find the easiest puzzles at the beginning of the week. Starting with an easy level will help you to develop your puzzle strategy in addition to not completely frustrating you as a very difficult puzzle may do.