Nothing in recent years has taken the nation by storm as much as the game of sudoku.  The amazing popularity of the game has made it one of Japan's most notable exports in the past few years, now featuring as regularly as the traditional crossword puzzle.  But what's it all about?  Aren't all these numbers a bit on the confusing side? Do you have to be a maths whiz to complete it?  In this article we'll look at some of the key things to bear in mind when playing sudoku, and some tips and techniques to help you on the way.  It's honestly not as tough as you think, and with a bit of practice, you'll be completing puzzles in no time.

Before you can begin to start solving sudoku puzzles, it's important to know the basic premise of the game, and exactly what you're trying to achieve.  Sudoku, originally from Japan, is a game involving a grid of 9x9 squares, which is subdivided into six 3x3 squares.  When you receive the puzzle, certain numbers will already be filled in to set the challenge.  Of course this is necessary for the game to operate by definition, as a completely blank grid could produce infinite combinations as answers.  The object of the game is to complete the grid by ensuring that every row and column contains the numbers between 1 and 9, and that every subdivided 3x3 contains the numbers 1 to 9.  The fact that you can only use a number once in a row, column and 3x3 makes this a particularly challenging puzzle.  Furthermore, it can be quite tricky to identify a particular mistake, which can lead you don a wild goose chase.  After you've tried you're first puzzle, you'll see exactly why sudoku has become so addictive.

A good strategy to implement to start with is to look at the pre-filled numbers.  Look for numbers in common in the surrounding columns.  If you find such, you can easily by a process of elimination come up with the price 3x3 square of a corresponding number, which should then correlate with other pre-filled numbers to get you started.  Try it out and see for yourself.  Think about the game logically and always try to bear in mind the concept of 1-9 at all times.  With a little bit of thinking, and of course some good fortune, you could be solving sudoku problems in no time.