One of the most popular puzzles in the world, Sudoku is often described as a Japanese export, especially by some of the first newspapers to publish the game. But is this actually true?

Unlike games such as nonograms, which were devised by Japanese puzzle designers, Sudoku is not a Japanese game despite its name.

To understand why, it is worth looking backwards: who introduced Sudoku to Japan? Who invented the version of Sudoku we play today, and did the game exist before him?

How Did Sudoku Reach Japan? 

The person most associated with Sudoku is the late Maki Kaji. He found the game at some point in the 1980s and by 1984 published it in his puzzle-centric magazine Puzzle Nikolist under the name “Suji wa dokushin ni kagiru” (“The digits must be single”).

This name, which Mr Kaji later admitted was jotted down whilst rushing to get to a horse race, would later be shortened to Sudoku, transliterating the first Kanji symbol of each word.

Nikali would innovate the design of the puzzle and create the final version of Sudoku, but they did not invent the game.

Who Invented Sudoku?

The modern version of Sudoku was first published five years before as Number Place in the American puzzle magazine Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games. 

In Japan, the game is still often known as “Nanpure”, a contraction of this original name, as the trademark for Sudoku is still owned by Nikoli, Maki Kaji’s puzzle company.

Number Place was invented by Howard Garns, a retired architect, puzzlemaker and puzzle enthusiast.

Unfortunately, he would die in 1989, before he got to see the scope of the influence of the game he made and loved. But did he invent it?

What Is The Oldest Sudoku Game?

Whilst it is unclear if Mr Garns knew about it, the first game to play like Sudoku was the Carre Magique Diabolique (The Diabolical Magic Square).

This game was designed by the French newspaper La France in 1895 and was based on a similar game by La Siecle, which used a similar set of rules to Sudoku but relied on mathematical skills and allowed for double-digit numbers.