Sudoka Godfather: Maki Kaji, Man Who Invented Sudoku Dies at 69
- Maki Kaji died on Tuesday, August 10, at the age of 69
- His death was confirmed by his company Nikoli which noted he died from bile duct cancer
- Initially, late Kaji was not always interested in puzzles but always dreamt of leading a successful magazine
Maki Kaji, the man who created the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku is dead, TUKO.co.ke has learnt.
Source: UGC
Kaji invented Sudoku
Kaji, whose life's works spread the joy of puzzles died on Tuesday, August 10, at the age of 69.
According to CNN, Maki Kaji died after a long battle with bile duct cancer.
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His demise was confirmed and made public by his company based in Tokyo, Japan.
News of Kaji's death shook the entire world with millions of Sudoku enthusiasts mourning him the best way they knew how.
TUKO.co.ke understands Kaji, who was known as the Godfather of Sudoku created the so as to make it easy for children and other people who did not want to deal with complex puzzles.
The name Sudoku is made up of the Japanese characters for "number" and "single," and players place the numbers 1 to 9 in rows, columns and blocks without repeating them.
In a prior interview before his death, Kaji said he was inspired to rework an American puzzle into what would become Sudoku, which is one of the best-known and most widely played puzzles in the globe.
"Sudoku is very, very special. The problem is something like Sudoku only comes along once every 100 years." Kaji told the BBC in 2007.
TUKO.co.ke has learnt late Kaji was not always interested in puzzles but always dreamt of leading a successful magazine.
According to a New York Times article in 2007, Kaji came up with his puzzle company dubbed Nikoli, which he actually named after winning a racehorse.
The late Kaji enjoyed the fast-paced nature of horse racing and betting, but was also very keen on his puzzles.
TUKO.co.ke understands that all his puzzles were made individually by his Nikoli staff, rather than being computerised and created via algorithms, a method he hoped would inject some individuality into the puzzles.
According to his company Nikoli, Sudoku championships have drawn some 200 million people in 100 countries over the years.
Before his demise, Kaji had travelled to more than 30 countries to spread his enjoyment of puzzles.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
