# How long will the Sudoku craze last? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-the-sudoku-craze-last/341270 "2006-01-23T17:56:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-the-sudoku-craze-last/341270/21 "2006-01-24T04:41:50Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > The craze will end when either: > > A. Chuck Woolery hosts “Sudoku for Dollars” on GSN > > or > > B. ESPN Presents “The Million Dollar Sodoku Challenge” Live! from Las Vegas. Quiet! They’ll hear you. 😃 (I see a GSN Sudoku show in our future.) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-the-sudoku-craze-last/341270/22 "2006-01-24T04:45:20Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I saw a tagline, “Sudoku is for people who can’t handle cryptic crosswords.” > > It’ll always be around, of course, but the craze will fade away in a year or two. Crosswords are for people who can’t handle cryptic crosswords. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-the-sudoku-craze-last/341270/23 "2006-01-24T05:05:16Z")
> [@RachelChristine](#): > > … something with Number in the title… Number Place. It’s original name. I’ve thought about it and I probably have been doing them for about 20 years since that’s when I started buying Dell. At least I assume so, I can’t recall doing anything but the ones where you place words into grids. Not Add-Ins but the ones with lots of empty space between the words. I agree Paint by Numbers is the best puzzle game. Although the fancy ones and the ones on the web kinda take the fun out of it. You really need a paper and a pencil to do them. I love the big 50 x 50 grids. I don’t think you can do those in the newspaper though. I don’t think the paper is strong enough. Cross Sums, my second favorite, would work well in newspapers. But the smart thing to do is to have a variety of puzzles so that every day is different. Otherwise you get bored easily. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-the-sudoku-craze-last/341270/24 "2006-01-24T05:09:03Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’ve also seen a book of the puzzles where each stretch of boxes, horizontall and diagonally, have a number which the contents must add up to. So, if you have two boxes with a 3, they must be 2-1 or 1-2. I forget the name - it’s yet another Japanese one. [Kakuro.](http://www.kakuro.net/) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-the-sudoku-craze-last/341270/25 "2006-01-24T14:26:31Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > [Kakuro.](http://www.kakuro.net/) Which has been given a Japanese name to cash in on the latest fad – we’ve been running these for decades as “Cross Addition” puzzles. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-the-sudoku-craze-last/341270/26 "2006-01-24T17:39:13Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Which has been given a Japanese name to cash in on the latest fad – we’ve been running these for decades as “Cross Addition” puzzles. :rolleyes: Hey, it’s business. If they can get the suckers^h^h^h customers to buy the book and do five of the puzzles, it will be fine. I’ve done them for years also - and a book full seems like way too many. So, the Japanese name is totally made up, or do they run in Japan under this name? ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-the-sudoku-craze-last/341270/27 "2006-01-24T18:28:26Z")
Our big Sudoko craze started sometime around June last year and is, as I experience, to fade down, though there are still a lot of Sudoko books and papers and electronic gadgets about. I think the novelty factor can kill it somewhat: a crossword puzzle can personal and unique, but the sense of familiarity is also selling: you can skim through a magazine and see the well-known Sudoko square and go: “Oh! I haven’t done one of these in a while!”. I expect the trend to go down and some other form of puzzle to briefly rise (possible in a couple of months or so) then it will cool down. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-the-sudoku-craze-last/341270.md?page=1)