Discussions

I have a confession to make: sometimes, I think Sudoku secretly enjoys watching me suffer. I’ll sit down, pen in hand (or finger on my phone screen), telling myself, “This will be relaxing, just a little brain exercise before bed.” Fifteen minutes later, I’m furiously erasing numbers, muttering things I can’t repeat here, and wondering why I didn’t just watch Netflix instead.

And yet… I keep coming back. Like a toxic ex that somehow knows all my weak spots, Sudoku pulls me in every time.

The First Time We Met

I met Sudoku the old-fashioned way: in a puzzle book my aunt gave me on a long bus ride. I thought it was some sort of math exam in disguise. Nine boxes? Numbers everywhere? Absolutely not. But boredom has a funny way of lowering your standards.

So, I gave it a shot. And you know what? That first puzzle felt doable. A few rows clicked into place, a few “aha!” moments lit up my brain, and before I knew it, I had finished my very first grid. The bus ride that day flew by, and I ended up smiling like I had just cracked a secret code.