Hooked on Sudoku

Normally I'm the last person on earth to discover new fads and cool gadgets, so many of you have probably already heard of this logic puzzle called Sudoku. Apparently, several newspapers around the country have started running the puzzle in their daily editions recently. (My local paper, the Raleigh News & Observer has been teasing their weekend premier of the puzzle all week.) So curiosity killed the proverbial cat and I decided to give on online version of the puzzle a try.

The puzzle consists of a grid made up of 9-by-9 squares. The larger grid is subdivided into 9 smaller 3-by-3 grids. The object of the puzzle is to complete the grid so that each row, column and 3-by-3 box contains every number from 1 through 9. There's no arithmetic involved (thankfully for me)...It's just a fun logic puzzle. After only a couple of tries I and several of my coworkers are hooked.

USA Today has some puzzles online, and you can also access and work earlier puzzles. Go ahead...give it a try. You'll be hooked, too.