Sudoku puzzles have always boasted that it is a brain stimulating game that requires no mathematical skills. In essence, the statement is correct because a player does not really have to add numbers, columns or rows to play Sudoku puzzles.
However, if we look at the game of Sudoku puzzles more closely, we can actually identify some basic reference to concepts that are of purely mathematical nature. For instance, Sudoku games usually have several blocks or squares that are already filled up with certain numbers. But what if we start from a totally blank grid, meaning no given numbers at all? The question then will be how many ways can the solution be achieved given the rules set forth by the puzzle game? If we go by the simple 4 by 4 Sudoku grid, there are a total of 576 ways of arranging the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4. in a square or block presentation with each number appearing only once in every row and column. However, Frazer Jarvis of the University of Sheffield was able to come up with 88 valid arrangements for the very same grid and subsequently posted his observations on the Sudoku Programmers Forum.
Clearly, logic is not the only factor at work in Sudoku puzzles....