Latest news with #LakshmanSomasundaram
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Business Standard
15 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
LinkedIn and Nikoli bring a twist to Sudoku with bite-sized daily puzzles
LinkedIn has released its sixth thinking-oriented game, Mini Sudoku. The platform has collaborated with the original creators of Sudoku, a small Japanese puzzle magazine named Nikoli, who handcrafted Sudoku around 41 years ago. Mini Sudoku essentially is a daily, bite-sized version of the classic game, designed to be solved in just a few minutes. As per the Senior Director of Product at LinkedIn, Lakshman Somasundaram, the creation of Mini Sudoku was driven by a desire to respect the puzzle's rich history while adapting it for modern lifestyles. LinkedIn now has a total of six games for users to play – Zip, Mini Sudoku, Tango, Queens, Pinpoint, and Crossclimb. Mini Sudoku: What is it Traditional Sudoku often takes 10 to 20 minutes to complete, time that many professionals cannot spare. Somasundaram said that Mini Sudoku condenses the challenge into a format that can be completed in under three minutes, making it ideal for a quick mental reset, a burst of focus between meetings, or a friendly competition. The rules remain familiar: every row, column, and region must contain all numbers exactly once. The only difference is the reduced grid, using just six numbers, resulting in faster gameplay without sacrificing the satisfying moments of logical deduction. Difficulty levels will progress through the week, starting easier on Mondays and becoming more challenging by Sunday. Players can expect familiar tools from larger Sudoku formats, including note-taking, hints, auto-error checking, and row and column highlighting. These features aim to make each day's puzzle solvable in under three minutes, blending accessibility with a satisfying mental challenge. To accompany the launch, daily solve-through videos will be created by Thomas Snyder, a three-time World Sudoku Champion. Each walkthrough will break down his approach to solving that day's puzzle, offering practical tips, tactical insights, and strategic guidance designed to help players sharpen their skills over time. How did Sudoku come into existence As per Somasundaram, Sudoku originated from a puzzle called 'Number Place,' but it was the Japanese publisher Nikoli that refined its rules, gave it the name 'Sudoku,' and presented it to Japan in 1984. The game soon became a global sensation, appearing in newspapers and magazines worldwide. Yet, many outlets overlooked Nikoli's role, and the company gradually slipped out of the spotlight—well-respected among puzzle enthusiasts, but unfamiliar to most of the general public.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Business
- Indian Express
LinkedIn rolls out ‘Mini Sudoku' puzzle game created with world champion Thomas Snyder
LinkedIn has introduced a new puzzle game for the 1.2 billion users of its professional social networking app. The game is a miniature version of Sudoku. Instead of the traditional 9-by-9 grid, Mini Sudoku by LinkedIn is scaled down to a 6-by-6 grid puzzle that is supposed to be completed in two or three minutes. Mini Sudoku becomes harder to solve with every passing day of the week, similar to other puzzle-based games on LinkedIn. With Mini Sudoku, LinkedIn might be looking to play to the nostalgia of users. It could also lead to healthy competition between colleagues, friends and family members in terms of who can solve the puzzle first. Besides giving users something new to talk about, LinkedIn is likely introducing games on its platforms to boost engagement and user retention times. 'We don't want to have a puzzle on LinkedIn that takes 20 minutes to solve, right? We're not games for games' sake,' Lakshman Somasundaram, a senior director of product at LinkedIn, was quoted as saying by CNBC. Mini Sudoku was reportedly conceived based on an encounter between LinkedIn executives and Japanese publisher Nikoli, which popularised Sudoku, in Tokyo, Japan last year. Thomas Snyder, a three-time World Sudoku Championship winner, was also involved in helping LinkedIn design its gaming strategy for Mini Sudoku. Seeking to make the ancient game more accessible, the Microsoft-backed company reportedly designed several prototypes before finalising the version with six rows and six columns of squares. Mini Sudoku is the sixth game rolled out by LinkedIn so far. Millions of people play games on LinkedIn with 7am ET (4:30 pm IST) being the most popular time among users to play the game and Gen Z users on LinkedIn being the top demographic, a company spokesperson was quoted as saying. Over 86 per cent of the users who play regularly will return tomorrow, and 82 per cent of them will be playing next week, the spokesperson added.
