Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Happy Birthday: Kanji Sudoku!
Well, it had to come.
After nearly 20 years of experience with Japanese crossword puzzles (kanji and kana) I couldn't believe what the internet is 'selling' under the term 'Japanese crossword puzzles': Logic picture puzzles and of course Sudoku.
Chapeau to the marketing of Sudoku puzzles and yet another uneasiness remains in my mind... Sudoku, a Japanese word and no kanji in the game beside of the title (数独 = Sudoku) at all? Chinese people all over the world 'forced' to use Arabic or Western numerals?
What is it that so many variants of Sudoku (Wikipedia) occured over the last years? Only few people are ready to admit that these time consuming number puzzles are no challenge at all, once you have managed to solve some. But how to use this 'hype' for valuable entertainment? Adding some language to a logic game?
Chinese characters (hanzi or better known as kanji) are ideal to solve this very special puzzle as they are no words but ideograms or pictograms. Starting with Chinese numbers to adopt Sudoku for the Chinese or people of other cultures to learn the Chinese characters was the reason to call these puzzles 'Kanji Sudoku' (漢字数独). With that name given Chinese characters can be used in Sudoku puzzles in various ways: by their shape or even by topics. Additional resources to assist the learning process like kanji match games and kanji writing practice sheets had to be developed. And for those of you who are still interested in good old fashioned crossword puzzles: yes they are out there - even in Japanese (free Japanese crossword puzzles)!
I 'declare this blog open' for feedback and ideas about language Sudokus, to keep you informed about new content of www.Kanji-Sudoku.com and ask you to improve the quality of these puzzles. Feeling like being able to assist with your language skills? Fine! So far there are only English and German versions of the Japanese crossword puzzles, kanji match games and descriptions. Please drop me a note about any non-commercial aspects of a possible co-operation.
Enjoy and ... gambatte kudasai!
After nearly 20 years of experience with Japanese crossword puzzles (kanji and kana) I couldn't believe what the internet is 'selling' under the term 'Japanese crossword puzzles': Logic picture puzzles and of course Sudoku.
Chapeau to the marketing of Sudoku puzzles and yet another uneasiness remains in my mind... Sudoku, a Japanese word and no kanji in the game beside of the title (数独 = Sudoku) at all? Chinese people all over the world 'forced' to use Arabic or Western numerals?
What is it that so many variants of Sudoku (Wikipedia) occured over the last years? Only few people are ready to admit that these time consuming number puzzles are no challenge at all, once you have managed to solve some. But how to use this 'hype' for valuable entertainment? Adding some language to a logic game?
Chinese characters (hanzi or better known as kanji) are ideal to solve this very special puzzle as they are no words but ideograms or pictograms. Starting with Chinese numbers to adopt Sudoku for the Chinese or people of other cultures to learn the Chinese characters was the reason to call these puzzles 'Kanji Sudoku' (漢字数独). With that name given Chinese characters can be used in Sudoku puzzles in various ways: by their shape or even by topics. Additional resources to assist the learning process like kanji match games and kanji writing practice sheets had to be developed. And for those of you who are still interested in good old fashioned crossword puzzles: yes they are out there - even in Japanese (free Japanese crossword puzzles)!
I 'declare this blog open' for feedback and ideas about language Sudokus, to keep you informed about new content of www.Kanji-Sudoku.com and ask you to improve the quality of these puzzles. Feeling like being able to assist with your language skills? Fine! So far there are only English and German versions of the Japanese crossword puzzles, kanji match games and descriptions. Please drop me a note about any non-commercial aspects of a possible co-operation.
Enjoy and ... gambatte kudasai!
