The Quiet Thrill of Sudoku: My Journey with Tiny Squares and Big Discoveries

I can’t remember the exact day I fell down the Sudoku rabbit hole, but I do remember the feeling. It was a rainy afternoon — one of those slow, cozy days when time feels stretched. My friend dropped by with a newspaper and said, “Try this. You’ll either love it or throw it across the room.” It turned out to be both. At first glance, Sudoku looked harmless enough: a simple 9x9 grid with a few numbers sprinkled in. “How hard could it be?” I thought, naively. Ten minutes later, I was squinting at the puzzle like it had personally offended me. Rows, columns, boxes — numbers dancing everywhere but where I needed them. Yet, something about it hooked me.

Expires: March 12, 2026