Sudoku FlowPeople who shaped Sudoku
Updated 2026-10-05
Howard Garns
A retired architect and freelance puzzle maker from Connersville, Indiana, Garns most likely designed the puzzle Dell Magazines published in 1979 as Number Place, when he was 74. His name did not appear with it; Will Shortz traced the puzzle to him in 2005.
Sources: Wikipedia: Sudoku
Maki Kaji
Maki Kaji (1951 to 2021) was the president of the puzzle company Nikoli and became known as the father of Sudoku. He launched the magazine Nikoli in 1980 with two childhood friends, introduced the puzzle in Japan in 1984 and gave it its name. He died in Tokyo on 10 August 2021, at 69.
Sources: Wikipedia: Maki Kaji, Wikipedia: Sudoku
Wayne Gould
A retired judge in Hong Kong, Gould discovered the puzzle in Tokyo in 1997 and spent six years writing software that makes Sudoku. He offered it to The Times in London, which launched it on 12 November 2004, and the puzzle spread from there.
Sources: Wikipedia: Sudoku
Tetsuya Nishio and Miyuki Nisawa
Killer Sudoku was developed by the Tokyo puzzle setter Tetsuya Nishio from an idea by his student Miyuki Nisawa.
Sources: Wikipedia: Killer sudoku
