http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php ja Wed, 16 May 2012 05:42:42 +0900 stereolog 0.67b http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=12050002 As part of Arts and Science Day at Clarendon Elementary School in San Francisco, more than 40 students from 1st grade to 5th grade took Nikoli’s Puzzle Workshop on May 6th. Maki made it easier for children to try new logic puzzles by using pictures ... Nikoli http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=12050002#com http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=12050002 Wed, 16 May 2012 05:42:42 +0900 As part of Arts and Science Day at Clarendon Elementary School in San Francisco, more than 40 students from 1st grade to 5th grade took Nikoli’s Puzzle Workshop on May 6th. Maki made it easier for children to try new logic puzzles by using pictures instead of numbers for Sudoku. Also, children enjoyed making squares and rectangles with Shikaku puzzle. Maki said, “some children think of logic puzzles as math. However, by letting them use symbols and shapes, they learn logical thinking visually and creatively while having fun. We are very excited we can provide a new way of logical thinking through our puzzle teaching resources.”]]> Nikoli's Business Update http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.phptb.php?id=12050002 http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=12050001 More than 75,000 people visited Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Cherry Blossom Festival on April 28th and 29th. Hundreds of visitors enjoyed Nikoli’s Shikaku and Hashi for the first time. Twelve-years-old Kayla and Maya liked Shikaku because they thoug... Nikoli http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=12050001#com http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=12050001 Wed, 16 May 2012 05:30:44 +0900 More than 75,000 people visited Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Cherry Blossom Festival on April 28th and 29th. Hundreds of visitors enjoyed Nikoli’s Shikaku and Hashi for the first time. Twelve-years-old Kayla and Maya liked Shikaku because they thought it was easier than Sudoku. Judi who is an experienced Sudoku lover also said, “Shikaku is challenging and visual. It is fun to make shapes of squares.” Other experienced Sudoku solvers thought Hashi was more challenging and satisfying than Shikaku. It was a great opportunity to introduce Sudoku for children and adults who have not tried yet. Victoria, Lawrence and Norine, a family purchased Sudoku to go by Workman to share and spend time together. The Monster Book of Logic Puzzles and Sudoku by Sterling were also popular for those who liked Shikaku and Hashi.]]> Nikoli's Business Update http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.phptb.php?id=12050001 http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=12040002 More than 75,000 people came to the 52nd Annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC. Nikoli gave Sudoku Challenge Tournament on stage and five teams of pairs from the audience competed the solving time on stage. Maki gave winners Nikoli's origi... Nikoli http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=12040002#com http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=12040002 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:47:34 +0900 More than 75,000 people came to the 52nd Annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC. Nikoli gave Sudoku Challenge Tournament on stage and five teams of pairs from the audience competed the solving time on stage. Maki gave winners Nikoli's original Sudoku t-shirts. Visitors who came two years in a row said this year’s Sudoku challenge as a team was much more entertaining. Dan, in the audience, said, “I race solving Sudoku with my daughter. I enjoy it very much.”]]> Nikoli's Business Update http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.phptb.php?id=12040002 http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=12040001 Maki Kaji, celebrated the 20th Anniversary of Japan Bowl, a Japanese language national championship for American high school students. Maki has been invited as a special judge by the organizer for the last five years. During the entertainment session... Nikoli http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=12040001#com http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=12040001 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:40:49 +0900 Maki Kaji, celebrated the 20th Anniversary of Japan Bowl, a Japanese language national championship for American high school students. Maki has been invited as a special judge by the organizer for the last five years. During the entertainment session, Maki shared the making of a Japanese crossword in Nikoli way with more than 200 students. Students came up with words such as koibito (lover), kokuhaku (tell someone how you feel) and tomodachi (friend). Maki then helped students create a story like, “I wanted to be a lover with her and told her how I felt. She rejected me but we ended up as a friend.” Maki said creating puzzles is fun when you can put one’s personality with a sense of humor.]]> What the Media Says About Nikoli? http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.phptb.php?id=12040001 http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11120004 Brooklyn Friends School in NY hosted a puzzle event during its annual Winter Festival. Maki taught the audience of children and adults how Nikoli authors actually create Sudoku. The audience learned the difference in computer-generated Sudoku and han... Nikoli http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11120004#com http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11120004 Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:46:10 +0900 Brooklyn Friends School in NY hosted a puzzle event during its annual Winter Festival. Maki taught the audience of children and adults how Nikoli authors actually create Sudoku. The audience learned the difference in computer-generated Sudoku and handcrafted Nikoli Sudoku.
Among the audience, a retired teacher who taught 30 years at the school, Mr. Martin Norregaard, listened to Maki with great joy. “Being here was important. An experience of being with him is very moving. Maki is so relaxed with us, cheerful, and I had an enjoyable time. As soon as I heard about this event, I knew I had to be here to meet Maki,” said Mr. Norregaard.]]> Godfather of Sudoku: What's He Up to Now? http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.phptb.php?id=11120004 http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11120003 In partnership with Japan Society of Northern California, Nikoli joined the effort of supporting cultural programs at public schools in San Francisco. Maki, godfather of Sudoku, visited Herbert Hoover Middle School and Clarendon Alternative Elementary... Nikoli http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11120003#com http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11120003 Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:55:49 +0900 In partnership with Japan Society of Northern California, Nikoli joined the effort of supporting cultural programs at public schools in San Francisco. Maki, godfather of Sudoku, visited Herbert Hoover Middle School and Clarendon Alternative Elementary School and taught not only the logic puzzles such as Sudoku and Shikaku but also how students can apply the skills of solving puzzles in a real world.
Maki said, “Time you spend in solving puzzles is the most important and beautiful part. Once you find out the answer, it becomes your knowledge.” He emphasized that being frustrated and feeling stressful of not knowing the answer is a good process. Students actively participated in the discussion with Maki on finding solutions on some mechanical puzzles.]]> Nikoli's Business Update http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.phptb.php?id=11120003 http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11120002 Maki joined the American puzzle masters, Nick Baxter, Wei-Hwa Huang and Thomas Snyder in San Francisco and shared their vision. Nick has been leading the US puzzle team in the World Puzzle Championship for a number of years, and Wei-Hwa is known not o... Nikoli http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11120002#com http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11120002 Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:48:19 +0900 Maki joined the American puzzle masters, Nick Baxter, Wei-Hwa Huang and Thomas Snyder in San Francisco and shared their vision. Nick has been leading the US puzzle team in the World Puzzle Championship for a number of years, and Wei-Hwa is known not only as a logic puzzle solver/maker but also the designer of many innovative mechanical puzzles. Thomas who is the champion at the World Sudoku Championship this year is a leading expert in the field of bio-engineering in the U.S. Each unique puzzle master shared his vision of the puzzle world in the next 10 years.

Nick Baxter’s Vision:
There will be some surprises, like the Rubik Cube or Sudoku, but no one knows what that secret will be until it happens. We know that puzzles will continue to thrive--video games and other modern recreations are popular but have not killed the classic puzzles and games; instead they have incorporated puzzles into their world. We will continue to see such cross-fertilization.

Wei-Hwa Huang’s Vision:
I hope that the different branches of puzzles can come together more. Right
now the puzzle community has many different groups, the big ones being
crosswords, mechanical puzzles, twisty puzzles, sudoku, brainteasers,
puzzle hunts. I would like to see more crossover between the groups.

Thomas Snyder’s Vision:
I expect sudoku will still be a major puzzle in the US, but I hope that there are many more logic puzzles in newspapers and magazines and not just sudoku. I also hope that there is a greater focus on quality instead of quantity when it comes to puzzles like sudoku. Right now there are thousands of books with millions of puzzles that lack the elegance and beauty of what I consider a sudoku to be. There were many changed made to the US puzzle "Number Place" to become the puzzle "Sudoku" published by Nikoli and while the name has been used in the US, I'm not sure the quality has always matched.]]> Godfather of Sudoku: What's He Up to Now? http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.phptb.php?id=11120002 http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11100001 Inspired by Nikoli’s original Sudoku t-shirts, Workman publisher came up with a bold idea of creating Sudoku books with using only symbols and pictures instead of numbers. Nikoli’s original puzzles are expressed in a unique and dynamic way.Instead... Nikoli http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11100001#com http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11100001 Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:39:16 +0900 Inspired by Nikoli’s original Sudoku t-shirts, Workman publisher came up with a bold idea of creating Sudoku books with using only symbols and pictures instead of numbers. Nikoli’s original puzzles are expressed in a unique and dynamic way.

Instead of traditional numbers, the boxes are filled by: clock faces, with the hands pointing from one o’clock to nine o’clock; dominoes, with dots to fill in; box score graphics from a baseball game (players one through nine, of course); plus Roman numerals, playing cards, human hands signing numbers, Japanese characters, and more.

Maki said in the opening text of the book that “the editors at Nikoli have a long tradition of crafting all Sudoku puzzles by hand—we believe it is the best way to create Sudoku, because it offers the best experience to the solver. In Japan, every bit of feedback from our solvers is considered as we constantly work to refine Sudoku in subtle ways (or innovate in more obvious ways—keep flipping through the pages of this book and you’ll see!)—and that commitment, I believe, is one of the reasons why Japanese solvers prefer Sudoku by Nikoli.”]]> Nikoli's Business Update http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.phptb.php?id=11100001 http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11060002 The event in Dallas, “An Afternoon of Sudoku with Maki Kaji,” attracted more than 50 people on May 8. Maki helped the audience stretch their mind by sharing the joy of creating a puzzle. After finishing mini Sudoku contests, teenagers asked Maki ... Nikoli http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11060002#com http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11060002 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 21:29:43 +0900 The event in Dallas, “An Afternoon of Sudoku with Maki Kaji,” attracted more than 50 people on May 8. Maki helped the audience stretch their mind by sharing the joy of creating a puzzle. After finishing mini Sudoku contests, teenagers asked Maki about how the online platform would changed the growth of logic puzzles. Maki answered that certain types of Nikoli’s original puzzles including Akari work great on the online or cellphone platforms. He, however, emphasized that the paper version of puzzles will stay with us for a long time. He quoted a lady who was taking care of a hospitalized mother: “I take care of my mother all day long in a hospital. After she goes to sleep, I open Nikoli’s puzzle book and play Sudoku. That is the only time I can forget that I am in the hospital.”]]> Godfather of Sudoku: What's He Up to Now? http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.phptb.php?id=11060002 http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11060001 More than 120 people gathered for Sakura Matsuri organized by Japan America Society of Greater Cincinnati on May 2. As part of the Japan Relief efforts, Nikoli donated its original Sudoku books, and Maki gave a speech and workshop on puzzles. A numbe... Nikoli http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11060001#com http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.php?id=11060001 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:14:24 +0900 More than 120 people gathered for Sakura Matsuri organized by Japan America Society of Greater Cincinnati on May 2. As part of the Japan Relief efforts, Nikoli donated its original Sudoku books, and Maki gave a speech and workshop on puzzles. A number of people purchased the books as a gift for Mothers’ day. Nikoli helped raise more than $1000 for the Japan Relief. Among other sponsors, Toyota Motor & Manufacturing was the Platinum sponsor. Asahi donated 100 cases of beer for raffle drawing.]]> Nikoli's Business Update http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/topics/index.phptb.php?id=11060001