Wacky Patent: Promotional Methods Using Sudoku Puzzles

September 9th is International Sudoku Day! If you ever enjoyed solving the puzzles in the Sunday morning newspapers from the early 2000s you know that Sudoku is a fan-favorite. In the game, the classic 9x9 grid is to be filled with numbers from 1 to 9 so that there are no repeating digits within each of the columns, rows and each of the 3x3 regions within the bigger grid. Several variations of the game have appeared over time. In these variations, smaller and larger grids are common, as well as different irregular grid shapes such as jigsaw puzzle pieces.

In April of 208, inventor Arnold Oliphant had the idea of including graphical elements into the popular puzzle. The game would have additional layers of difficulty by including valid Sudoku sets within the specified cells constituting the graphical elements. Additionally, Oliphant believed these graphics would be ideal for marketing campaigns: The depicted images could include logos, trademarks or other shapes that grabbed people’s attention while working on the puzzles. The invention was not restricted to exist in paper either, just like the classic sudoku moved to a digital form with the advent of cellphones, PDAs and eventually tablets, the new version could be downloaded and solved in the electronic devices.

Although the printed version of Sudoku puzzles are not as popular as they once were, the game is still widely played and enjoyed worldwide. In 2019 the 14th World Sudoku Championship was held in Kirchheim, Germany. Over 200 players from 36 countries gathered to compete and share their passion for the beloved puzzle.

To learn more about the patent Promotional Methods Using Sudoku Puzzles Having Embedded Logos and Other Graphical Elements, US 20080084025 A1, click here.

To learn more about the patent process, visit our website at advetip.com/faq.