Like Sudoku, O’Ekaki provides an entertaining test of one’s logic, using a grid of boxes as its playing field. But rather than leaving the player with nothing more than a bunch of numbers, O’Ekaki ends with a flourish: an interesting piece of art that evolves as boxes are darkened until the puzzle is successfully completed. It’s a puzzle that utilizes both sides of a person’s brain! And each puzzle’s title is an amusing clue to the picture that will finally emerge.Simple instructions are included at the front of the book to get one started along with some useful tips. The puzzles challenge on several levels, from one pencil–beginner–to five pencils–expert–all resulting in a sometimes quite elaborate picture. Many of the O’Ekaki puzzles in O’Ekaki Heaven have a spiritual theme to their outcomes. Still, don’t be fooled; some of the more difficult puzzles can be downright devilish!
About Artists & Writers:
According to The Times of London, “Tetsuya Nishio is the undisputed grand ‘puzzle master’ of Sudoku: a bespectacled fiend from the darkest suburbs of Tokyo who spends his every waking hour devising abominable new ways to torture our brain cells. His only weapon is logic, but, in his own words, ‘It is a knife that kills.’ His commitment to deviousness is absolute.”Nishio is a world champion of number-logic puzzles. He reigns as the single-most important figure in Sudoku in Japan. He invented O’Ekaki (Paint by Sudoku) puzzles in the late 1980s, which are steadily becoming as popular as Sudoku. He is also the chairman of the Japan Puzzle Team at the annual World Puzzle Championships.At the 2007 World Puzzle Championship, Nishio placed fourth amongst the greatest Sudoku puzzlers in the world!