Rubik’s Cube
Credit: © Anastasiia Moiseieva, Shutterstock

What has six colors, six faces, and can frustrate most people? A Rubik’s Cube! Sunday, January 29th, is National Puzzle Day! Puzzles are fun activities that are good for your brain. It exercises your brain to think in different ways. There are many different types of puzzles: crossword puzzles, sudoku, riddles, and more. Rubik’s Cube is a physical and mental puzzle that requires a lot of practice!

Rubik’s Cube is a puzzle game invented by the Hungarian professor and puzzle enthusiast Ernö Rubik in 1974. The puzzle takes the form of a cube. Each face of the cube features a three-by-three grid of colored blocks. The blocks are connected to a central core in such a way that rows of blocks can be moved by twisting. Play begins by twisting the cube at random to scramble the colors. The player solves the puzzle by returning each side of the cube to a single color. Rubik’s Cube has become a pop culture icon. It has earned a place in the Strong National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York, and the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Rubik’s Cube puzzle
Credit: © ChristianChan/Shutterstock

Rubik was born July 13, 1944, in Budapest, Hungary. He trained as an architect and later taught at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts in Budapest. In 1974, Rubik used an early version of his puzzle game to teach his students about three-dimensional movement. His students loved the game. Rubik began selling his invention under the name Magic Cube in Hungarian toy shops in 1977. By 1980, his invention caught the attention of the Ideal Toy and Novelty Company, which licensed it. The company renamed the puzzle Rubik’s Cube. In just under two years, they sold over 100 million cubes.

The simple cube has been modified a few times over the years. Some later versions include larger grids of colors and different shapes. The construction of the Rubik’s Cube has also been improved—making the puzzle easier to twist and more durable—to aid in speedcubing competitions. In speedcubing, Rubik’s Cube fans compete to see who can solve the puzzle the fastest. Occasionally, additional challenges are added. These challenges may include solving the puzzle one-handed or even while juggling three cubes at the same time. In 1982, the puzzle was solved in 22.9 seconds at the first-ever Rubik’s Cube World Championships in Hungary. In later competitions, the puzzle has been solved in under 4 seconds.

Crossword puzzle
Credit: © Julia Sudnitskaya, Shutterstock

Grab your pencil, or pen if you dare! Crossword puzzles are popular word games. You can find these smart configurations of black and white tiles in your local newspaper, in book and grocery stores, and online! Many people turn the page or open the app to do certain crossword puzzles every day. Some people play so often that they know the answers to common definitions or clues that frame the puzzle. For example, “slice of history” almost always has three squares. The answer is ERA. Just like the squares and words interlock, sharing common letters, crosswords are here to stay.

American journalist Arthur Wynne created the first modern crossword puzzle, which appeared in the Sunday New York World newspaper on December 21, 1913. However, crosswords were around before this one was was officially printed. Crossword puzzles are over 109 years old! The puzzle became popular in the United States and spread to other countries. Today, crosswords appear in many languages throughout the world. Puzzle championships are often held in the United States and other countries.

In 1924, The New York Times supposed that crossword puzzles were a fad that would end. However, they went on to become a favorite of cruciverbalists, people who do crossword puzzles. Will Shortz, the crossword editor for the New York Times, sold his first puzzle when he was 14 years old. He is the only person that has a degree in Enigmatology, the study of puzzles. He graduated from Indiana University in 1974.

If you have some time, try a crossword puzzle out! Studies show solving crossword puzzles builds your brain. Most crossword puzzlers share that they learn at least one new thing every time they complete a puzzle! Try it out in pencil first in case you need to go back and erase a few guesses.

Sudoku puzzles contain numbers that are already filled in by the puzzle’s author, called clues, which allow the puzzle to be solved. The sudoku on the left is unsolved, and the numbers in black are the clues. The sudoku on the right has been solved, and the numbers in blue are the answers for the puzzle.
Credit: World Book illustration

Today, September 9th (or 9/9 depending on how you write the date), is International Sudoku Day. Sudoku is a logic puzzle. A standard Sudoku consists of a grid of 81 squares, made up of nine rows and nine columns. The grid is further divided into nine 3-by-3 boxes. Each puzzle comes with some numbers in place. A player solves the puzzle by filling the grid with numbers so that every row, column, and box contains the digits 1 through 9 without repeating a number. If the puzzle was properly made, it has only one solution. The amount of nines involved in the puzzle is why today was chosen to celebrate the beloved pastime!

There are some variations of standard Sudoku, with smaller or larger grids. Also, because no arithmetic is needed for Sudoku, letters or symbols can be used in place of numbers. Puzzles that use letters are sometimes called Wordoku.

The earliest examples of Sudoku were number logic puzzles called Number Place, first published in the United States in 1979. A Japanese company called Nikoli began publishing the puzzles in 1984. The puzzles became popular in Japan, where they were called Su Doku—a shortened form of a Japanese phrase meaning, roughly, “the numbers can only be used once.”

The Times of London published its first Sudoku in November 2004. Soon, rival London newspapers followed The Times, each attempting to outdo the others by supplying more Sudoku, or by claiming to offer better Sudoku. Magazines of the puzzles first appeared in the United Kingdom early in 2005. Within months, Sudoku had gained widespread popularity. To give Sudoku a try, grab your local newspaper to find the daily Sudoku puzzle next to the crossword or download an application to play it on a phone or computer. If you are working on paper, it is best to start learning by using a pencil instead of a pen!