Kakuro Puzzles

Much like its cousin Sudoku, Kakuro is a logic puzzle that has become wildly popular. Kakuro at first glance looks like a crossword puzzle, however the answers are numbers, and the clues small enough to fit into the puzzle itself.

Although first published in Dell Magazines in 1966 under then name Cross Sums, the puzzle grew in popularity especially in Japan. It returned to the states under the new name, Kakuro.  Freshly branded, it is becoming more and more played mainstream. Sudoku also went through a similar transformation, as it was first published by Dell Magazines in late 1970's under the name Number Place. It seems Americans prefer playing games that appear to be a traditional Japaneses game, than a game with 'math' or 'sums' in the title. (By such logic, we should rename laundry, 'taku')