- Nikoli
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- Nikoli is also a village on the island of Lefkada
Nikoli (にこり, nikori) Co., Ltd. is a Japanese publisher that specializes in games and, especially, logic puzzles. Nikoli is also the nickname of a quarterly magazine (whose full name is Puzzle Communication Nikoli) issued by the company. Nikoli became prominent worldwide with the popularity of Sudoku.
The name "Nikoli" comes from the racehorse who won the Irish 2,000 Guineas in 1980; the president of Nikoli, Maki Kaji, is fond of horse-racing and betting.[citation needed]
Nikoli's claim to fame is its vast library of "culture independent" puzzles. An example of a language/culture-dependent genre of puzzle would be the crossword, which relies on a specific language and alphabet. For this reason Nikoli's puzzles are often purely logical, and often numerical.
Nikoli's Sudoku, the most popular logic problem in Japan,[1] was popularized in the English-speaking world in 2005, although it was originally an American puzzle, since Dell Magazines had created it and distributed it for years.[2] With their recent release of an Android app they have claimed that all other apps using Sudoku or Sudoku play infringe on their IP and all have been removed.[3]
The magazine has invented several new genres of puzzles, and introduced several new games to Japan.
Nikoli puzzles
Moderately difficult Fillomino puzzle
© 2005 Adam R. Wood, licensed under GFDL
An uncompleted Hitori puzzle
A Sudoku puzzle (image hyperlinked to solution)Some of the popular Nikoli puzzles,[citation needed] along with their Japanese names; terms in parentheses are published English titles for the same puzzles.
- Bag バッグ (Corral)
- Connect the dots 点つなぎ (dot to dots)
- Country Road カントリーロード
- Crossword クロスワードパズル
- Cipher crossword ナンクロ
- Edel エデル (Paint by Numbers, Nonogram, Griddler)
- Fillomino フィルオミノ (Allied Occupation)
- Gokigen Naname ごきげんななめ
- Goishi Hiroi 碁石ひろい (Go Stones)
- Hashiwokakero 橋をかけろ (Bridges)
- Heyawake へやわけ
- Hitori ひとりにしてくれ
- Hotaru Beam ホタルビーム
- Inshi no heya 因子の部屋
- Kakuro カックロ (Cross Sums, Kakro)
- Keisuke ケイスケ
- Kin-Kon-Kan キンコンカン
- Kuromasu 黒マスはどこだ
- Light Up 美術館
- LITS
- Masyu ましゅ
- Maze 迷路
- Picture maze 浮き出し迷路
- Mochikoro モチコロ
- Number Link ナンバーリンク
- Nurikabe ぬりかべ (Cell Structure)
- Reflect Link リフレクトリンク
- Ripple Effect 波及効果
- Shikaku 四角に切れ (Divide by Squares)
- Slitherlink スリザーリンク (Fences)
- Stained Glass ステンドグラス
- Sudoku 数独 (Number Place, Nine Numbers)
- Tatamibari タタミバリ
- Tatebo-Yokobo タテボーヨコボー
- Tentai Show 天体ショー (Galaxies)
- Tile Paint タイルペイント
- Verbal arithmetic ふくめん算 (Alphametics, Cryptarithm)
- Word search シークワーズ (Word seek)
- Yajilin ヤジリン (Arrow Ring)
- Yajisan-Kazusan やじさんかずさん
External links
- Rules of 80+ Nikoli Puzzles in German and English
References
- ^ "Nikoli Co.". http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/sudoku/index_text.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
- ^ Pegg, Ed, Jr. (2005-09-15). "Ed Pegg Jr.'s Math Games: Sudoku Variations". MAA Online. The Mathematical Association of America. http://www.maa.org/editorial/mathgames/mathgames_09_05_05.html. Retrieved October 3, 2006.
- ^ https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B0QgQeznEQ3pYjhiNWIyMTEtMDhlMi00MGQ3LWJlNGYtMjQyOWIyMmRhM2Y2&hl=en_US
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