The continued success of Sudoku means that there's a new breed of Sudoku puzzler: experienced, resourceful, and ready for puzzles that transcend the rote specimens one encounters in the daily newspaper, online, or in mass market magazines. It is this sector

of puzzle solvers that grows every day, and the sector for which Vertical has conceived its line of Sudoku books.

Sudoku is a logic puzzle that was originally created in the U.S., but which achieved its popularity in Japan. Hence the Japanese name. The goal is to fit the numbers 1 through 9 into blocks of nine squares, using each numeral only once. Until recently, these basic Sudoku puzzles have been created with simple computer software. Easy to create, yes, but formulaic

and unchallenging. The puzzles in Sudoku Hell are conceived by Japan's greatest puzzle mind, Tetsuya Nishio, who takes extreme pleasure in creating his puzzles as devilishly devious as possible. And, as with Vertical's previous collections, there are an array of Sudoku-inspired variant puzzles in Sudoku Hell , which offer unique new ways to entertain and drive puzzlers mad with pleasure.