KenKen vs. Sudoko
The craze over Sudoko is well-established, as mentioned in a news note four years ago.
Now, one of my students, B.M. (Bellingham, WA), sent me an link with this note: "The other day my roommate was playing this game on his computer. It has some of the principles of of Sudoku, but it involves some more computation. I thought you might like it."
The game is KenKen. Invented in 2004 by Tetsuya Miyamoto, a Japanese mathematics teacher, KenKen has these rules:
- For a n x n puzzle, fill in with the numbers 1-n
- Numbers can not be repeated in a row or column
- In each heavily-outlined set of squares (i.e. cages), the numbers (in any order) must computationally produce the target number in top corner of cage using given math operation
- Fill-in single-box cages with target number
- A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column
So, start playing KenKen on-line...or by a book...or download it on your cellphone, etc. And, use it in your classroom, as it will give students of any age some practice with their computations.
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