The list of the most popular Japanese puzzles, along with Kakuro and Sudoku, includes the game Futoshiki. Its rules are simple and straightforward, but the solution requires serious mental work and concentration.
If even a beginner can handle small 5x5 puzzles, large playing fields (from 8x8) are only suitable for intellectual players.
Like most other Japanese puzzle games, Futoshiki is ranked in difficulty based on board size, and can be great fun for players of all ages and nationalities!
Game history
Futoshiki was first published in the Japanese magazine Nikoli in 2001. The name of its author is Tamaki Seto. The game he invented is also often called “More or Less,” and in Japanese its name (不等式) is translated as “inequality.”
Nikoli has made hundreds of games famous, and Futoshiki is one of them. In just over 20 years of existence, the game has conquered the whole world; today it is published in Germany, Great Britain, the USA, and dozens of other countries.
The Futoshiki puzzle is so popular that it is included in logic game championships and competitions every year. For example, The World Puzzle Championship, where players compete in the speed and accuracy of solving Futoshiki and other puzzles. The tournament is divided into several rounds and ranked according to the difficulty of the game, which directly depends on the size of the playing field.
Another world championship that is not complete without Futoshiki is the World Puzzle Cup. The winners can count on valuable prizes: cups and cash rewards. A similar championship is also held annually in the United States, where the speed and accuracy of solving puzzles are assessed.
A game included in tournaments and championships cannot do without records and record holders. In the case of Futoshiki, we can list three of the most prominent experts and winners:
- Thomas Snyder. Known as "the world's fastest puzzle solver." At one time, he set a world record by completing a puzzle of 1000 pieces in just 3 minutes, and today he maintains a thematic blog where he shares his gaming experience.
- Serkan Yurekli. A famous Turkish programmer and mathematician who solved many Futoshiki puzzles against the clock.
- Palmer Mebane. This American mathematician composed more than a thousand puzzles, including Futoshiki.
In a relatively short period of existence (only 23 years), the puzzle was published in dozens of publications around the world, and separate books and collections were dedicated to it. The most famous are “The Big Book of Futoshiki” with 500 variations of this game and step-by-step instructions for solving them, and The Times Futoshiki Book - an official collection from the British newspaper The Times, including 200 variations of Futoshiki. Another well-known collection is PuzzleLife Futoshiki Magazine, which contains 100 Futoshiki games of different difficulty levels.
Largely thanks to the participation of major world publishing houses, this game is now known to all fans of logic games. Start playing Futoshiki right now (for free and without registration)! We believe you will succeed!
