In word sudou, you must fill in each row, column or 3x3 block using the letters of a word, instead of numbers. Otherwise, normal sudoku rules apply: all letters of a 9-letter word must be used, without repetitions in rows, columns or blocks.

The main benefit of word sudoku, compared to normal sudoku, is that it activates more parts of the brain at the same time: verbal skills, memory, logical reasoning and counting brain regions are all stimulated simultaneously.

This makes the game an excellent way to train your mind and keep it active and healthy!

Remember how the first time you played regular sudoku, you found the game intense and challenging? As it felt like a full-blown brain workout?

Sadly, that feeling goes away gradually over time in most players, as they get better at sudoku.

That's because as our brains learn how to solve a problem, they become much more efficient at it, and start using only a small fraction of our brain capacity to solve it. Instead of using complex logical reasoning skills, we start to form pattern matching parts that work on auto-pilot.

This means that if you want to get your mind busy and active, and improve your memory, regular sudoku does not help you that much. The more you play it, the less you get out of it. As a result, it feels less rewarding so it gets pretty boring!

But here is where word sudoku shines. Since you must fill in the board with letters instead of numbers, the brain cannot use just counting and pattern matching anymore. You have to keep track of which letters of the word you used, which forces multiple regions of the brain work together to solve the problem.

This keeps large regions of the brain active, making the game more intense, while also feeling more fun and rewarding!

Moreover, to prevent your brain from switching into lazy pattern-matching mode, the word is changed in every puzzle. For example, a board might use the word DISCOVERY. By the time you solve it, you may get pretty good at spotting those letters almost out of reflex. But then, the next board will use a different work, like WONDERFUL, which forces your brain to reset the pattern matching and use instead higher-level reasoning skills again. This helps tremendously with keeping your mind active in every game you play.

The book contains 366 word sudoku puzzles, each one using a unique word. The difficulty of each puzzle is marked under the board, and varies between easy, medium and hard. The back of each page contains the solution of the puzzle.

Try it out now! Keep your mind active and busy, improve your memory, and have fun!