Three Dimensional Sudoku Cube Puzzle

Abstract

A three-dimensional Sudoku game comprising a plurality of individual Sudoku puzzles arranged on the faces of a polyhedron, in which cells on the edges of each face of the polyhedron must contain the same number or other symbol as adjacent cells on adjoining faces of the game, such that a plurality of Sudoku puzzles must be solved together.

1 . A three-dimensional Sudoku game comprising:
 a plurality of faces, each face comprising a plurality of sides, wherein each of the sides comprises an edge shared with a different face;   a plurality of cells on each face, wherein the cells of each face are arranged in rows and columns, each row and each column of the face comprising N cells, wherein N is a whole number greater than 1, thereby forming an array of N 2  cells on each face of the game; and   N regions on each face, each region comprising N rows of N cells each and N columns of N cells each,   wherein each cell includes no more than one symbol in a non-repeating series of symbols, each symbol in the series of symbols appearing only once in each row, each column, and each region of a face, and wherein a first cell of a first face of the game and a second cell of a second face must include the same symbol if the first cell and second cell are adjacent.   
     
     
         2 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein the symbols are numbers. 
     
     
         3 . The game of  claim 2 , wherein the numbers are an ordered series of numbers. 
     
     
         4 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein N is selected from the group consisting of 4 and 9. 
     
     
         5 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein each cell is in the form of a square. 
     
     
         6 . The game of  claim 5 , wherein each row of a face is arranged perpendicularly to each column of the face. 
     
     
         7 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein each face forms a square and the faces are arranged to form a cube. 
     
     
         8 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of faces is displayed in two dimensions. 
     
     
         9 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein the game is in physical form. 
     
     
         10 . The game of  claim 9 , wherein the game is formed from a rigid planar material folded into a three-dimensional object, with each face of the object comprising a face of the game. 
     
     
         11 . The game of  claim 9 , wherein the game is formed from paper. 
     
     
         12 . The game of  claim 1 , wherein the game is in the form of an image displayed on a display device. 
     
     
         13 . The game of  claim 12 , wherein the display device is a mobile communications device comprising a display screen. 
     
     
         14 . A method of playing a three-dimensional Sudoku game, comprising the steps of:
 providing a plurality of faces which form at least part of a polyhedron, each face comprising a plurality of sides and N regions, each region comprising N rows of N cells each and N columns of N cells each, wherein N is a whole number greater than 1;   assigning a different symbol from a group of N 2  non-repeating symbols to each cell in each row of each face;   assigning a different symbol from the group of N 2  non-repeating symbols to each cell in each column of each face; and   assigning a different symbol from the group of N 2  non-repeating symbols to each cell in each region of the face,   wherein at least a first face and a second face of the polyhedron are joined at an edge, and wherein adjacent cells on the first face and the second face are assigned the same symbol from the group of N 2  non-repeating symbols.   
     
     
         15 . The game of  claim 14 , wherein the symbols are numbers. 
     
     
         16 . The game of  claim 15 , wherein the numbers are an ordered series of numbers. 
     
     
         17 . The game of  claim 14 , wherein N is selected from the group consisting of 4 and 9. 
     
     
         18 . A method of generating a three-dimensional Sudoku game in which each cell of the game can comprise a symbol from a predetermined set of symbols, wherein each symbol of the set appears only once in each row, column, and region of a face of the game, comprising:
 (a) generating a plurality of faces, each face comprising N 2  cells, wherein the cells are arranged into rows of N cells and columns of N cells;   (b) assigning a top edge, a bottom edge, a right edge, and a left edge to each cell;   (c) mapping each cell such that the top edge of a cell is the bottom edge of an adjacent cell in a column and such that a right edge of the cell is the left edge of an adjacent cell in the row;   (d) randomly selecting a previously unselected cell of a face of the game and randomly assigning a symbol to the cell from the predetermined set of symbols, thereby generating a randomly assigned cell containing the symbol, wherein the symbol must be different from other symbols contained in other cells in the same row, column and region as the randomly assigned cell, and wherein when the randomly assigned cell shares an edge with a second cell on a different face of the game, the randomly assigned cell and the second cell must comprise the same symbol;   (e) selecting a remaining cell in the game and determining whether the remaining cell can comprise only one valid choice of symbols, and if so, assigning the valid symbol to the remaining cell to generate a nonrandomly assigned cell, and removing the valid symbol from the set of predetermined symbols assignable to other cells in the same row, column and region of the nonrandomly assigned cell; and   (f) repeating steps (d) and (e) until a symbol from the predetermined set of symbols has been assigned to each cell of the game, thereby generating a solved game.   
     
     
         19 . The method of step  18 , further comprising the step after step (f) of removing the symbols from all of the nonrandomly assigned cells of the solved game, thereby generating a three-dimensional Sudoku game with only one solution. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein N is selected from the group of 4 and 9. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein step (d) comprises selecting a previously unselected cell from the face of the game comprising the fewest previously selected cells.