Maki Kaji, creator of the Sudoku puzzle, dead at 69

The late Kaji is known as the "Godfather of Sudoku” for the numbers puzzle he created that’s drawn fans around the world. Photo: NIKOLI/AP

Maki Kaji, the creator of the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku whose life's work was spreading the joy of puzzles, has died, his Japanese company said on Aug 17. He was 69 and had bile duct cancer.

Known as the "Godfather of Sudoku”, Kaji created the puzzle to be easy for children and others who didn’t want to think too hard. Its name is made up of the Japanese characters for "number” and "single”, and players place the numbers one through nine in rows, columns and blocks without repeating them.