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If you had told me a few years ago that I would spend hours staring at a grid of numbers, feeling equal parts exhilaration and frustration, I probably would have laughed. Yet here I am, a self-proclaimed puzzle enthusiast, sharing my ongoing love affair with Sudoku. It’s funny how something that looks so simple on paper can be both meditative and maddening, comforting and challenging, all at once.

I first encountered Sudoku in a dusty corner of my local bookstore. It was tucked between the crossword and logic puzzle sections, its covers adorned with bold numbers and the promise of “Hours of Brain Exercise!” Curiosity got the better of me—I picked up a book, flipped to a random page, and stared at the empty grid for what felt like an eternity. The rules were simple enough: fill in every row, column, and 3x3 square with the numbers 1 through 9, without repeating. Easy, right? Oh, how naïve that thought was.