When did sudoku become popular?

It is hard to believe that number puzzles similar to Sudoku have been around for more than one hundred years. Often, adults and children could go to their local newspaper to find these number puzzles which were often located alongside the crossword puzzles. Over time, these puzzles changed. The magic square was introduced in 1892.

Today, a more modern Sudoku is used usually. It is believed that a retired man from Indiana created the first Sudoku puzzle in 1972. Then Dell Magazines who is known for creating books of crosswords and other types of puzzles, published it in their magazines. The retired gentleman who created this was known for creating puzzles. He was also retired from the architecture industry. He died in 1989.