PictoMazes

The next big — and challenging! — idea for the adult activity market from Nikoli, the creators of the original Sudoku puzzles and author of Workman’s bestselling Original Sudoku series, with 1.2 million copies in print. So what is a pictomaze? Created by master puzzle maker Kazuyuki Yuzawa, each pictomaze is an intricate maze that, when solved, reveals an image of an animal. It’s a mental workout, requiring a brain-stretching amount of focus and concentration while testing one’s problem-solving ability and short-term memory. And it’s fun! As the line of your pencil twists and turns, a picture of an animal is slowly revealed. There’s a chimpanzee. A tiger chameleon. A great horned owl. A red panda — and more. Once the animal is complete, the puzzle is solved. Now, colour in the path to bring the creature to life, and try the next mystery maze. Problem-solving. Surprise. Mindfulness. This entertaining and engaging activity exercises different parts of the brain at once — allowing players to keep their minds sharp, imaginative, and ever curious.

Nikoli Publishing, the premier Japanese puzzle and game company, holds the trademark on Sudoku in Japan, and supplies 100 percent of the puzzles published in Japanese newspapers and magazines. Maki Kaji, the “Godfather of Sudoku,” is president of Nikoli and is credited with giving Sudoku its name.

Master puzzle maker Kazuyuki Yuzawa (aka “Mr. King”) has been making mazes for 30 years. Jimmy Goto, editor in chief at Nikoli, explains, “There are many puzzle makers in the world. Among them, Mr. Yuzawa occupies the throne, so people call him Mr. King of Mazes.” Yuzawa is an electrical engineer by day, so the time he has to create his masterful mazes is limited — there are fewer than 150 puzzles created by him in the world.

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