Sudokus
By Scott Hansen

Crosswords are tough; let’s just get that out of the way. They alienate anyone who doesn’t have a wide vocabulary or know a lot about culture and synonyms. But virtually everyone knows the numbers one through nine.

Sudokus can be challenging, but ultimately, the probability of being correct leans in the favor of the person doing a Sudoku more so than it does with crosswords. With Sudokus, the person doing it has a one out of nine chance, at the minimum, of getting the answer correct, but typically the probability is higher, being either a one out of eight or even seven chance, depending on how many spaces are filled. But the probability of solving a crossword? Well, that depends on how many letters are in the word. Then, you have a one out of however-many words-have-that-number-of-letters chance of getting it right.

Crossword puzzles, ironically, are typically played by those that need to feel like they have friends. See, with crosswords, generally it takes consulting with other people to solve them. But the cool kids who are the ones being followed? They are playing Sudoku because they don’t need to ask or consult with anyone on how to solve a problem. They already know what the possibility is; therefore, they appear cooler.

This also means that Sudokus are easier to do in class. No consulting a neighbor is needed, and as a result, no professor has or ever will call out someone for disturbing their class while they are doing a Sudoku. Crosswords, however, often cause individuals to distract others.

So, to recap: cool people do Sudokus, they are challenging but appeal to more people, and they don’t disturb others. ‘Nuff said.

Crosswords
By Thom Fountain

Raise your hand if you like math! Now keep your hand up if you like being punished for miniscule mistakes. Now keep your hand up if you enjoy puzzles that are either ridiculously easy or excrutiatingly hard.

If you still have your hand up, you might actually like Sudokus. And you’re a freak.

Crosswords are the ultimate puzzle and offer something for everyone. Not only do you have a broad range of questions that range from definitions to name-that-song, you also have a variety of difficulties in each puzzle.

The problem with Sudokus is: if you don’t finish, you fail. With a crossword, you still feel accomplished by just figuring out one or two clues.

Crosswords also can amp up your vocabulary and offer riddles that test your analytical thinking. Sudokus just offer a world of frustration.

The last appeal of the classic word game is that each crossword puzzle has its own personality. You know that someone sat on the other side of the paper and made a puzzle that couldn’t be replicated by a computer.

Sudokus have the coldness of numbers, but crosswords offer the warmness of human interaction, accomplishment and a constant sense of learning.