Nikoli
Founded1980 (1980)
FounderMaki Kaji
Country of originJapan
Publication typesPuzzles, Magazines
Official websitenikoli.co.jp

Nikoli Co., Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社ニコリ, Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha, Nikori) is a Japanese publisher that specializes in games and, especially, logic puzzles. Nikoli is also the nickname of a quarterly magazine (whose full name is Puzzle Communication Nikoli) issued by the company in Tokyo.[1] Nikoli was established in 1980[1] and became prominent worldwide with the popularity of Sudoku.

The name "Nikoli" comes from the racehorse who won the Irish 2,000 Guineas in 1980; the founder of Nikoli, Maki Kaji, was fond of horseracing and betting.[2]

Nikoli's claim to fame is its vast library of "culture independent" puzzles. An example of a language/culture-dependent genre of puzzle would be the crossword, which relies on a specific language and alphabet. For this reason Nikoli's puzzles are often purely logical, and often numerical.

Nikoli's Sudoku, the most popular logic problem in Japan,[3] was popularized in the English-speaking world in 2005, though that game has a history stretching back hundreds of years and across the globe.[4]

The magazine has invented several new genres of puzzles, and introduced several new games to Japan.

Nikoli puzzles

An uncompleted Hitori puzzle
A Hotaru Beam puzzle
A Sudoku puzzle

Some of the popular Nikoli puzzles, along with their Japanese names; terms in parentheses are published English titles for the same puzzles.

  • Bag (バッグ, baggu) (Corral)
  • Connect the dots (点つなぎ, ten tsunagi) (dot to dots)
  • Country Road (カントリーロード, kantorī rōdo)
  • Crossword (クロスワードパズル, kurosuwādo pazuru)
  • Edel (エデル, ederu) (Paint by Numbers, Nonogram, Griddler)
  • Fillomino (フィルオミノ, firuomino) (Allied Occupation)
  • Gokigen Naname (ごきげんななめ, gokigen naname) (Slant)
  • Goishi Hiroi (碁石ひろい, goishi hiroi) (Go Stones)
  • Hashiwokakero (橋をかけろ, hashi o kakero) (Bridges)
  • Heyawake (へやわけ, heyawake)
  • Hitori (ひとりにしてくれ, hitori ni shitekure)
  • Hotaru Beam (ホタルビーム, hotaru bīmu)
  • Inshi no heya (因子の部屋, inshi no heya)
  • Kakuro (カックロ, kakkuro) (Cross Sums, Kakro)
  • Keisuke (ケイスケ, keisuke)
  • Kin-Kon-Kan (キンコンカン, kinkonkan)
  • Kuromasu (黒マスはどこだ, kuromasu wa dokoda)
  • Light Up (美術館, bijutsukan)
  • LITS (ヌルオミノ, nuruomino)
  • Mainarizumu (マイナリズム, mainarizumu)
  • Masyu (ましゅ, mashu)
  • Maze (迷路, meiro)
  • Mochikoro (モチコロ, mochikoro)
  • Numberlink (ナンバーリンク, nanbā rinku)
  • Nurikabe (ぬりかべ, nurikabe) (Cell Structure)
  • Reflect Link (リフレクトリンク, refurekuto rinku)
  • Ripple Effect (波及効果, hakyū kōka)
  • Shakashaka (シャカシャカ, shakashaka)
  • Shikaku (四角に切れ, shikaku ni kire) (Divide by Squares)
  • Slitherlink (スリザーリンク, surizā rinku) (Fences)
  • Stained Glass (ステンドグラス, sutendo gurasu)
  • Sto-stone (ストストーン, sutosutōn)
  • Sudoku (数独, sūdoku) (Number Place, Nine Numbers)
  • Tatamibari (タタミバリ, tatami bari)
  • Tatebo-Yokobo (タテボーヨコボー, tatebō yokobō)
  • Tentai Show (天体ショー, tentai shō) (Galaxies)
  • Tile Paint (タイルペイント, tairu peinto)
  • Verbal arithmetic (ふくめん算, fukumensan) (Alphametics, Cryptarithm)
  • Word search (シークワーズ, shīku wādo) (Word seek)
  • Yajilin (ヤジリン, yajirin) (Arrow Ring)
  • Yajisan-Kazusan (やじさんかずさん, yajisan kazusan)

References

  1. 1 2 "Puzzles". Nikoli. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  2. ↑ Bellos, Alex (2017). Puzzle Ninja. Guardian Books and Faber & Faber Ltd. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-4521-7105-0.
  3. ↑ "Nikoli Co.". Archived from the original on 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  4. ↑ Pegg, Ed Jr. (2005-09-15). "Ed Pegg Jr.'s Math Games: Sudoku Variations". MAA Online. The Mathematical Association of America. Archived from the original on 2006-10-13. Retrieved 2006-10-03.


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