The self-proclaimed godfather of sudoku wants to cultivate a specialized logic-game market of puzzle fans worldwide who appreciate handcrafted games.

"I want to seek out puzzle fans around the world and bring Nikoli puzzles to them," said Maki Kaji, president of Tokyo-based Nikoli Co.

Nikoli introduced sudoku to the world as an advanced version of the game that was invented by American Howard Garns and first published in the United States under the name Number Place in 1979.