Inside the Mind of a Sudoku Master - Jeremiah Cook

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,50173925001_1939607,00.html


  This is a story about the game of Sudoku and the people that play it. The game is simple enough as you just need to fill in empty spaces with numbers one through nine and not have them repeat in any given column or row or nine by nine box. This story meets some of the criteria listed when trying to evaluate a story's potential.

  This story has strong characters that are the focus of the story. The two main characters of the story are good friends and will be competing against each other. Both Thomas Snyder and Wei Hwa Huang are highly intelligent and during an interview Wei completes a Rubik's Cube to underscore how fierce the competition will be. Their rivalry is friendly and they both openly state that they're unsure who will win and that not only are they scared of each other but of an unknown competitor.

  The story builds narrative tension when it introduces the possibility that neither one could win. Though they are the two favorites another strong competitor, Tammy Mcleod, as a possible rival. There is also a mysterious hooded man who enters the competition halfway through. The two of them beat out Wei Hwa for the finals and are to compete against Thomas. Thomas during the finals flies through his puzzle completing it first but as he waits for the others to finish he notices a mistake. Thomas has accidently transposed some numbers in his haste and the championship goes to Tammy. The stranger, Eugene, will later be suspected of cheating and an investigation launched.

  This story has a broad appeal because of the game Sudoku. The game is a very popular among all ages and has become known worldwide.. Among the contestants is a 93 year old and an eight year old.

  The story also has some other good evaluation points. The story had cooperative subjects, because these were people that enjoyed the game and wanted to share their story with the reporter. It was also easy to narrow the focus down to the main favorites in the competition and the out of nowhere winners. There was also a reasonable deadline with the story since the competition had a time limit and so the story wasn't liable to run on for months with no end in sight.