They can be traced back to mathematics in medieval Islam, were studied recreationally by Benjamin Franklin, and have seen more serious application in the design of experiments and in error correction codes.

[4][5][7] In MAA Reviews (a publication of the Mathematical Association of America), reviewer Mark Hunacek called it called it "a delightful book which I thoroughly enjoyed reading" and said "a person with very limited background in mathematics, or a person without much experience solving Sudoku puzzles, could still find something of interest here".

[6] However, reviewer Nicola Tilt said in Significance (a magazine of the Royal Statistical Society) that the book's target audience seemed unclear, writing that "the content may be deemed a little simplistic for mathematicians, and a little too diverse for real puzzle enthusiasts".

[8] In The Mathematical Gazette, reviewer David Bevan called the book "beautifully produced", "well written", and "highly recommended".

[4] In the same publication, reviewer Donald Keedwell said "this well-written book would be of interest to anyone, mathematician or not, who likes solving Sudoku puzzles," although he complained that the section on graph coloring is "abstract and demanding" and overly US-centric in its approach.