Don't be puzzled by newspaper's new game

Today the print edition of the Daily Breeze introduces KenKen -- or "cleverness squared" -- a logic puzzle that claims to actually make you smarter.

And it just might.

Solving the puzzle requires addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and helps draw out "the primal, self-starting learning instinct of human beings," inventor Tetsuya Miyamoto says in an interview with The Times of London.

The Japanese teacher uses the puzzles -- which he says turn minds into "vigorous problem-solving engines" -- in classes Japanese parents clamor to get their children into.

KenKen looks a lot like Sudoku. Both are based on number-filled squares, but Miyamoto says there is one fundamental difference: "The numbers in Sudoku could be replaced with melons and you would still be able to play. In KenKen the value of the numbers is absolutely central to the solution."

Scared yet? You shouldn't be. Because even though Miyamoto -- citing the importance of the "personal pattern and style of learning" -- refuses to give advice on the best way to approach his puzzle, all you really need is a bit of logic and a bit of simple math -- and we're willing to hand over the clues that the puzzle's distributor shared with us:

"All the numbers 1 through 4 (for an easy puzzle) or 1 through 6 (for challenging) must appear in each row and column without repeating. Numbers within each heavily outlined group of squares, called a cage, must combine to produce the target number in the top-left corner using addition, subtraction, multiplication or division as indicated.

"First, plug in any freebies provided. In a one-square cage, simply write in the number in the top-left corner.

"Next, look for cages whose target numbers are either high or low, since these are often easier to solve. For example, if there is a two-square cage adding up to 3, you know that the numbers must be 1 and 2, and you can go from there.

"Once you've filled in several numbers, you can use some sudoku-like logic, meaning that you can ignore the target numbers and just see which digits have yet to be used in a particular row or column."

KenKen will appear on the Daily Breeze's Take Out page every day except Sundays.