Gould was a lawyer for 13 years in Matamata, New Zealand, before going to Hong Kong in 1982 where he became Chief District Judge and also acted in the High Court. He retired 1997 and during a visit to Japan was in a bookstore where, not knowing how to read or speak Japanese, he was drawn to a puzzle which used a crossword-like grid. He was intrigued and bought a book of the puzzles which he later took with him on his travels. To sharpen his computer skills Gould developed the computer program that generates Sudoku puzzles. Gould supplied puzzles to The Times of London and eventually to over 800 newspapers around the world. He is considered to be the man who started the global Sudoku phenomenon. Although he will answer to Sir Doku, his greatest honour was to be included in Time magazine’s “100” list for 2006. He has two adult children, Sally and Scott, and has grandchildren in the UK and the US. Gould now lives in Tauranga, New Zealand, but travels extensively.

Gould was a lawyer for 13 years in Matamata, New Zealand, before going to Hong Kong in 1982 where he became Chief District Judge and also acted in the High Court. He retired 1997 and during a visit to Japan was in a bookstore where, not knowing how to read or speak Japanese, he was drawn to a puzzle which used a crossword-like grid. He was intrigued and bought a book of the puzzles which he later took with him on his travels. To sharpen his computer skills Gould developed the computer program that generates Sudoku puzzles. Gould supplied puzzles to The Times of London and eventually to over 800 newspapers around the world. He is considered to be the man who started the global Sudoku phenomenon. Although he will answer to Sir Doku, his greatest honour was to be included in Time magazine’s “100” list for 2006. He has two adult children, Sally and Scott, and has grandchildren in the UK and the US. Gould now lives in Tauranga, New Zealand, but travels extensively.

Gould was a lawyer for 13 years in Matamata, New Zealand, before going to Hong Kong in 1982 where he became Chief District Judge and also acted in the High Court. He retired 1997 and during a visit to Japan was in a bookstore where, not knowing how to read or speak Japanese, he was drawn to a puzzle which used a crossword-like grid. He was intrigued and bought a book of the puzzles which he later took with him on his travels. To sharpen his computer skills Gould developed the computer program that generates Sudoku puzzles. Gould supplied puzzles to The Times of London and eventually to over 800 newspapers around the world. He is considered to be the man who started the global Sudoku phenomenon. Although he will answer to Sir Doku, his greatest honour was to be included in Time magazine’s “100” list for 2006. He has two adult children, Sally and Scott, and has grandchildren in the UK and the US. Gould now lives in Tauranga, New Zealand, but travels extensively.