I’m grateful to finally learn how to Sudoku. It’s mystified me for years and I never even wanted to know how until a few days ago. For years, Wordle sufficed as far as mind games. Recently NYT introduced Strands, another word game that intrigued me enough to stack it with my Wordle habit. And then, I returned to the mini-crossword, began to dabble in the regular crossword again, and started playing the other word games on the app, Connections and Letter Boxed. (I’d already tried and abandoned Spelling Bee years ago.)

I’ve been mind-training for years with meditation and other mindfulness practices, and decided my brain is old enough now that I should exercise it more strenuously in a different field. After all, it no longer spins its wheels ruminating so it’s got some spare time and energy for more healthy weightlifting.

I had labeled myself for most of my life as A Word Person Not A Number Person. I think about my poet friend Marion, also a word person who long ago fell hard for Sudoku. I couldn’t understand why. It seemed like a betrayal of Words. Once I started using the Games app, the one numbers game began nagging for attention. I’d think of Marion and how she loved it; I opened it a few times and closed it, but finally, tonight, decided to learn how it goes. Sudoku didn’t prevent her from succumbing to dementia, and may not help me, but research suggests that this kind of brain game actually does help keep the mind nimble. I felt pretty pleased when I completed my first ever Sudoku. And it’s probably a healthier way to spend precious time than the boob tube.