Quick Facts
Biography
Thomas Snyder (born c. 1980) is an American puzzle creator and world-champion sudoku solver. He writes a puzzle blog as Dr. Sudoku.
Early life and education
Thomas Snyder grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo, New York. He attended Amherst Central High School before getting chemistry degrees from the California Institute of Technology and Harvard University and doing post-doctoral work at Stanford University's bioengineering department.
Puzzle-related work
Thomas Snyder has contributed puzzles to various puzzle-related publications including GAMES Magazine and Wired. He has also written puzzles for events including the World Sudoku Championship, U.S. Puzzle Championship, the MIT Mystery Hunt, Gen Con, and the Microsoft Puzzle Picnic.
In early 2012, Snyder began his publishing company Grandmaster Puzzles. On April 9, 2012, he began selling his first title from the newly formed company, The Art of Sudoku. On December 31, 2012, Snyder began the newest version of his puzzle blog The Art of Puzzles coinciding with the relaunch of his Grandmaster Puzzles web site.
Snyder holds several puzzle-solving titles as well, with his 2006 U.S. Puzzle Championship win being the earliest. Snyder represented the United States in the World Puzzle Championship, held in Beijing in October 2013, along with teammates Palmer Mebane, Jonathan Rivet, and William Blatt.
Puzzle championships
- World Sudoku Champion 2007, 2008 & 2011
- U.S. Sudoku Champion 2007
- U.S. Puzzle Champion 2006-2010, 2012