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Two Ryerson master's students put their heads together to create a more challenging - and digital - version of Sudoku, the popular Japanese puzzle game. And they started a business in the process.

Computer science graduate students Alexey Adamsky and Alex Yakobovich created Sudoku3D, an app for Windows Phone 7 and were able to parlay their interest in game design technologies into a company named Fersh. Sudoku3D is played on a cube with all vertical and horizontal faces containing numbers from one to 16; levels vary from easy to extremely difficult.

"Most people are amazed by the graphics and the smooth performance," Adamsky said. It's another success story for Ryerson's Digital Media Zone (DMZ). Sudoku3D is one of 24 companies incubated to date in the DMZ, which opened in April 2010. The DMZ is a hub of digital media innovation and commercialization and is home to both entrepreneurial startups and industry solution-providers. Students, alumni and other growing companies use the space to innovate, collaborate and market their products and services with the aim of turning their commercial enterprises into creative, digital solutions. In its first year of operations, the DMZ helped more than 110 entrepreneurs initiate 49 projects.

Adamsky and Yakobovich wanted to put a new twist on an old game. Adamsky likes to explore new and innovative approaches to problems, so he saw potential in Sudoku. Each partner knew they had to create a version that appealed to fans of the original game. As a result, one of the signature features of Sudoku3D is the ability to unfold and flatten the cube into 2-D view and fold it back for 3-D viewing in real time. Sudoku3D is also being developed for XBOX 360 and PC. Users can download the game at http://bit.ly/GetSudoku3D.

Although there are 3-D Sudoku games online, most are a set of 2-D puzzles placed side-by-side to mimic a 3-D effect. Adamsky says some 3-D variations are volumetric-based where the puzzle values are inside of a cube.

"This creates usability, visibility and playability problems that make the game harder to play and less enjoyable. Sudoku3D introduces extended Sudoku rules to accommodate the puzzle's third dimension in a more natural way. This includes 16 unique values up from the traditional nine and the contribution of all six faces of the cube to a unique solution," he said.

The Sudoku3D team consists of five students, most are from Ryerson, an important contribution to making the venture successful according to Adamsky. 

"Ryerson has a great community. We always have access to many students, professors and all the resources that Ryerson has to offer. All this, plus downtown spirit and friendly environment contributes to a startup like ours," Adamsky said.