ANOTO GROUP LAUNCHES PREMIER SUDOKU GAME FOR LEAPFROG’S FLY PENTOP COMPUTER
I OAKLAND, California, Feb. 8, 2006 - Anoto Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Anoto Group AB announces the world’s first version of Sudoku that can be played interactively with paper and pen – on LeapFrog’s FLY Pentop computer. Riding the Sudoku craze among adults and kids, Sudoku: The Power of 9 is completely unique in introducing the game to novices and challenging pundits by providing strategic hints, scoring, and instant feedback as users write numbers on paper with their FLY Pentops. The Sudoku is the first content that will be developed and owned by Anoto Group and sold through the Leapfrog channels. Sales is planned to start during autumn 2006. Kids and parents testing Anoto Inc’s FLY version of Sudoku prefer the FLY pentop and paper to other electronic forms of this game due to the rich hint and strategy structures as well as the simple ability to write small numbers in boxes as personal clues when solving the more challenging puzzles. The phenomenal success of Sudoku among kids has taken teachers and parents by surprise. Teachers are encouraging student play in schools across the nation and creating Sudoku competitions. Parents are eager to share the Sudoku experience with their kids, often sharing – or competing for – the puzzle in the daily paper. Sudoku: The Power of 9 is further enhanced with the inclusion of a comic book story in the Japanese ‘manga’ style that bridges the worlds of fantasy and abstract thinking. The adventure follows a desperate mission to save the universe, solving interactive Sudoku puzzles and lessons that are scattered throughout the story, with keys to Sudoku secrets revealed along the way. Sudoku: The Power of 9 contains more than 200 Sudoku puzzles for all levels of play – from novice to insane. “Sudoku is sweeping this world like no other game in history” said Jim Marggraff, CEO of Anoto, Inc. “The Fly Pentop computer provides a unique learning and entertainment experience for kids of all ages while advancing logic and critical thinking skills. It’s intensely engaging and totally fulfilling.” Sudoku: The Power of 9 contains a Sudoku Flyware™ cartridge and a 100+ page adventure story and Sudoku puzzle book. Sudoku is played by like a crossword puzzle using numbers instead of words. The puzzle is a box of 81 squares. Some squares are filled in with numbers while others are completed by the puzzler. The object is to fill in the blank squares so that the numbers 1-9 to appear only once in every, row, column and 3x3 box. Solving time is typically from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on an individual’s skill and experience. For more information please contact: Örjan Johansson President & CEO Anoto Group AB +46 733 451208 Jim Marggraff CEO Anoto Inc +1 (510) 777 0071