ROA, ALM Aren't The Only Numbers Games That Credit Unions Are Playing

NEW CASTLE, Del. - There's a serious numbers game being played at www.dcul.org, and you can get in on it.

Patterned after the popular Sudoku puzzles, these C.U. DOKU brainteasers require the player to complete the grid so that every column, every row and every box contains the digits one through nine.

Jane Bailey, EVP of the Delaware Credit Union League, told the Credit Union Journal that she initiated Delaware CUL's website craze after her boss caught her playing Sudoku in her office.

"I told him I was hooked on Sudoku," she recalled. "He took over from there, naming our version C.U. DOKU and suggesting that we put it on our redesigned website as a way to try and drive people to it."

Literally, a minute after the first posting, a completed puzzle was fired back to her, she said.

And, while initially intended for DCUL members, Bailey said completed puzzles have come from people all over the country.

Those who complete the puzzle correctly are entered into drawings for prizes that have, so far included gift certificates and duffle bags from the game's bi-monthly sponsors.

"We put the sponsor's name up on the site in exchange for a little gift for the winner," Bailey said. "We get the sponsor a little more exposure and hope that people who play C.U. DOKU will visit other areas of our website."

New games are posted on the 15th and 30th of each month and will continue as long as there are sponsors, Bailey said.