In less time than it takes most people to brush their teeth, Thomas Snyder can knock out a Sudoku puzzle, and Leyan Lo can solve a Rubik's Cube, blindfolded. Last year, each became the undisputed champ of his corner of the gaming world. Lo, 22, a first-year doctoral student in physics, won two national titles at the 2007 Rubik's Cube U.S. Open, while Snyder, 28, a bioengineering postdoc, collected the triple crown: world and U.S. Sudoku champion and U.S. puzzle champion. But how do they compare head-to-head?

Istockphoto		Jeffrey Coolidge/Getty
Lo		Snyder
Basking Ridge, N.J.	Hometown	Buffalo, N.Y.
2004 Caltech Winter Competition, 15th place	Rookie Competition	2004 U.S. Puzzle Championship, 6th place
“A few minutes each day.”	Training Regimen	“10 to 20 minutes . . . I use them as a sort of morning coffee.
“I have been fortunate enough not to have any.”	Puzzling Injuries	“When I get very involved in solving puzzles, I might forget to eat or sleep.”
The Fridrich method, a three-step process involving 119 algorithms	Strategy	Keep it simple. “By writing less in the grid, you will confuse yourself less and make fewer errors.”
Appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno	Biggest Perk	“With the puzzle in most every newspaper, it is quite a thrill to be recognized as the world's best at solving it.”