Dr. Sudoku Prescribes #41 – Tapa
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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the composite Yajilin mode where left click marks cells, right click marks dots in cells or X’s on edges, left click+drag draws lines.)
Theme: Block Party — repeated clues in each corner.
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.
Time Standard: Tapa Grandmaster = 4:30, Master = 7:30, Expert = 15:00
Solution: PDF
3:40 on this one.The fact that I had to make obvious connections at several places all over the grid, let me down a bit.The bottom-left was the only part that was interesting and where I was slowed down as there was a possibility of messing up with the closely placed 11s.
I’d like to learn if this one had a nice narrow solve path,
if so, i’ve missed it sort of completely…
(meaning I needed more bifurcation on the left part than I thought was intended).
I started with the four 3s, worked my wy up to the four 2s and so on but got a bit lost on the left side…
The upper half has two openings,one around the 4 2s ,which is a nice one but not as easy to spot as the opening around the 4 1s in the left(Mark r4C3 as not shadeable,as it has no exit ).This is where i started.
The break-in around the 2s( they cannot have vertically shaded pairs) in the top-right is a little hard to find,but it helps in the middle of the solve.
I suck at solving Tapa, and this one took me forever……