Star Battle by Thomas Snyder
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Theme: Cornered (originally on the US round for the 2016 WPF Puzzle Grand Prix)
Author/Opus: This is the 245th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.
Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a star appears. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators. Enter both digits of any two-digit column number.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 7:45, Expert = 15:30
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on.
This one was very hard, but very satisfying after you see the logical solve path.
I agree with Aaron, the moment everything clicked in this puzzle was fantastic.
I don’t think I properly appreciated this one on the GP because I didn’t spot the big break-in. Now that I’ve seen just how this one fits together, I think it’s extremely elegant and memorable.
13:15.Glad that I could find the logic and make it within the expert time .Really nice SB
Thanks for the comments here. When I first solved this, it was a bit of a slog, slowly chipping away at things. The talk of a “big break-in” here made me go take a second look at it. And yes, it’s quite elegant, (and fairly straightforward after the surprising start).
Great puzzle, Thomas!