Archive for the ‘Puzzle’ Category:

Highball Sudoku by Bill Murphy

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
With two choices for each key sum, can you figure out how to place values all around this Highball Sudoku grid by Bill Murphy?

Highball Sudoku by Bill Murphy

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Author/Opus: This is the 98th puzzle from Bill Murphy, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Also, the clues outside the grid indicate the sum of either the first and second numbers or the second and third numbers seen from the direction of the clue.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:30; One party hat (🥳): 16:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Yuzu Yueosaurus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:06, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF; solving video with explanation to be added later from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Outside Fortress Sudoku by clover!

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
What happens when you try to build a fortress outside the grid? Find out in this puzzle where the gray cells must exceed the respective numbers to the top and left.

Outside Fortress Sudoku by clover!

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Out in the Cold

Author/Opus: This is the 119th puzzle from Clover, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Also, when a number appears in a gray cell, it must be greater than the clue number above its column and the clue number to the left of its row.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 6:30; One party hat (🥳): 12:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: chilly Chilantaisaurus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 1:50, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF; solving video with explanation to be added later from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Anti-King Sudoku by Philip Newman

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
Today’s GAS is another chess-inspired negative constraint puzzle, Anti-King Sudoku; don’t forget to check diagonal neighbors!

Anti-King Sudoku by Philip Newman

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: engy engy Revolution

Author/Opus: This is the 100th puzzle from Philip Newman, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Also, cells sharing a corner cannot contain the same number (as if adding a chess king’s move constraint to each cell).

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 5:30; One party hat (🥳): 11:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Queen Quetecsaurus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:02, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF; solving video with explanation to be added later from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Fortress Sudoku by Bill Murphy

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
Can you communicate the number logic all the way up and down this “Tower of Babel” Fortress Sudoku by Bill Murphy?

Fortress Sudoku by Bill Murphy

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Tower of Babel

Author/Opus: This is the 97th puzzle from Bill Murphy, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). A number in a gray cell must be larger than any number in an adjacent white cell that shares an edge. (To assist solvers, this is shown like a greater than/less than shape in how the gray cells are drawn.)

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 6:00; One party hat (🥳): 11:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Ascending Aerosteon.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:13, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF; solving video with explanation to be added later from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Bouncing X-Sums Sudoku by clover!

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
In this unusual variation of X-Sums Sudoku, the X-Sums path bounces off the border cells and rebounds into the inside of the grid if it extends too far.

Bouncing X-Sums Sudoku by clover!

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Bouncing Baby Puzz

Author/Opus: This is the 118th puzzle from Clover, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Also, the clues outside the grid indicate the sum of the first X numbers placed in the corresponding diagonal direction, where X is equal to the first number seen in that direction. If the sequence of X numbers extends to the edge of the grid, it “bounces” at a 90-degree angle off the center of the edge cell and continues back towards the interior. (For example, because of the 9 clue to the right of R3 and because R2C9 = 3, R2C9 + R1C8 + R2C7 = 9.)

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 7:00; One party hat (🥳): 13:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: jumping Juratyrant.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:07, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Anti-Knight Sudoku by Philip Newman

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
The GAS team was challenged to do a puzzle with a negative constraint, so today’s puzzle is an Anti-Knight Sudoku. (A not-GAS first attempt is also provided as a bonus!)

Anti-Knight Sudoku by Philip Newman

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Bonus (more difficult, not-GAS)

Anti-Knight Sudoku by Philip Newman

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: engy’s Negativity 2-ur

Author/Opus: This is the 99th puzzle from Philip Newman, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Also, numbers cannot repeat in any cells separated by a chess knight’s move.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:00; One party hat (🥳): 16:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Paluxysaurus Pal.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:41 and 6:16, with main replay and bonus replayshared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF, bonus PDF, and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Entropic Lines Sudoku by Bill Murphy

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
Another lines variant by Bill with a somewhat familiar theme? Will the Entropic Lines be just an “M” for Mini challenge today or will they be something harder?

Entropic Lines Sudoku by Bill Murphy

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: M is for Mini

Author/Opus: This is the 96th puzzle from Bill Murphy, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Numbers along peach lines (entropic lines) must form a repeating cycle of L = Low (1, 2, 3), M = Medium (4, 5, 6), and H = High (7, 8, 9) numbers like …LMHLMH… or …LHMLHM….

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:30; One party hat (🥳): 16:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Barnacleboy’s Bagaceratops.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 5:35, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Consecutive Count Sudoku by clover!

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
In this curious variation on Consecutive Sudoku puzzles, the outside numbers indicate how many pairs of digits must have consecutive values where “0” means the row is nonconsecutive.

Consecutive Count Sudoku by clover!

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Countsecutive

Author/Opus: This is the 117th puzzle from Clover, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Clues outside the grid indicate the number of pairs of adjacent consecutive numbers in that row or column.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:00; One party hat (🥳): 15:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: zeroed Zanabazar.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:08, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Sequence Lines Sudoku by Philip Newman

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
Today’s Sequence Lines Sudoku is just what the doctor ordered.

Sequence Lines Sudoku by Philip Newman

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Easy As 17-42-67

Author/Opus: This is the 98th puzzle from Philip Newman, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Also, an arithmetic series must be formed along each line so that numbers in adjacent cells have the same difference. Different lines may have different common differences. (For example, a sequence line could be 1-2-3-4 (difference of 1), 1-5-9 (difference of 4), or even 5-5-5 (difference of 0) if it obeys other Sudoku rules.)

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 6:54; One party hat (🥳): 13:57. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Ordered Ornithopsis.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:02, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF; solving video with explanation to be added later from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Twin Detector Sudoku by Bill Murphy

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
This the second time we’ve posted this variant (this link will help detect its twin). Can you make all the sums work out as marked?

Twin Detector Sudoku by Bill Murphy

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Author/Opus: This is the 95th puzzle from Bill Murphy, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Arrows in the grid indicate that there is a run of cells in the given direction that sums to the number in the cell containing the arrow, starting from the first cell seen by the arrow. Not all arrows are given. (E.g., because R3C7 has a left arrow, either R3C6, R3C6 + R3C5, or R3C6 + R3C5 + R3C4 must sum to the value in R3C7 = 8.)

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 7:00; One party hat (🥳): 13:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Lengthened Liliensternus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:33, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.