In Example 1, a 3x3 box with a Game of Life pattern is shown (green for Alive cells, grey for Dead cells). But the cells marked with a ! are unstable : they either are dead but with 3 alive neighbors, or alive but with less than 2 or more than 3 alive neighbors. Therefore this pattern is not a Still Life pattern, and can not appear in a Still Life Sudoku puzzle.
In Example 2, a 3x3 box is shown filled with digits and clues (circles and squares), the Game of Life pattern that is shown is stable, and all the clues are fulfilled. This could appear in a Still Life Sudoku puzzle.
Lösungscode: The digits in the LIVE cells of row 5 (from left to right), followed by those of the LIVE cells of column 7 (from top to bottom)
am 13. September 2024, 00:29 Uhr von chrisj50
Another beautiful puzzle - a very satisfying solve & perhaps a bit more sudoku logic in this one (no complaints here!). I didn’t see the ‘castle’ until after I’d finished - very impressive :)
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Thank you once again for the solve and kind words! Glad you enjoyed this one, including the looks -- that is one of the rare ones featuring another clue type on top of the SL. Indeed, the sudoku is more present in this one, which I think, combined with a number of SL deductions, likely puts it over the 3/5 line. In any case, well done! :D
am 9. Oktober 2023, 22:21 Uhr von taintedfox
I tried this one as you recommended and like wullemuus said I think its good for getting familiar with the still life logic. There is a bit of a difficulty spike in the middle, but I thought it was very elegant. Great warm-up for me about to try Leviathan! Also it gave me the idea for a another Still life killer puzzle where dead cells don't count towards the cage totals. Although I don't know if I have the setting skills to pull that off lol.
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Thank you so much for solving this one, and I'm glad you appreciated it! I hope it'll prove useful for the one you're about to tackle `-)
About your idea, as it turns out, another user, SSG, did just that so you might want to check out their puzzle 'Menagerie' (very hard). Also, another user on Discord, Hipstair, tried something with dead cells counting as negative (and with a different Still Life take too), titled 'Game of Killers'; there's two working versions, the v2, which is insanely hard, and the v3, completely reworked, which is very approachable :-)
am 7. September 2023, 08:45 Uhr von wullemuus
As you told me, this one is perfect to get familiar with your logical approach in still life puzzles. I really ask me why this is ignored by others (maybe you have to link it more explicitly ...). After a very easy break-in it got more tricky esp. c5 and the colouring variants. But yeah, every clue is chosen very well. And every puzzle of yours has its own surprises :D!
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Ah, thank you so much for trying this one even after solving the harder ones, I really really appreciate it, and the kind words as well of course! :D
Yes, I was a little suprised by the response (or lack thereof) to this one, but I think you actually put your finger on it with the difficulty spike after the smooth start, and 3/5 setter's estimate tend to not perform too well when that happens... Or maybe it's the cages in this one, I don't know... Anyhow, it's all good learning experience
Thanks again so much for trying it yourself! :D
am 24. April 2023, 14:42 Uhr von Yann
Another very nice, yet easier still life puzzle ! The killer cages were very well selected to provide the solver with just enough information to solve the sudoku.
Weirdly, while solving this puzzle, I had an idea about a still life sudoku where the result is not a still life, but evolves to a still life in the grid after a certain amount of time, and the solver doesn't know in which generation each clue is used, maybe each clued cell with a 1 is used in the first generation, the ones with a 2 in the second... I don't know whether that can be possible or interesting, could you tell me your opinion about it ?
In any case, thanks for setting this awesome puzzle.
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Thank you so much once again for a solve on one of these puzzles and the very nice comment!
About your idea, that is all the more interesting that another person told me they wanted to try something similar, and all the while, as it turns out, I myself already have a "special" Still Life puzzle with an evolving Game of Life phase. It's so ready in fact that it's already LMD ready, I just need to activate it, but I still hesitate because that puzzle is just a complete nightmare (it's been tested and the tester agreed XD). Something about your idea seems better somehow, so I might give it a try when I'm back from my trip! :-)
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Oh ok. In the case you post it, I'll try to solve it (not sure about the result though).
Have a nice trip !
am 1. März 2023, 01:29 Uhr von BMEP
Awesome puzzle! I had never seen a puzzle using the game of life and it's really cool how it ties everything up! Really liked it! :)
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Thank you so much! Such a pleasure to see once again your name in the list of solvers of one of my puzzles :D I'm glad to hear you liked the puzzle and the ruleset. If you're interested in some more, I've a few others with it, and I also very much recommend those of the creator of that ruleset, Sktx (he has a 6x6, a 3 stars one, as well as some toughies hehe)
am 17. Januar 2023, 01:54 Uhr von WithIceCream
Another fantastic puzzle, and quite approachable for a still life. Thank you!
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Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm happy to hear this one was approchable. And double thanks for the streak of solves on my Still Life puzzles :D