Three Hole Punch Sudoku
(Published on 18. June 2020, 19:06 by RockyRoer)
The 'holes' inside certain letters and numbers are called "Counters". The numbers 4, 6, 9, 0 each have 1 counter, and 8 has 2 counters.
This sudoku is all about counters. Normal killer sudoku rules apply, with a few important additional rules:
- Every cage contains exactly three counters within both its cells, and the numbers in the sum itself. For example:
- A cage could contain the numbers 3469 which add up to 22, and there are three counters (the 4, 6, and 9)
- A cage could contain the numbers 4 and 6 which adds up to 10, and there are three counters (the 4, 6, and 0 in 10)
- A cage could contain the numbers 4 and 8 which adds up to 12, and there are three counters (the 4, and two from 8)
- The three counter symbol that shows in each cage is always in the largest cell in that cage.
- In purple around the outside of rows and columns, every row or column where the digits and sum of a sandwich (between 1 and 9) contains 3 counters the symbol is shown. (The counter in the 9 would not be counted, of course.)
- In green around the outside are little killer clues along every diagonal that contains three counters in both the sum and cells. Note, digits can repeat along little killer diagonals, so a diagonal of 4, 5, 3, 4 = 16 would be marked.
Oh, and one more thing, you'll need to figure out where all the cage sums belong. At least you know what they are.
Solution code: Type in row 5 from left to right, and column 7 from top to bottom, no spaces or symbols in between.
Last changed on on 19. June 2020, 17:23
Solved by Krokant, NikolaZ, tc327, Richard, zorant, Vebby
Comments
on 25. March 2023, 16:05 by Vebby
Penpa+ link with answer check:
https://tinyurl.com/2rxwljxv
on 19. June 2020, 17:35 by Krokant
Funny and enjoyable variant.
What I learned while doing this: Counting counters is harder than it should be. ;-)
on 19. June 2020, 17:23 by RockyRoer
Nutz... had the wrong column in the solution code. I'm SO sorry if you tried this and found it wrong! Should be fixed now!
on 18. June 2020, 21:02 by RockyRoer
What I learned most about myself doing this: I don't actually draw my 4's with counters :-)