Magical Queendom Chess Sudoku
(Published on 6. July 2020, 00:52 by SudokuExplorer)
In the magical queendom, the centres of each 3x3 region form a magic square (rows, columns and main diagonals have the same sum).
In each 3x3 region is a Queen represented by a 5 (no two 5s can be a chess queen's move apart).
There are vikings that want to attack the queen, represented by 1s and 9s.
As a result, the queen is always guarded by knights (who are part of regiments 2,3,4,6,7 or 8). That is, each edge adjacent cell to a queen is a knight. No two knights from the same regiment are a knight's move apart. That is, all the numbers 2,3,4,6,7 and 8 have the anti-knight constraint. We consider a queen to be uniformly-guarded, if each of its guards/knights are from different regiments.
Two queens a knight's move apart can pass a message to each other via their guards. Each queen can communicate with at least one other queen (pro-knight constraint). Not all queens need to be uniformly-guarded, but every queen that can communicate with the centralmost queen (possibly via other queens) is uniformly-guarded.
Below we are given one viking and one knight (which may or may not be guarding a queen; to be determined during the solve). This is my first new variant, I hope you enjoy it!
Ps. Private message what you can say about the vikings (at the end of the puzzle).
Simplified Rules:
The grey centres of each 3x3 region form a magic square (rows, columns and main diagonals have the same sum).
5 has the anti-queen constraint, that is, no two 5s can be a chess queen's move apart. (Queen in the story)
5 also has the pro-knight constraint, that is, every 5 is a knight's move away from at least one other 5. We say that they are communicating with each other.
There is no 1 or 9 orthogonally next to a 5. (Vikings in the story)
The numbers 2,3,4,6,7 and 8 have the anti-knight constraint. (Knights in the story). For example, two cells a knight's move away cannot both be 2s, nor can they both be 8s.
A 5 is uniformly-guarded if each of its orthogonally adjacent cells are different.
All 5s that communicate with the centralmost 5 (possibly via other 5s) are uniformly-guarded. That is, there may be a 5 which is a knight's move away from both of them.
Every other 5 may or may not be uniformly-guarded (to be determined during the solve).
Solution code: Enter 8th row (left to right) and last column (top to bottom) (Eg 123456789123456789)
Comments
on 31. March 2023, 19:14 by StephenR
Interesting concept with a very inventive back-story. Enjoyable puzzle too, thanks!
on 1. November 2021, 14:46 by Vebby
Really interesting ruleset! Enjoyed the solve.
on 31. July 2021, 20:16 by SudokuExplorer
Fixed labels/tags
on 15. December 2020, 01:51 by Dina
Great concept! I loved how you brought the characters to life :-D
on 23. October 2020, 13:33 by Storm
Cool variant! The story and rules made it really enjoyable :-D
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Thanks for trying it! And for the feedback :-)
on 23. October 2020, 12:59 by SudokuExplorer
Added "Magic Square" tag
on 23. October 2020, 12:58 by SudokuExplorer
@CaneloC Thanks for the informative feedback. I'm thrilled that you loved it :-)
on 23. October 2020, 01:45 by CaneloC
So few givens, is so surprising! Liked anti-queen and pro-knight interaction. The uniformly-guarded principle provides some nifty logic! Loved it SudokuExplorer :-D
on 13. September 2020, 00:44 by SudokuExplorer
@TimE Thanks for giving my first variant a go. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
You might also enjoy the second magical queendom puzzle (id=0003UA). It is harder (about 3 or 4 star difficulty) but discovering the villain by solving the sudoku will be rewarding. Like a crime scene investigation ;-)
on 12. September 2020, 18:10 by TimE
Like reading a bedtime story! Nice and interesting.
on 7. August 2020, 21:44 by SudokuExplorer
I have added more concise rules below the sudoku, so if anyone else does attempt it, then hopefully the rules will be less confusing. Also, I have replaced the term "well-guarded" by "uniformly-guarded", in line with the queendom mystery puzzle. Thanks for all the feedback.
on 9. July 2020, 17:32 by SudokuExplorer
I have lowered the difficulty based on feedback.
on 6. July 2020, 12:37 by SudokuExplorer
Edited to clarify that all the numbers 2,3,4,6,7 and 8 have the chess anti-knight constraint
on 6. July 2020, 12:29 by SudokuExplorer
All the numbers 2,3,4,6,7 and 8 have the anti-knight constraint, regardless of whether it is next to a queen (5)
on 6. July 2020, 12:10 by henrypijames
Clarification on rules: Are all 234678 knights, or only those who are guarding a queen? For example, if a 2 is *not* next to a 5, can it be a knight's move away from another 2?
on 6. July 2020, 02:04 by panthchesh
It's helpful to color each character a different color! :)
on 6. July 2020, 01:57 by henrypijames
Wow, this might be the most complicated, yet thematically coherent set of rules I've seen around here - and that is saying something! I'm not sure I've understood it all, but I'm pretty sure it will be extremely hard keeping all the rules in my head at the same time, let alone applying them simultaneously.
