Cryptic Battlefield Sudoku
(Published on 18. July 2020, 19:57 by Jesper)
Rules
- Normal Sudoku rules apply
- Consider the first X and last Y cells of a row or column, where X is the value of the first cell and Y is the value of the last cell; clues outside the grid give the sum of the digits where these groups overlap, or the sum of the digits in the gap between these groups
- Any cell that is part of an overlap both in its row and in its column is coloured red
- Any cell that is part of a gap both in its row and in its column is coloured green
- Cells that are white are not part of two overlaps, and not part of two gaps
- In the clues outside the grid, each digit 0 to 9 has been replaced by a unique letter A to J; it is part of solving the puzzle to determine how they pair up
- If a clue is presented as two letters, the first letter corresponds to the tens digit of the number, and the second letter to the units digit
- The tens digit can never be 0; all single digit numbers are shown using one letter
- The letter “E” is not used in any clue, but could still correspond to any one of the digits 0 to 9
In case anyone has problems distinguishing colours, the three shaded cells in box 5 are red, and the shaded cell in box 4 is green.
Penpa+: Cryptic Battlefield Sudoku
SudokuPad: Cryptic Battlefield Sudoku
The puzzle follows:
Solution code: row 7 and row 8 (18 digits, no comma or spaces)
Comments
on 30. August 2023, 23:30 by Christounet
Superb !!! I loved every aspect and every step of that puzzle. The cryptification, the geometry, and the final touch, which I did see coming but impressed me nonetheless. Thanks :)
on 4. May 2023, 18:34 by StephenR
Excellent puzzle, thanks. Battlefield is invariably a fruitful variant in my experience. Good use of the negative constraint here too.
on 3. March 2021, 18:23 by DiMono
My quest to complete all the battlefield sudoku is one step closer to completion. Had a couple stumbles where my logic was wrong and I had to backtrack, but it still only took about 1:40:xx.
Of course, having a cheat sheet of possible end combinations from making my own last year helped too. :D
EDIT @DiMono: well done! Good luck on completing your quest!
on 13. November 2020, 00:24 by Jesper
@Alexander Rappa: much appreciated, thanks a lot for taking the time to solve an older puzzle without a rating! I actually gave up a long time ago on this puzzle ever getting enough solves :)
Vielen Dank auch an @Alex!
on 12. November 2020, 23:12 by Alexander Rappa
Shame this puzzle didn't get a rating until now! Glad I found it and was able to get it to enough solves for everyone to see that it's a great (and challenging puzzle).
on 19. July 2020, 18:03 by henrypijames
If we're concerned about accessibility for color-blind people, I suggest replacing red and green squares with grey X and O signs in the future.
on 19. July 2020, 15:01 by henrypijames
Very nice - minimalist yet with a clear logical path, never felt any need to resort to try and error.
on 18. July 2020, 21:26 by Greg
Excellent! Very enjoyable solve.
