Snake Sum Sudoku 7 (the encore)
(Published on 16. October 2020, 12:00 by Quarterthru)
Snake Sum Sudoku 7
Normal sudoku rules apply except that the regions are irregular.
Additionally, a snake has to be drawn into the grid. The head and tail of the snake are in the two cells with the grey circles. The snake may not touch itself orthogonally, but it can touch itself diagonally.
The clues outside the grid indicate the sum of the digits located on the snake in the corresponding row/column. Considering "Snake" and "non-snake" as two colors, the given digits show how many cells orthogonally connected to the given are of a different color to the color of the given cell itself. All such possible digits are shown. NOTE: Digits placed by the solver CANNOT be true or they would have been given
Givens can be on or off the snake.
Here is a link to the puzzle on penpa
Solution code: Row 5 + Column 5
Comments
on 31. October 2021, 19:38 by PixelPlucker
Very nice! Like others, I found drawing the snake's path to be trickier than usual (it even took me some time to find a good starting move). The logic throughout was interesting and very satisfying once found.
It's hard to fathom that you've made 8 of these (including the CTC one). I will miss solving them - thanks for this excellent series! :)
on 23. February 2021, 23:30 by Quarterthru
@bigger. Thank you for the 9th solve.
on 23. February 2021, 01:57 by bigger
Love it. It's definitely the hardest snake I ever catch.
on 11. February 2021, 01:32 by Quarterthru
@henrypijames. Glad to see you found your way here. Of course now #7 has 8 solves, lol.
on 10. February 2021, 19:44 by henrypijames
I've gotten rusty - but still managed to find the path. Interesting logic of using various road blocks to force the snake.
on 5. November 2020, 01:49 by Quarterthru
Thanks @dagwosh. I think the ruleset scares people off, but it really isn't that hard once you get your head around it.
on 4. November 2020, 21:43 by dagwosh
This series is just amazing. This snake was way harder for me than the other puzzles', even with so much practice.
Every puzzle in the series has been a blast, I hope you make more.
on 18. October 2020, 10:53 by MagnusJosefsson
Superb, best in the series in my opinion! Mapping out the snake was quite tricky with a lot of interesting logic, but the final irregular sudoku when the snake was in place was fairly easy this time (which I like, as the snake is the really enjoyable part for me).
