Eleven Stars: Star-Sums Sudoku
(Published on 5. May 2021, 17:50 by Mad-Tyas)
I am very interested if this kind of rule, maybe with a different name, exists already. For now: Have fun solving my puzzle!
Sudoku at Penpa+
Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply. The grid contains eleven star-sum clues. A star-sum is calculated as follows: You start from the clue cell and move x cells in each of the four orthogonal directions, where x is the digit in the clue cell. Then you add the four digits in the corresponding cells and the digit in the clue cell itself. In the final grid those five digits must sum to the number given in the bottom-right corner of the clue cell. The grid must be treated as a torus (i.e. if the path to a cell summed up by a star-sum clue goes beyond the edge of the grid it continues on the opposite side of the grid).
Solution code: The bottom row from left to right
Comments
on 9. March 2022, 15:57 by Dandelo
Very nice. And after two times breaking Richard's SVS puzzle from today I've understood where to look at.
Very interesting ruleset. Looks even better than other rulesets with pointers. And this puzzle deserves much more attention. Maybe the SVS puzzle leads solvers to this one.
on 8. March 2022, 18:38 by Richard
Interesting new ruleset! Thx!
on 29. September 2021, 13:25 by uvo_mod
Labels angepasst.
on 7. May 2021, 20:20 by Mad-Tyas
@henrypijames
Thanks for the feedback. That is an interesting point to think about for coming setting attempts. I agree that this strongly questions my estimation of the difficulty.
on 7. May 2021, 16:34 by henrypijames
Nice logic, but only 2 star difficulty for me.
My observation is that as a general rule, the suggested difficulties of puzzles by new setters are often significantly off. I believe the reason is that they tend to focus intensely on the logic but neglect the placement of the clues: If there are few places to look for clues (as in this case), they will be found even if the logic itself is not obvious; if on the other hand there are plenty places to look but no rhyme or reason, the right clue might be too twisted to find (as in a computer-generated hard sudoku).
For an experienced setter, placement of the clues is as important as the logic, if not more so. Because it's usually the clues (and not the logic) that guides the solver, and that requires the art of making clues hard to find, but identifiable once found. Or, as jovi_al explained in her setter's video for CTC, the solver should be rewarded for finding the right clue (and only then).
on 6. May 2021, 21:12 by Mad-Tyas
Penpa+ version corrected
on 6. May 2021, 21:09 by Mad-Tyas
corrected version. I'm sorry for the logical mistake in the first version. Thanks to PixelPlucker for the hint. Have fun!
on 6. May 2021, 19:18 by Mad-Tyas
@PixelPlucker
Thanks for trying and solving my puzzle! I took another look on the step you mentioned and you are right. I missed an option during the setting.
Thanks for the hint! I see that there is a lot i have to learn :D
I will provide a corrected version of the puzzle soon.
