oNly Chains
(Published on 14. February 2022, 05:00 by wooferzfg)
This puzzle was created by Jakhob and wooferzfg. It is the second puzzle in the uN-Chained Puzzle Pack, which focuses on a Sudoku variant called N-Chains.
An N-Chain is a set of N cells in a row or column that point to each other in a path to form a cycle. Here is an example of a 5-Chain in a row:
The 7 points to column 7, which has a 4.
The 4 points to column 4, which has a 5.
The 5 points to column 5, which has a 3.
The 3 points to column 3, which has a 2.
The 2 points to column 2, which has a 7, completing the 5-Chain.
A pair of colored boxes in a row or column indicates that there is an N-Chain that stays between the boxes and includes both boxes. The length of the N-Chain is given in the top left corners of the boxes. Blue boxes show N-Chains in rows, and red boxes show N-Chains in columns.
Here is a 6x6 example puzzle:
Normal Sudoku and N-Chain rules apply.
Solution code: Row 2 followed by Row 8
Comments
on 17. February 2022, 22:34 by piotr357
Really fun!!
on 15. February 2022, 12:54 by DVFrank
Absolutely lovely! :^)
on 15. February 2022, 01:06 by SirSchmoopy
Brilliant! I loved the whole puzzle pack and hope to see more of them posted here too.
on 14. February 2022, 21:59 by randomra
Very nice solving experience! N-chains have a lot of nice properties.
on 14. February 2022, 17:36 by PrimeWeasel
SirSchmoopy has been making quite a few puzzles with a similar constraint. This one was the first: https://logic-masters.de/Raetselportal/Raetsel/zeigen.php?id=0007K2
Reply from wooferzfg: Those puzzles are great! Jakhob and I have solved some of them, and we actually reached out to SirSchmoopy to have them test some of the puzzles in this pack after we realized that the constraints are so similar.
~ Ah I see, I thought you might not know. I actually just spoke with Schmoopy and he told me he tested them :)
on 14. February 2022, 16:58 by Chelo
You ARE a Genius!.. I enjoyed these constraints so much, it was my first solve of them. Thank you for setting and please keep on!..
