Kobe!
(Published on 23. January 2023, 14:00 by djorr)
Rules: Normal sudoku rules apply. Digits along arrows must add to the digit in the arrow's circle.
Cage ambiguity: The cages in the grid are either killer cages or look-and-say cages (or both). It is up to the solver to determine which cage is which. The definitions are below:
- Killer cages: Digits cannot repeat within a cage and must sum to the number in the top left corner of the cage.
- Look-and-Say cages: Digits CAN repeat in these cages. The number in the top left corner should be read as a look-and-say number and says which digits are in that cage. For example, if a look-and-say cage has the clue "12" then it means there is one 2 in the cage. If it has the clue "33" then it means there are three 3s in the cage.
F-puzzles link: https://f-puzzles.com/?id=2pg3tmtq
SudokuPad link: https://tinyurl.com/2p88nxvx
If you are interested in more puzzles with the "look-and-say" variant, I invite you to try other puzzles using the following link:
Look-and-Say Puzzles
Solution code: Row 1 Column 5 (18 digits, no spaces)
Comments
on 24. April 2023, 01:57 by nomos
Holy shit. This has been by far my favourite puzzle I have ever done. It has been my nemesis since I started on this website back in January. I started after watching a few Cracking the Cryptic videos in December after getting a couple 1 star puzzles decided to try something more complex.
Initially misinterpreting a rule, I would load this puzzle every few days to see if it would make sense, as mathematically I couldn't see a break-in. I reached out to the author even asking for hints on how to get started. I had written an email to Cracking The Cryptic asking for a video to be made on how to start something like this.
Then as I was writing the email to explain the issue, it finally clicked last night and I understood the rule. I GOT A DIGIT. I started to make progress. 2 more digits. Things were coming together and I both loved and was frustrated by the ambiguity in the cages, it just seemed like I never had enough info to determine what kind of cage any of them were. Pages of notes, assessing every square, trying to find what was most restricted, and over 3 hours of hair-pulling I decided to give up.
I re-reviewed everything fresh this morning and still came to a stand-still, every time I thought I had restricted a square there was some combination of it being a look-and-say cage, or killer, or both that made the restriction useless. I just gave up, I thought without help I just couldn't do it. I was missing the next step and I couldn't see where I should go. I felt so defeated and frustrated. But I couldn't stop thinking about it, and re-opening it and desperately wanting to finish it, but half-heartedly as I didn't think I could make more progress.
So, I restarted and realised I had made a mistake in a simple early arrow! I could make REAL progress, I knew a cage was a restricted killer this time. I figured out the sequence and eventually had 2 rows, then more columns started to fall, I could identify a few of the cages and was probably half way done. When GOD DAMNIT the 5 doesn't fucking go there! That can't be a 7! But this time I restarted with more confidence, I knew where the mistakes HAD to be.
I knew I was on the right path this time, I was about 75% done when suddenly a digit spat out some confetti randomly, "well at least that one is right, or if its wrong it's happy about it."
Placing the last digit and completing this puzzle felt amazing. I was so stressed typing the solution code thinking I had messed it up somehow. Seriously Thank you, Djorr. I have never felt so invested in a puzzle.
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Omg I absolutely love this. It's so frustrating when you get an early error but I'm very happy that you didn't give up. Perseverance is key. Thank you so much, nomos!
on 25. January 2023, 00:12 by jubengo
Very smooth and enjoyable puzzle :)
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Thank you jubengo!
on 23. January 2023, 23:32 by Jumpercables
Do all digits along an arrow have to be different? or can an arrow over multiple boxes have double digits?
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Digits can repeat on arrows as long as normal sudoku rules still apply (so across boxes, arrows can have repeats).
on 23. January 2023, 19:39 by OGRussHood
Felt a lot harder than a 2-star puzzle, but not as hard as my Kobe Bryant sudoku.
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I thought it was 3* but every tester said 2*. Thanks for the solve Russ :)
