Pool Party
(Published on 9. January 2023, 14:00 by djorr)
Rules: Normal sudoku rules apply. Digits separated by an X must sum to 10. Digits separated by a V must sum to 5. Not all Xs and Vs are necessarily given.
Draw a loop in the grid. The loop can only connect orthogonally between cells and loop cells cannot touch orthogonally. The loop must satisfy two properties:
1) The loop must pass through exactly one digit on each XV clue.
2) At least one of the digits on each XV clue equals the number of loop cells in the (up to) 9 surrounding cells, including itself (the digit doing this does not have to be the one that's on the loop).
Numbers outside the grid are Loop Parity Party clues. These clues give the sum of the digits ON THE LOOP up to and including the first odd or first even digit on the loop, starting in the direction of the clue. For example, a 15 at the bottom of a column could indicate something like 7-8, 8-7, 1-3-5-6 or 2-6-4-3 (among others) when reading the loop cells up that column... but not 1-2-3-4-5 or 2-6-3-4 etc, because the parity changes before the total 15 sum has been added. That is, the parity of the farthest digit must deviate from that of the others.
Note: If the clue is less than 10, it might simply indicate the value of the first cell. That is to say, you could be adding up zero odd and one even number, or vice versa.
F-puzzles link: https://f-puzzles.com/?id=2p959l4d
SudokuPad link: https://tinyurl.com/34kek7mv
Solution code: Row 1 Column 7 (18 digits, no spaces)
Comments
on 5. September 2023, 23:01 by Cnidarian
Very interesting rule set. Also the hardest puzzle I've tried in here, so I'm happy that I made it all the way through more or less by a nice logic flow. Thank you for setting it!
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Thanks Cnidarian! Glad you enjoyed :)
on 10. January 2023, 17:36 by henrypijames
When the rules say the loop cannot touch itself orthogonally, is it referring to the actual line that runs through the center of cells (which could only touch itself if it enters the same cell more than once), or is it referring to the cells on the loop. In other words, is R3C3-R3C4-R4C4-R4C3 allowed? The literal interpretation of the rules would suggest yes, but I suspect it's not meant to be.
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Hi henrypijames, that is not allowed. It refers to the loop cells. When I draw a loop, I don't use the pen tool so I understand it as the cells just by definition of a "loop". But I see your point! Thank you for pointing this out.
on 10. January 2023, 04:41 by Nordy
Awesome puzzle! Highly recommend
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Thank you so much Nordy!
on 9. January 2023, 16:54 by glum_hippo
Thankums a bunchum! Very, very nice puzzle and perfect 'little twist' on this well-heeled rule set.
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Thank you glum_hippo, I'm so glad you enjoyed it :)
on 9. January 2023, 15:07 by wooferzfg
This was the first Parity Party puzzle I'd done, and I felt like I learned a lot from solving this. Very fun!
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Thank you wooferzfg! I also learned a lot while setting. It is a very neat constraint. Thanks for solving :)
