Killer Psycholockgy 101
(Published on 27. February 2023, 05:33 by rockratzero)
by rockratzero with BremSter
I was having a conversation with BremSter about "Psycho Killer" type constraints and he came up with this constraint idea and I ran with it. :) Should be an approachable introduction to the "Psych-Out Line" constraint. Psych-Out Lines are like Lockout Lines, but the digits on the lines index other digits in the puzzle. Enjoy!
Normal sudoku rules apply.
Digits in cages must sum to the number in the top left corner of the cage.
Red Lines terminating in Blue Diamonds are Psych-Out Lines. The digits in the ends of these lines must differ by 4 or more. (However, note that the diamonds are already filled in this puzzle.) Digits on the lines between diamonds will reference a cell somewhere in the grid. The box number of the referenced cell is the digit placed on the line, and the position of the referenced cell in that box is the same as the position of the cell providing the reference. The value of all referenced digits must fall outside the range defined by their attached diamonds and may repeat if allowed by other rules. Note: The digits in diamonds are not referring to other cells; only the digits on lines do.
SudokuPad Link
Solution code: Digits from Column 6, top-to-bottom (9 digits, no spaces)
Comments
on 2. October 2023, 18:46 by Rollo
Very nice design :-).
on 1. March 2023, 02:19 by wisty
Lovely puzzle! Surprisingly approachable - I love indexing puzzles and this almost feels like a sandbox where you can explore it and make progress however you feel like.
on 27. February 2023, 18:29 by rockratzero
Add small clarification to rules
on 27. February 2023, 11:03 by ThibautV
Cool concept. I'm usually not a fan of those "psy reference" rules, I find it too easy to make a mistake, but it works out nicely here.
@Briks: the way I understood it, the rule says that the diamonds on a line are at least 4 apart: 6 and 2 differ by 4, 7 and 1 by 6. The rule is not used here since all the diamonds are given.
on 27. February 2023, 09:52 by Briks
"The digits in the ends of these lines must differ by 4 or more"
I absolutely don't know what this should mean. This doesn't apply for the difference between a diamond and its adjacent number on the line.
Thanks for the comment, I think I will add a line to make this clear, but yes, this rule is not relevant for this puzzle because the digits in diamonds are already filled in. Trying to use standard rules language. -rrz
