Hybrid Star Battle Series (012) - Masyu
(Published on 26. March 2023, 16:31 by BenceJoful)
Intro
For this Hybrid Star Battle Series I will be sharing a new puzzle each week combining Star Battle with another puzzle genre. This week's genre is Masyu, specifically the (Total) variant. This is the first puzzle in the series to feature a "negative" constraint, where the absence of a clue can be more important than its presence. I generally like puzzles with this kind of thinking, though it may take a while to understand the implications at first. I hope you enjoy it!
Rules
Nearly standard Star Battle and Masyu (Total) rules apply, where stars act as additional Masyu clues:
- Star Battle: Shade some cells such that each row and column contain exactly 2 shaded cells. Shaded cells may not touch one another, not even diagonally.
- Masyu: Draw a non-intersecting loop through the centers of some cells that passes through every clue. The loop must turn on black circles and travel straight through the cells on either side. The loop must go straight through white circles, and turn in at least one of the cells on either side.
- Total variant: Shaded cells must act as black or white circles. All possible black and white circles are either given or shaded. Given clues may not be shaded.
Links
8x8 2-star Example (Penpa+ link):
Solution code: Solution code: For each row, the number of times the loop turns. In the above example, the solution code is 44244264.
Comments
on 30. March 2023, 10:03 by kjholt
An absolute treat which I look forward to every week!
on 27. March 2023, 07:51 by RJBlarmo
Very nice, the puzzle flowed smoothly after I stepped back and thought about the interaction between the rules.
on 26. March 2023, 22:42 by Dandelo
I ran into contradictions again and again, until the battery of my smartphone was empty.
It's so easy to make a wrong conclusion with these rules.
But after reloading (the smartphone and my brain) it flew very nicely.
Very nice puzzle, highly recommended.
on 26. March 2023, 18:32 by BenceJoful
Clarified rules about shaded cells as masyu clues
on 26. March 2023, 17:30 by polar
Does each shaded cell have to be a possible black/white circle also? Or is it ok to have shaded cells that don't satisfy this, as long as all cells which do are shaded also?
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Bence: All stars must be valid masyu clues, thanks for asking. I'll clarify in the rules.
