Coelacanth
(Published on 1. April 2023, 20:20 by Kafkapharnaum)
Normal sudoku rules apply: Place the digits 1 to 9 in each row, column, and 3x3 box
STILL LIFE
John Conway Game of Life
Shade some cells green ("alive cells") such that the – up to – eight cells neighboring each green cell contain exactly 2 or 3 other green cells and the neighbors of each 'unshaded' – or black/red/etc. – cell ("dead cells") do not contain exactly 3 green cells
- A CIRCLED cell's digit indicates the number of cells that are in the SAME state as its own in its neighborhood, INCLUDING its own cell
- A SQUARED cell's digit indicates the number of cells that are in a DIFFERENT state from its own in its neighborhood (therefore not including its own cell)
Solve on the CTC app
There is a number of rather tricky steps throughout, so feel free to use the tips below (especially if it's your first Still Life puzzle), which will help look for the right things (highlight to reveal):
TIP 1: Do not forget to complete the sudoku as you go along
TIP 2: Do not forget what is forbidden regarding dead cells – and live cells too for that matter!
TIP 3: Do not forget to check for 'fulfilled cells/clues' – there's instances where cells inside the fog can be colored
==== EXAMPLES ====
In Example 1, a 3x3 box with a Game of Life pattern is shown (green for Alive cells, grey for Dead cells). But the cells marked with a ! are unstable : they either are dead but with 3 alive neighbors, or alive but with less than 2 or more than 3 alive neighbors. Therefore this pattern is not a Still Life pattern, and can not appear in a Still Life Sudoku puzzle.
In Example 2, a 3x3 box is shown filled with digits and clues (circles and squares), the Game of Life pattern that is shown is stable, and all the clues are fulfilled. This could appear in a Still Life Sudoku puzzle. Fog of war
Solution code: The digits in the LIVE cells of row 2 (left to right), followed by those in the LIVE cells of column 8 (top to bottom)
Comments
on 10. September 2024, 15:17 by chrisj50
I enjoyed the 4x4 & 5x5 so… Nothing like jumping straight in at the deep end with a 9x9! The logic flowed very nicely - took me a while to finish the top rows but very much enjoyed the solve. Will definitely try some others - what would you suggest I try next?
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Wow Chris, sharpening your skills on that 5x5 really did wonders and now you're like, ahead by weeks on the little course I was planning haha, maybe I should post broken puzzles more often! (j/k of course XD)
So well, the next one I can point you to would definitely be Castlevania (the page of which features a bonus 6x6 too); it's like, the easiest puzzle I could come up with that really drills the hardest part of this ruleset, does that make sense?... OR, you could go back to the smaller grid size with the 'Amber Fossils' pack. Oh yeah, and then there's 'Structured Illumination', for one that is smack-bang in the middle (you'll see what I mean when you see it :-)
on 6. April 2024, 12:09 by bodemeister
Super fun puzzle and amazing setting as always! But, and this is a big but......., Normal Sudoku Rules Apply? Am I really reading this correctly?! xDxDxD
This one was really a breath of fresh air. Took me about 30 minutes while resting on the hotel balcony waiting for my wife and kids to wake up. Thanks for the puzzle!
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Haha, yup, just Normal Sudoku XD I really fell for that Still Life ruleset when I solved Sktx's Eternal Life, and I just couldn't tolerate to see his SL puzzles be so neglected, so for quite a while I made it my mission to correct this and get them rated (and I succeeded for all but one, "Living on the Diagonal", I'm sure because this one is just harder than the advertised 3/5). If you check the pages for my Leviathan and Annihilation pages, you can find links to all the Still Life puzzles on LMD (among which only Suspended Animation mixes it with Doppelganger). Anyhow, thanks for solving this one, glad you enjoyed it! :D
on 9. October 2023, 01:58 by taintedfox
Great puzzle! I really like how fog of war interacts with this rule set.
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Thank you so much! I just saw your other reply to the effect that you indeed found these puzzles through the Discord series, I'm really happy to hear that, and I'll try to make a new 6x6 FoW for Discord tonight to keep it going :D
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I would love to try that one when you post it!
on 10. September 2023, 16:37 by wullemuus
I totally agree with Yann! The fog helped a lot to do this one in a new time record :D
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I have no trouble imagining you breezed through this one after the harder ones XD But thank you no less for trying it, I really really appreaciate it! The success of this one may encourage me to make another, even more approachable FoW Still Life for first timers, that would certainly be one for you to break a record on haha. Thanks so much again!
on 31. May 2023, 11:12 by annaswan
This was a very challenging and original puzzle! It was never easy to make consistent progress until the very end, and the interplay between the rules was clever, creative, and fiendishly difficult. I really enjoyed solving this.
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Thank you so much for your solve and comment! Indeed, this is not exactly the easiest puzzle to pick for a first Still Life :O If you like the ruleset enough to play another, you can see the list below this comment -- there's easier ones, and also some that are about the same difficulty or even harder if you want to test these new skills!
on 16. April 2023, 10:16 by Yann
Well done Kafkapharnhaum, the interactions in this puzzle were very good. The Game of Life logic blended perfectly with the sudoku and the fog. Also, I think the fog helped, because when I had two options for a cell, I could guess the right one, and then disprove the other one.
In every case, this is a fantastic puzzle, thanks for setting this.
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Thank you so much for your solve and for leaving such a kind comment, I really appreciate it :D
on 7. April 2023, 03:35 by Kafkapharnaum
Other Still Life puzzles:
By Sktx:
- 6x6 Still Life (3/5)
- Living on the Diagonal (3/5 - 4/5)
- Eternal Life (5/5)
- There Is Still Life In My Sandwich (5+/5)
By Kafkapharnaum:
- Suspended Animation (5/5)
- Structured Illumination (3/5)
- Amber Fossils (3/5)
- Metroid (4/5)
- Primordial Ooze (4/5)
- Castlevania (3/5)
- ... and of course, this one here
There's also SSG's (with a different take on the rules):
- Still Life (4/5 - 5/5)
- Menagerie (5/5)
on 7. April 2023, 02:54 by Silverbyte
Very enjoyable! There was one extra tough deduction that stumped me for 50 minutes while the rest of the solve only took 25 minutes haha but I think this was somewhat approachable otherwise. Like other commenters said, the ruleset of still life is a great combination with FOW and I'm kinda surprised not more puzzles have been made with these rulesets.
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Thank you so much for your solve and comment! Indeed, this is as fas as I know the only Still Life with FoW, but there's a number of other Still Life's on the site. I've been wanting for a while to put a list featuring all of them, and I guess this is as good a time as any, so feel free to check the comment I'll post above this one :-)
on 5. April 2023, 16:58 by Sktx
Brilliant ! The combination with FoW is the perfect fit to make this ruleset more approachable, giving the appropriate focus on the intended logic. Loved it !
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Thank you so much for your solve and comment, I'm very happy you liked the puzzle! It's always special to me to have the seal of approval from the creator of the ruleset :D
on 2. April 2023, 22:37 by Snookerfan
Excellent puzzle,thank you
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And thank you very much for your solve and comment! :D
on 2. April 2023, 18:29 by Trams
Brilliant puzzle with very nice set of rules. The Life rules were new to me (which doesn't say much) and fog rules always good. Very logically steps from start to finish.
Kafkapharnaum, well done!
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Thank you very much for your solve and kind words! This ruleset has been created by Sktx -- I very much recommend his own Still Life puzzles (ranging from easy-ish/medium difficulty to super hard). Anyhow, thanks again! :D
