Japanese Sums Narrow Cave Cipher: Mirrors (11x11)
(Published on 2. June 2023, 16:04 by Jesper)
Rules
Place digits from 1 to 9 in some cells and shade all others such that no digit repeats in any row or column.
The unshaded cells form a narrow cave. They are all connected, but no 2x2 may be entirely unshaded. All shaded cells must connect to an edge of the grid.
Place diagonal mirrors in some shaded cells. Mirror cells cannot touch each other, not even diagonally. Two mirrors within a row or column must be separated by at least one unshaded cell.
Clues outside the grid give the sums of connected digits encountered by a beam of light entering the grid at that point. They are given in the order encountered (leftmost/topmost is the first clue). Mirrors deflect a light beam by 90 degrees. All given sets of clues are complete.
Each letter stands for a different digit. A question mark can mean any letter. No clue may have a leading 0.
Example (with digits 1 to 7): Japanese Sums Narrow Cave: Mirrors (9x9)
The puzzle follows:
Penpa+: Japanese Sums Narrow Cave Cipher: Mirrors (11x11)
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Solution code: Column 1 followed by column 8; S for shaded cells
Comments
on 8. January 2024, 03:02 by ONeill
Incredible, I loved it!
on 19. October 2023, 04:32 by zzw
What a gorgeous puzzle! So many interesting deductions, staying challenging all the way to the very end. Amazing work!
on 17. October 2023, 23:14 by Christounet
Finally understood how to solve this masterpiece ! I should even say these masterpieces, because both the example puzzle and the main one are exceptionally good. The example puzzle seems easier at first sight, without the cipher, but it was the one I had the most trouble starting. I did not feel as disoriented in the mirror labyrinth after that, just got mixed up a couple of times along the way, because I inverted some clue order due to "automatic japanese sum scanning" (i.e. most outside clue = closest to the border). An absolute joy from start to finish. I do recommend solving both puzzles to double the pleasure ! Thanks+++
on 18. September 2023, 13:26 by lerroyy
Great puzzle, thanks!
on 10. July 2023, 07:53 by Statistica
Ganz klasse!
on 25. June 2023, 19:34 by peacherwu2
Very interesting, very rewarding!
on 25. June 2023, 16:44 by Silverstep
Surprisingly solvable given the premise.
on 11. June 2023, 16:37 by Agent
Incredible puzzle! Very original Japanese Sums variant with a great variety of logic.
on 5. June 2023, 18:01 by Myxo
Absolutely brilliant puzzle! So many interesting deductions, and it always feels like everything fits so perfectly.
on 5. June 2023, 11:13 by marcmees
Very nice. thanks.
on 4. June 2023, 19:24 by JayForty
Beautiful! The example puzzle stumped me but it gave me enough to get started on the main puzzle and it just flowed gorgeously all through. Thanks!
on 3. June 2023, 19:09 by KNT
fantastic! I loved testing this a while back, and I'd love to solve more similar puzzles. I can see this idea of mirrors with Japanese sums being taken to some very high extremes.
on 2. June 2023, 22:06 by polar
Glorious puzzle! A beautiful marriage of rules/genres that became surprisingly intuitive to solve. Thanks Jesper!
on 2. June 2023, 16:51 by Vebby
Bit perplexing for me at the start getting used to the ruleset but was immensely satisfying as the ball got rolling. :)
