Wormholes (Remix)
(Published on 14. May 2023, 08:00 by Nordy)
The 2 year anniversary of my very first puzzle just passed (which is crazy to me). I still liked the puzzle's ruleset (but not the execution), so I was inspired to remix the solve path into something smoother and more focused. If you like indexing, coloring, and weird geometry, you might like this puzzle! Difficulty estimated at 3.5 stars.
Rules:
Normal Sudoku: Place the digits 1 to 9 in every row, column, and 3x3 box.
Arrows: Digits along arrows sum to the digit in the corresponding circle.
Wormholes
- Numbers in the corner of cages indicate the number of cells in that box that form wormholes with other boxes
- A cell in a cage in Box A forms a wormhole with the central cell of Box B when the cell’s position in Box A (ex: top right cell) matches the position of Box B in the grid (ex: top right box)
- Two cells in a wormhole relationship both contain the same digit
- Note: Cage totals only count the number of wormholes that look out of that box and into the central cells of other boxes. A wormhole from another box that looks into the central cell of a cage is not counted.
Example: Below is an example of four possible wormholes that look out of Box 1 into the central cells of other boxes. Since A is in the top right cell of its box, it forms a wormhole with the central cell of the top right box.
Solve online:
Solution code: Row 1
Comments
on 8. February 2024, 18:14 by yttrio
Truly amazing coloring puzzle! Once some basic principles of the wormholes was discovered, all the deductions flowed really nicely!
on 19. May 2023, 22:51 by GeorgeTheToad2
Great puzzle once you got your head around the wormhole indexing, 50 minutes of colouring pleasure. Thank you Nordy.
on 18. May 2023, 01:11 by Clockwork
Just incredible - thanks!
on 17. May 2023, 11:40 by filuta
Work of art.
on 15. May 2023, 22:29 by peterkp
Now that was a fantastic puzzle. Very hard for me, but it was definitely worth hanging in there. Thanks for your work setting it.
on 15. May 2023, 19:00 by mathpesto
What a fascinating twist on indexer puzzles!
on 15. May 2023, 10:05 by Piatato
Awesome puzzle! Great idea too, I almost can't believe that this was the ruleset for your first ever puzzle!
on 15. May 2023, 05:07 by peterkp
Rules clarification please (Sorry if this is obvious to everyone else). Is a wormhole defined by bullets 2 and 3 together? Because bullet 2 taken alone implies that every cage will have the same number of wormholes. (In other words, the 2 red cells marked A in your example will NOT be a wormhole if they contain different digits.)
@peterkp: No need to apologize! Yes, a wormhole is defined by bullets 2 and 3 together. Originally, the end of bullet 2 had "...and both cells contain the same digit," but it kept feeling too clunky to me whenever I reread it. I probably spent as much time rewriting these rules as I did setting the puzzle, and it still doesn't feel fully optimized =P -Nordy
on 14. May 2023, 22:33 by Phistomefel
Your puzzles really never fail to astonish me. Fabulous one, Nordy, and many thanks for constructing this gem! :)
on 14. May 2023, 15:44 by Steven R
A lot of fun, thanks!
on 14. May 2023, 11:59 by Snookerfan
Brilliant puzzle! Thank you
