Loose associations (Numbered rooms/Remote sums/Region sum lines)
(Published on 6. October 2023, 21:39 by dumediat)
This is a puzzle that I created for Bellsita's birthday, which they encouraged me to share with all of you. Ratings, comments, and feedback are much appreciated! Please feel free to reach out to me on Discord if you have any comments or questions. Please also feel free to try my other puzzles here.
Edit: This puzzle was featured on CTC! Click here if you would like to watch Mark's solve.
Rules:
- Normal sudoku rules apply.
- Remote sums: A digit X in a cage points to a second digit Y located X cells away vertically or horizontally. The number in the top left corner of the cage indicates the sum of X+Y. Digits in cages may point to cells inside or outside the grid.
- Numbered rooms: Clues outside the grid indicate the digit which has to be placed in the Nth cell in the corresponding direction, where N is the digit placed in the first cell in that direction.
- Region sum lines: Digits along blue lines have the same sum within each region it passes through. The gray area outside the grid is considered one region for purposes of this rule. Different lines may have different sums.
Here is an example image to clarify the indexing for the remote sums cages (small numbers in cells indicate steps away from the cage):
SudokuPad: https://tinyurl.com/ycw6mzk3
Penpa+: https://tinyurl.com/ykrfhbfz
Note: Answer check requires correct digits in the sudoku grid and all relevant outside clues placed.
Solution code: Column 3 of the sudoku grid (9 digits)
Comments
on 25. August 2024, 16:46 by Bankey
Broke it twice but finally got thru on 3rd attempt. Brutal, but great fun. Thanks for sharing, @ dumediat :).
on 30. October 2023, 13:49 by dumediat
Added link to CTC feature
on 9. October 2023, 02:53 by glum_hippo
This was quite devilish but very compelling throughout.
on 7. October 2023, 21:56 by madhupt
Very smooth once you get your head around it and get the break-in. Thanks for sharing this beautiful puzzle.
on 7. October 2023, 17:54 by dumediat
Added an example image to clarify remote sums indexing.
on 7. October 2023, 15:23 by samuel1997
Brilliant! All clues which look unrelated to each other cooperate very nicely!
on 7. October 2023, 05:36 by wisty
Very fun! This made me like region sum lines a lot again after a couple puzzles in the past turned me off of them
on 7. October 2023, 00:52 by Myxo
Wow, what a beauty!
on 6. October 2023, 21:54 by heliopolix
Exceptional puzzle, chock full of indexing goodness! The interplay between remote sums and numbered rooms was wonderful to discover.
on 6. October 2023, 21:42 by Bellsita
Thank you so much for this amazing birthday puzzle! As always a fantastic puzzle with a lot of cool indexing logic! LET'S GO INDEXING LOVERS! ♡♡
