Circular Unreasoning
(Published on 21. November 2023, 11:44 by ThePedallingPianist)
Big thanks also to ViKingPrime for inspiring this puzzle with his explorations into the "anti-circle" idea, and again for testing several drafts!
Normal sudoku rules apply.
Arrows: digits on an arrow must sum to the digit in the arrow's circle.
Anti-circle: a digit in a circle shows how many circles DO NOT contain that digit. Additionally, a digit on an arrow shows how many arrows DO NOT contain that digit.
Solution code: Column 9 (far right), top to bottom
Comments
on 24. November 2023, 17:51 by sujoyku
Take a bow for this wonderful puzzle, ThePedallingPianist! It was such a nice aha moment when I managed to grasp the consequences of the anti-circle rule. After the break-in, it felt like the puzzle carried me towards the solution by itself. Absolutely impressive setting!
on 24. November 2023, 01:30 by Agent
Neat puzzle, thanks! I like how it just works mathematically.
on 23. November 2023, 16:22 by Schwupel
Just watching the CTC video and I realized that I completely missed the rule about the arrow counting rule. I believe its uniquely solvable with only the anti-circle rule. At least I arrived at the correct solution.
on 23. November 2023, 04:20 by Nordy
Unreasonably good!
on 23. November 2023, 00:21 by antiknight
Great idea!
on 22. November 2023, 22:16 by Oddlyeven
What an amazing construction! Stunning puzzle!
on 22. November 2023, 16:51 by Elliptical
Brilliant rule set and not hard to solve.
on 22. November 2023, 16:02 by marty_sears
@kporadzinski - this one wasn't me. I'm quite perplexed myself as to how PedallingPianist managed to find this finished arrangement that didn't require any extra clues, whilst still retaining a workable and enjoyable solve path. He's a wizard!
on 22. November 2023, 13:43 by kporadzinski
What a stunning and delightful puzzle. Really fantastic set of rules. Marty Sears - how did you manage to create something like this?
on 22. November 2023, 12:03 by Big Tiger
Well, I never did find "the key deduction" as hinted at by Marty ... but a lot of trial and error did get me to the end ... I'd be interested in a Hidden Comment by someone who could point out what I was supposed to find.
on 22. November 2023, 11:16 by ademjaz
Lovely! I enjoyed this one a lot!
on 22. November 2023, 10:38 by steveire
Really enjoyed this!
on 22. November 2023, 05:58 by Kallor
Loved solving this puzzle, the logic behind it was beautiful and quite rewarding.
on 22. November 2023, 03:18 by ClarityC
What a fabulous puzzle! Not too hard, once it clicked how the rules fit together, but so unique and elegant. Thank you!
on 22. November 2023, 02:51 by sdholmes
I loved the idea behind this. The opening logic was very neat and then the puzzle flowed beautifully once you had the right idea. One of my favorites that I have ever solved!
on 22. November 2023, 01:25 by ViKingPrime
It seems like a pretty innocuous layout but it took a lot of hard work and dedication to get the grid to be this neatly constructed. Amazing setting from an equally amazing setter.
on 21. November 2023, 23:14 by Abdul the Killer
Loved it! Thanks.
on 21. November 2023, 22:39 by marcmees
very nice, clever puzzle. Thanks.
on 21. November 2023, 20:48 by 99%Sneaky
What a wild ride, I enjoyed every moment, very creative setting. Super happy to have this as my 200th solve :D
on 21. November 2023, 13:05 by OutOfMyMindBRB
Delightful from start to finish, elegant and clever - thanks :-)
on 21. November 2023, 13:04 by JayForty
Very clever and beautifully executed! Thanks :)
on 21. November 2023, 12:12 by marty_sears
This is my absolute favourite Pedalling Pianist puzzle to date. The ruleset is short, concise, and relatively easy to grasp. But the logical implications take a little while to get your head around, in the best way possible.
Original drafts of this had an extra clue to disambiguate deadly patterns, but the genius fiddled around and managed to find a version that completely disambiguated itself in a near-miraclesque way, whilst still keeping the lovely solve flow, which is just the right amount of challenging.
The logic here is beautiful... the key deduction (you'll know it when you find it) is almost like a little mathematical discovery, which will be sure to put a smile on your face.
