Mount Elbrus (Killer sudoku with doublers)
(Published on 4. February 2024, 17:22 by Qodec)
- Sudoku: Each row, column, and region indicated by thick borders in the grid must contain the digits 1 to 9 once each.
- Killer cages: An area surrounded by a dashed line is a killer cage. Digits in a cage cannot repeat, and they sum to the number in the upper left corner.
- Doublers: Nine cells in the grid are doublers. A digit in such a cell counts as double its value towards killer cage sums. There is exactly one doubler in each row, column, and box, and they form a set of the digits 1 to 9. Example: the 8 cage in box 2 could be 8 but also 4 if that's a doubler cell. Note that doubler cells can appear outside of cages as well.
You can play this puzzle online using Sudokupad: https://sudokupad.app/0q1l8638cy
Good luck!
Solution code: Columns 3 and 7. I.e. the 9 digits in column 3 from top to bottom, followed by the 9 digits in column 7 from top to bottom, for example: 123456789123456789
Comments
on 28. March 2024, 21:19 by Silverstep
pretty standard introduction to doubler logic and ***'s ***. probably not 5-star, closer to 3-star like @cam said, although I can see why some would rate 4 stars if it's their first time encountering either concept.
on 17. February 2024, 02:15 by Morisenseiisgod
Outstanding as always Qodec! I like the 19 cage in the early stages. It was a good challenge throughout.
on 13. February 2024, 16:33 by Agent
Outstanding puzzle! Very unexpected break-in in a doubler puzzle, and the following deductions were always extremely beautiful.
on 12. February 2024, 02:51 by MatthewDonovan
Really nice puzzle, and I loved how it remained fierce during the entire solve. I spotted the break-in rather quickly but somehow kept messing myself up during the next step.
on 8. February 2024, 17:46 by GeorgeTheToad2
The last mountain of yours that I climbed was hard, this was harder. Took a long time to see the break in. But once I figured that out it took just over an hour. Awesome puzzle.
on 7. February 2024, 16:17 by Leto
Very nice but I do not agree with the previous comments, for me it was a challenge all the way through! I have not done many sudokus with doublers before so it took me quite a while to grasp the break in. I'm glad I finally managed because its a really cool puzzle!
on 7. February 2024, 01:27 by bodemeister
Very enjoyable but also very straightforward solve.
on 6. February 2024, 22:32 by cam
Solves like a swiss watch. I have to be careful not to break my arm from patting myself on the back, but this felt more like 3 stars to me. I hope people aren't turned off by the high difficulty rating and can also appreciate its beauty.
on 6. February 2024, 20:17 by steveire
The hardest puzzle I've solved without Simon!
on 5. February 2024, 19:21 by giladooshlon
I'm a fan of modified value puzzles and this one was a treat. The pacing was perfect for me.
on 5. February 2024, 06:44 by gdc
very nice construction with a smooth opening and surprising deductions keep on coming throughout.
on 5. February 2024, 05:42 by Playmaker6174
A very carefully and beautifully crafted puzzle, I don’t think I’d solved a doubler puzzle with such many layers of complexity before.
When I first saw the initial idea on a nerd snipe in the past, I was quite worried because it’s rather a very risky move in terms of what it would do for the rest of the solve, but gladly everything worked just enough and there’s always some cool (yet well hidden) tricks to discover.
on 5. February 2024, 02:12 by samuel1997
Excellent construction as always! Thank you!
on 4. February 2024, 23:09 by Bellsita
Awesome puzzle! That was incredible!
on 4. February 2024, 21:28 by ashisstuff
this was just great! loved how the initial break-in worked with the rest of the puzzle especially, and the break-in itself
on 4. February 2024, 19:35 by Snookerfan
Marvelous puzzle! Loved every step. Thank you
on 4. February 2024, 18:38 by Mad-Tyas
An absolutely wonderful puzzle!
on 4. February 2024, 18:02 by Myxo
Awesome puzzle!
