Entropic Loop Chaos
(Published on 9. February 2024, 19:28 by yttrio)
Rules:
Chaos Construction: Each row, column, and region must contain the digits 1-9 once each. Regions consist of a set of nine orthogonally connected cells and must be determined by the solver.
Digits along an arrow must sum to the digit in that arrow's circle.
Draw a one-cell-wide loop of orthogonally connected cells. The loop cannot touch itself orthogonally, but may touch itself diagonally.
-- All arrow circles are on the loop.
-- The loop acts as an entropic line. Each set of three adjacent digits along the loop must be one low [123], one medium [456], and one high digit [789].
-- Every region must be either entirely on the loop or entirely off the loop.
Solution code: Row 5 with hyphens where there are region borders (e.g., 123-4567-89)
Comments
on 5. April 2024, 06:20 by Silverstep
Nice and relaxing coloring puzzle.
on 15. February 2024, 07:29 by shteev
Really hard. Got so stuck on the final step.
on 14. February 2024, 17:38 by madhupt
Stunning puzzle! The loop part was relatively easier but then it got harder and harder and the puzzle refused to give up till the very last moment. It was really hard to notate the various digits. I ended up using letters and even that was quite confusing. Was really glad to have finally cracked it. Thanks a lot for sharing this.
on 13. February 2024, 05:13 by gfoot
Brilliant, I'd say four stars rather than five as it was always not too hard to see where to go next
on 13. February 2024, 04:33 by Agent
Excellent puzzle! This does a great job at giving just as much information as needed throughout the solve, culminating in a massive endorphine rush at the end after all the intended logic was found.
on 12. February 2024, 22:50 by cam
I'd say about 2 stars for difficulty. Only joking! This was an absolute monster of a puzzle! It was extremely fun though :)
on 11. February 2024, 12:49 by Lavender Gooms
Very fun, thank you.
on 11. February 2024, 09:19 by cair
The difficulty on this one was very interesting to me. It kept getting harder and then suddenly everything gave way. Fantastic puzzle :)
on 11. February 2024, 01:21 by Piatato
Increasingly hard, and very nice throughout!
on 11. February 2024, 01:09 by sanabas
Brilliant
on 10. February 2024, 23:43 by ElChiglia
Great puzzle, as usual, thanks for setting! I agree with the other solvers though, the loop part was much easier than the Sudoku/CC part afterwards :)
on 10. February 2024, 22:41 by kamkam
I thought the loop part was the most complicated... Then sudoku entered. Wonderful puzzle by the way
on 10. February 2024, 20:24 by Mennoo_
me 30 minutes in the solve: This is going well, although it's 5 stars, I already got the loop sorted out. It cannot be difficult from here right?
90 minutes later... (with spongebob voice)
FINALLY DONE for *** sake
Brilliant puzzle tho. Loved to solve it and it had some very, very nice ideas there.
on 10. February 2024, 19:47 by marcmees
fantastic puzzle. thanks.
on 10. February 2024, 17:04 by Snookerfan
Fantastic puzzle! Full of amazing discoveries and rewards. Blew my mind more than once. Thank you
on 9. February 2024, 21:23 by Nordy
Fantastic stuff in here. Very hard, but the next step is always super elegant. Loved it
on 9. February 2024, 21:01 by Myxo
Amazing puzzle!
on 9. February 2024, 20:05 by Calvinball
Beautifully bonkers!
