Counting Castles
(Published on 18. February 2024, 03:37 by marty_sears)
Rules:
- Divide the grid into 9 kingdoms of orthogonally connected cells.
- Fill the grid with the digits 1-9 so that each digit appears once in each row, column and kingdom.
- A digit on a castle indicates exactly how many castles contain that digit.
- Every kingdom has a score, representing how powerful it is. It is calculated by adding the number of castles in the kingdom to the number of neighbouring kingdoms it borders. (Two kingdoms are considered neighbours if they share at least one orthogonal edge.)
- The digit in a blue square indicates its kingdom's score. No two kingdoms have the same score.
- A bridge connects two digits in different kingdoms, and they will either sum to 5, sum to 10, or be in a 1:2 ratio.
Click here to play on the CTC app
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Please leave a comment if you enjoy :)
This puzzle is the second in a series called The Zodiac Project, created by VikingPrime. The idea is that somebody gives you a blank grid with 9 cells marked, forming a unique disjoint set. You must then create a puzzle using that subset (and any other rules you like), and then pass to another setter to solve, and give them a new grid with a disjoint set of your choosing marked, to continue the chain.
THE ZODIAC PROJECT:
PART 1: Orion's Belt by VikingPrime
PART 2: Counting Castles by Marty Sears
For part 3 I'm going to pass this grid on to the great Heliopolix. I look forward to seeing the finished puzzle!Solution code: Row 5 from left to right
Comments
on 9. July 2024, 18:19 by th3d1c3m4n
Awesome one! Had to restart once, but second time flew a bit smoother.
on 5. July 2024, 08:55 by Jackson Philion
Super cool themed puzzle with lots of rewarding logical steps. I found it maintains difficulty throughout. Echoing other commenters, it's easy to forget some rules, but it didn't feel at all like there were too many.
on 29. June 2024, 20:23 by Jrosas
Very fun logical progression.
on 28. June 2024, 18:12 by Christounet
Awesome puzzle. Now to #3 ! Thanks :)
on 2. April 2024, 07:06 by geodus
Note to self: read ALL the rules. I overlooked rule 2 regarding castle digits, which caused me to spend far too long on filling in the numbers before I realized my mistake.
Challenging to get a start, but very satisfying to complete!
on 2. April 2024, 01:13 by heliopolix
Marty, what an excellent puzzle! So much delightful region building and the kingdom strength resolved in very unexpected ways.
Top notch!
on 20. March 2024, 06:35 by Ulyssyphus
Tough to get a toehold, but so worth it.
on 4. March 2024, 12:28 by Martijn314
Easily one of my favourite puzzles ever! The way it all came together was just amazing and the idea of adding in the number of neigbouring kingdoms gave some really nice logic.
on 21. February 2024, 17:05 by rentalcustard
This was something really special.
on 19. February 2024, 20:47 by peterkp
I made a mistake first time round, had to start again from scratch. But this was such a fantastic themed puzzle that I was happy to do that, and got there in the end.
on 19. February 2024, 12:28 by fopkovic
What a beautiful and brilliant puzzle! One of the best I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing.
on 19. February 2024, 03:54 by KNT
very fun puzzle!
on 19. February 2024, 02:03 by SirWoezel
So much fun!
on 18. February 2024, 23:50 by marcmees
Very nice. thanks.
on 18. February 2024, 19:58 by ThePedallingPianist
This is such a gorgeous, thematic and smooth-flowing puzzle! I do find region building quite difficult to visualise sometimes, but there are always clear deductions available if you ask the right questions. Can't wait to see what else this wonderful puzzle series yields!
on 18. February 2024, 11:41 by marcmees
I suppose every kingdom has at least one castle to accomodate its king? :-)
Marty: no, some of the less powerful kings have to live in a tent :)
on 18. February 2024, 11:23 by ViKingPrime
Such an elegant creation. I think Heliopolix is going to have to work hard to top this one!
