Poet himself
(Published on 3. May 2024, 18:53 by Jrosas)
The poet himself wrote “The Raven”: “Quoth the raven ‘nevermore’”. In this puzzle the rule is “Never 4": Place digits 0,1,2,3,5,6,7,8 and 9 in every row, column, and 3x3 box.
The poet himself wrote stories of killers who caged their victims behind a brick wall, under a floor, and between a pit and pendulum. In this puzzle ordinary killer cage rules apply.
The poet himself wrote “The Black Cat.” In this puzzle black cats separate digits in a 1:2 ratio. All black cats are given.
The Poet himself wrote “the Cask of Amontillado.” In that story the narrator laid bricks to wall in his victim and, at midnight,“there remained but a single stone to be fitted and plastered in.” “Poet himself” is an anagram of Phistomefel, lord of the sudoku ring. Following the rules of this puzzle listed above should leave a single cell to be fitted and filled in on the Phistomefel ring. To solve this puzzle, fill that cell with its highest remaining candidate.
For any puzzlers unfamiliar with the “Phistomefel ring,” it is the 16 digits that are adjacent to and outside the center 3x3 box of cells in the grid.
Link to Sven Neumann’s Sudokupad
Solution code: Column 3 top to bottom
Comments
on 23. October 2024, 19:35 by Jrosas
Link
on 23. October 2024, 19:16 by Jrosas
Changed dots to cats and simplified solution
on 14. September 2024, 22:52 by geekpuzzles
This puzzle was beautiful to unfold, and take it from me: you can get quite far before you even remember the negative constraint!
on 14. July 2024, 18:07 by Jrosas
My solution video
https://youtu.be/oLl_9dRN4b0?si=aSMITCZQJMrqgd8s
on 29. May 2024, 16:39 by Jrosas
New link with solution
on 13. May 2024, 15:24 by Jrosas
I changed the explanation of the last rule to delay the solve until only 6 cells remain
on 4. May 2024, 15:39 by Fisherman
POE prominently written in the middle of the grid. A loving tribute to Edgar Allan Poe. He was also logician and didn't shy away from debunking fallacies including the fake chess playing machine The Turk. May he rest in peace, which he never enjoyed in this life.
Thanks for the comment. You may enjoy the puzzle I thought of while setting this one: “Never 4.”
on 4. May 2024, 05:31 by fajoogaloo
Took all my willpower to stop myself from putting 4's in the grid. Fun puzzle :)
on 3. May 2024, 21:13 by hardline35
Excellent puzzle! Read the instructions VERY carefully to solve the puzzle
