Aqropolis [Aqre Loop Japanese Sums Deconstruction]
(Published on 14. May 2024, 00:43 by Christounet)
Here is another addition to a series of puzzles combining deconstruction with shading puzzles (including so far cave deconstruction, nurikabe deconstruction and yin yang deconstruction). This might feel a bit more difficult than the other ones in the serie, because the ruleset and its implications might require some time to get acquainted to. I provided a solvable example that could help you get on the right track. Testing feedback estimated an overall 4/5 difficulty, with a couple more challenging deductions along the way. Have fun solving !
The puzzle :
Rules :
- Normal sudoku deconstruction apply : Fill the grid with 9 non-overlapping 3x3 square regions, such that each region contains the digits 1-9 once each and no digit repeats in any row or column. Cells outside regions do not contain digits.
- Aqre : Shade some cells in the 11x11 grid so that there are never more than 3 consecutive shaded cells or 3 consecutive unshaded cells within a row or a column.
- Loop : Draw a non-intersecting loop connecting the centers of orthogonally connected cells. The loop visits all unshaded cells and no shaded cells. The loop can not cross the border marked with a little cross between R9C6 and R10C6.
- Japanese Sums : clues above and to the left of the grid give the sum of the connected digits (in the column or the row) in the unshaded cells, in the correct order. IMPORTANT : if there is an empty cell (outside a region) between 2 digits, they are not considered connected (even if they are part of the same run of unshaded cells). For a row or column, either all or no sums are given. A "..." means any number of clues, including none. A "?" is a stand in for any digit 0-9, but for a double digit number, the first digit may not be 0. No clue can be equal to 0. Clues are encrypted. Each distinct letter represents some unique digit from 0-9.
Example puzzle (without the cipher) :
Solution code: Digits that are on the loop in column 2 and row 6.
Comments
on 12. August 2024, 06:19 by MaizeGator
My notation was a disaster as usual but I enjoyed this immensely!
on 11. June 2024, 13:53 by wildbush7
Wow, gorgeous puzzle. I found it incredibly difficult to come up with a good marking system to distinguish between the different regions. Brilliant!
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@wildbush7 : Thanks for solving and glad you enjoyed so much. About the notation, you can take a look at this puzzle's example, where I suggested a way of notating regions (with circles or cages) to avoid a confusing double coloring :
https://logic-masters.de/Raetselportal/Raetsel/zeigen.php?id=000FX5
on 7. June 2024, 20:05 by ONeill
Awesome :)
on 20. May 2024, 14:01 by Briks
One of the biggest challenges. I liked it very much. Took a while to fully comprehend the rules.
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@Briks : Yes, glad you made it and enjoyed ! It is true that the implications of the rules are not easy to understand in this serie of puzzles, especially this one.
on 17. May 2024, 18:53 by Christounet
Updated rules
on 17. May 2024, 17:21 by henrypijames
So basically, for the outside clues, just imagine all unshaded empty cells turning shaded, right? That's why in the example, R3 is clued "6" instead of "0 6", meaning 0 is not a valid clue in this puzzle (which is not explicitly covered by the rules)?
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@henrypijames : Right, I thought about that too, but did not think it was worth precising, but you are right, I should mention it in the rules. Thanks.
on 16. May 2024, 10:11 by Christounet
Loop rule update
on 16. May 2024, 07:12 by Briks
You said the loop doesn't touch itself but in your example it does?
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@Briks : Right, there could be a confusion here. By that I meant the green line forming the loop, not the green cells. I will reformulate. Thanks !
on 15. May 2024, 21:37 by zzw
Very beautiful puzzle!
on 15. May 2024, 18:29 by Piatato
Superb! So much fun deductions all the way. Great, inventive ruleset :)
on 14. May 2024, 17:03 by Jesper
Fun and challenging puzzle, thanks!
on 14. May 2024, 01:33 by lerroyy
Very nice!
