Zodiac Project: Suguru's Surge
(Published on 27. June 2024, 15:42 by gdc)
This is the 9th chapter of the Zodiac Project, initiated by ViKingPrime. The idea is that one builds a puzzle around a specified disjoint set before picking a new one and handing the baton over to the next puzzle setter. I am very happy to be a part of it. The previous parts of the series are:
Chapter 1: Orion's Belt by ViKingPrime
Chapter 2: Counting Castles by marty_sears
Chapter 3: Derezzed by heliopolix
Chapter 4: Rodd Stevens by 99%Sneaky
Chapter 5: Phase Shift by meggen033
Chapter 6: Cage Decoder by sujoyku
Chapter 7: Star Chart by Flinty
Chapter 8: Parity Expedition by palpot
Thank you again to palpot for asking me to set the next puzzle in the series. I am delighted to be able to nominate the next setter in the Zodiac Project series: SamuPiano. Here is the Extra Region that they will be working with:
Zodiac Project, Chapter 9: Suguru's Surge
A distress call reached the ship of the Zodiac crew. A woman claims the evil Suguru is about to take over her home island. Ukyo said in a calm but alarming voice: "I know her. She sells sea-cells in the Samu System. We have to help!". Commander Jus looked irritated: "I have a bad feeling about this. Let's ask some questions and connect the dots first".
- Sudoku: Normal sudoku rules apply
- Nurikabe: Shade some cells blue (representing water), such that all water cells are orthogonally connected, but water may not fully cover a 2x2 area. Shade the remaining cells green, which represent islands.
- Suguru: An island of size N must contain the digits 1-N without repeats.
- Squares: A digit in a square is on an island and contains the largest digit of that island.
- Diamonds: A digit in a diamond is on an island and shows how many island cells are seen in the row and column combined, including itself. Water cells block vision.
- Disjoint: The 9 digits in squares and diamonds must contain the digits 1-9 once each without repeats.
- Kropki (Variant): Digits separated by a white dot are consecutive and either both island or both water.
Solution code: Column 6, top to bottom (9 digits) with dashes (-) between island/water borders. For example: 123-45-67-89.
Comments
on 18. January 2025, 21:22 by skuntsel
An absolutely incredible puzzle from start to finish! Many revelations along the way, and a true pleasure to solve it to the end. Thank you, gdc, for this amazing setting!
on 25. September 2024, 03:31 by ajc
Wonderful wonderful wonderful, made my evening!
on 28. August 2024, 09:05 by AsgarArn
It was a fantastic solve.
Felt very rewarding, just needed to stick to it.
on 27. August 2024, 22:36 by AsgarArn
It was a fantastic solve.
Felt very rewarding, just needed to stick to it.
on 14. July 2024, 12:59 by Christounet
Super cool ! Always a pleasure to solve a nurikabe puzzle. Thanks :)
on 1. July 2024, 00:29 by ViKingPrime
Absolutely beautiful, from start to finish.
on 30. June 2024, 22:58 by sujoyku
Thank you for this terrific puzzle, gdc! It took all of me to get it done, but it was a challenge that I thoroughly enjoyed (and I definitely learned a big deal about island/shading logic). I am lacking the right words for praising this set-up at the moment. Simply fantastic. Thanks again for sharing this gem.
on 30. June 2024, 17:47 by QuiltyAsCharged
Terrific! Really stretched my brain in good ways. The islands are safe, for now...
on 29. June 2024, 21:03 by wenchang
Enjoyed! Great puzzle. Spoiler alert!
https://youtu.be/L6OjkqtY6Jk
reload the video.
---
gdc: hey wenchang! Thanks for taking the time to record this. The updated video link works now. Well done!
on 28. June 2024, 12:38 by Franjo
This episode 9 surely is my favorite one! Thank you so much for sharing this masterpiece.
on 28. June 2024, 02:30 by meggen033
Wow! That was amazing! Very good use of the disjoint. Thanks for keeping the Zodiac Project going! Well done!
on 28. June 2024, 02:15 by Calvinball
I got a very nice feeling from this one. I answered some questions and connected the dots!
on 27. June 2024, 17:43 by Flinty
Very nice!!
on 27. June 2024, 17:11 by palpot
Wonderful puzzle! very creative and clever use of the disjoint!
on 27. June 2024, 16:18 by SamuPiano
This was a delightful puzzle! There were a lot of fantastic "aha" moments throughout :)
