RAT RUN 5: Disparity
(Published on 3. July 2024, 03:03 by marty_sears)
- Normal sudoku rules apply: place the digits 1-9 once each in every row, column, and 3x3 box (marked with dotted lines.)
- AIM OF EXPERIMENT: Finkz the rat must reach the cupcake by finding a path through the maze. The path will be a snaking line that passes through the centres of cells, without visiting any cell more than once, crossing itself or passing through any thick maze walls.
- As well as moving orthogonally, Finkz may move diagonally if there's a 2x2 space in which to do so, but may never pass diagonally through the rounded end / corner of a wall.
- BLACKCURRANTS: Cells connected by a blackcurrant have a 1:2 ratio (one is double the other.) Not all possible blackcurrants have been given.
- ONE-WAY DOORS: Finkz may only pass directly through a purple arrow if moving in the direction the arrow is pointing. An arrow always points to the smaller of the two digits it sits between.
- TEST CONSTRAINT: In this experiment, the correct path will be a valid alternating parity line - ie: any pair of adjacent cells along the path must contain one even digit and one odd digit.
Solution code: digits on the path in row 6, from left to right
Comments
on 4. October 2024, 11:12 by Crusader175
The logic is so novel and brilliantly executed!
on 25. September 2024, 11:51 by BabyfacedBard
I can’t imagine I took the most efficient logical path, because I found this brutally difficult. But I enjoyed it a lot anyways! One of my absolute favorite puzzle series
on 20. September 2024, 03:41 by snn
10 stars.
on 31. July 2024, 08:44 by Montikulum
Excellent stuff, keep 'er running ;o)
on 19. July 2024, 17:19 by Cosinus
Again ❤️❤️❤️
on 19. July 2024, 14:42 by fecske
Brilliant puzzle and brilliant series.
I was convinced for half an hour that this is broken. :)
on 15. July 2024, 13:17 by sunevora
What a brilliant and beautiful puzzle. Who would have thought how much fun a simple parity constraint would be? Thank you so much for setting this absolute gem!
on 10. July 2024, 12:42 by Perladel
Tougher than I thought but of course very very clever
on 9. July 2024, 11:56 by DonQuichopp
Oh wow, what an awesome puzzle. And also what awesome news, that there will be two new puzzles.
I am a complete beginner, but I thought that this was very solveable. It took me a bit to find the continuation of the breakin at some point, but in hindsight, it would have been easy to spot earlier.
Thank you so much for these wunderful labyrinths! I hope that they will be featured on CtC, that I for once can watch a video, where I already solved the puzzle :-D
Marty: Thanks DonQuichopp, pleased you are enjoying the series so far. The first 3 have been featured on CTC - you should be able to find them if you search for 'rat' on their channel :)
on 8. July 2024, 01:33 by fajoogaloo
Looking forward to 6. Great puzzle :)
on 7. July 2024, 23:02 by WildEnte
My favorite Finkz puzzle so far and goodness gracious what a treat.
on 7. July 2024, 18:12 by Klausku
What a brilliant puzzle! I didn‘t think you could have that much fun and logic with a parity line. Go Finks!
on 5. July 2024, 21:23 by YanksJets
This has got to be one of the most enjoyable puzzles I have ever solved.
on 4. July 2024, 22:09 by wuc
Suits perfectly in this awesome series. Thanks. Keep on creating this magical experiences.
on 4. July 2024, 16:46 by apiyo
This was another beautiful addition to the series, Marty! The key moment in the middle of the solve was like an amazing plot twist in a thriller. So satisfying! (Was going to post my solve to my channel but I realised afterwards I made a couple of lucky assumptions when i misread a couple of inequalities... But no doubt CTC will be jumping on this puzzle!)
on 4. July 2024, 13:52 by AshBrown
That one was incredible. Thanks!
on 4. July 2024, 12:48 by docpayce
What a great "AHAAAAAA" moment! :) :) :)
on 4. July 2024, 11:11 by davidemsa
I still love every puzzle in the series. I think this is the most clever one, there's some cool logic.
on 3. July 2024, 22:06 by Christounet
I wonder if Finkz is aware he is never really getting out of the giant maze he's in ? I mean, not before the mad scientist runs out of experiment ideas, a day that may never come...
on 3. July 2024, 19:04 by vollbesonderbar
Ridicolous-amazing maze-riddle!
Or how we would say in Germany:
Irrer Ratten-Rate-Irrgarten
Great fun, Thanx!
on 3. July 2024, 18:42 by fortunia27
I think it's fair to say that Finkz has already earned her rightful place in sudoku history! Brilliant puzzles, Marty, and superb theming to boot.
on 3. July 2024, 18:26 by LuanMerlin
This one is probably my favourite of the series so far.
on 3. July 2024, 16:10 by GeorgeTheToad2
Another excellent puzzle, thank you.
on 3. July 2024, 15:53 by mihel111
It's official : cupcakes make rats smarter.
on 3. July 2024, 15:14 by harwiltz
Incredible puzzle once again. I think the 5 in this series might be my top 5 favorite puzzles.
I'm especially curious how someone could ever go about setting something like these...
on 3. July 2024, 14:05 by ViKingPrime
I'm going to have to politely disagree with @vitaminz (have at thee!) - I would say this is ever so slightly the hardest one yet. I also think this is of the highest calibre but still does not reach the heights of entry #4.
I suspect the debates will rage endlessly about which one is the best one of the bunch, despite all of them being winners.
on 3. July 2024, 13:06 by vitaminz
This is my favorite of the series (and that’s a high bar!). I actually thought it was slightly easier than #3 but YMMV.
on 3. July 2024, 12:04 by johncj
Wow! So much fun. The best series in quite a while.
It's a pity the series is coming to an end, but I'll hope there will be a sequel.
Marty: Thanks John! It's not coming to an end yet, more episodes will be announced soon :)
on 3. July 2024, 11:58 by Franjo
Am already sad realizing there‘s only one more of these extraordinary puzzles left. Thank you so much for sharing this lovely series!
Marty: You'll be pleased to know then that there's not only one left :) Watch this space
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Thanks for this message! I AM very pleased to know that there will be more adventures of the lovely rat.
on 3. July 2024, 11:47 by sorryimLate
Clearly the trickiest one in this series so far but not any less enjoyable. I wonder what kind of madnesses you have planned for the black belt experiment in order to mess with the brains of your faithful laboratory rats. Can't wait.
on 3. July 2024, 10:16 by 9Rookienumbers
Another brilliant installment in this series! Really enjoyed it, thank you|
on 3. July 2024, 09:44 by sujoyku
Thank you for this great puzzle, marty_sears! For me, it was the toughtest edition of the series. It took me a lot of thought to realize what was going on, but then came a very pleasant aha-moment. I loved the flow of the sudoku phase once the path had been completed. Thank you for setting and sharing this wonderful series!
on 3. July 2024, 07:17 by jinkela114514
How many puzzles in total is this series intended to have?
Marty: I don't know exactly, but 'quite a few' ...
on 3. July 2024, 07:07 by scr0llwheel
These have all been great and only gotten better
