Arctic Expedition
(Published on 29. June 2024, 21:38 by Calesch)
Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply: place the digits 1-9 once each in every row, column, and box.
Create a path to bring Polly the polar bear (r2c2) back to her home in Snow City (r9c9). To explore the entire tundra efficiently, the path must visit each cell in the grid exactly once.
The path can only move between orthogonally adjacent cells whose digits differ by 2 or more.
Some cells are covered in Unfriendly Ice, which prevents Polly from turning. Her path may only change direction on a cell if it is 'friendly', meaning its digit matches its row, column, or box number.
Digits separated by a white snowball must be consecutive. Not all possible snowballs are necessarily given.
Recommendation: I found it nicer to solve using a light color like yellow or pink for the path
Solution code: The last 12 digits along the path (in the order visited)
Comments
on 10. July 2024, 12:48 by docpayce
Holy smokes, this was my first 4-star variant sudoku ever... what a ride. TY!!!
on 8. July 2024, 19:57 by Suxamethonium
Beautiful puzzle! Creating the path took a while but was immensely satisfying. I assumed it would be a quick fill-in once I'd done the path - how wrong I was!
on 8. July 2024, 07:05 by psams
Great puzzle. After every step of the path was determined, I was surprised by how much challenge remained in order to finish filling in all the digits.
on 8. July 2024, 05:32 by davidxxy
Astonishing!
on 5. July 2024, 14:05 by 0123coolkid
Can the path branch off, where one path leads to a dead end while the other path leads Polly to her home? Or does the rule about "the path visits each cell in the grid exactly once" rule this out (because Polly would theoretically have to retrace her steps on the dead-end path in order to get home)?
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The path cannot branch; it must pass through all cells in some order without revisiting any, starting with r2c2 and ending with r9c9.
~ calesch
on 3. July 2024, 19:40 by th3d1c3m4n
Really nice puzzle, enjoyed it a lot, good job!
on 30. June 2024, 17:50 by Ratzfaz
Great Puzzle with fresh logic. Thanks for creating it.
on 30. June 2024, 03:59 by helisolver
Very fun solve path!
