Slangen (ft. Dorlir)
(Published on 10. July 2024, 06:28 by Nordy)
Collaboration with Dorlir.
I shared a weird idea with Dorlir, and he brought it to life with just 5 clues. The rules shouldn't be too complicated, but rereading them may be helpful in getting unstuck. Difficulty estimated at 4.5 stars.
Rules:
Chaos Snakes: Place the digits 1 to 9 in every row, column, and region. Every region is a snake—a one-cell wide path of orthogonally-connected cells that does not branch or touch itself orthogonally.
Dutch Whisper Snakes: Some of the regions are Dutch Whisper snakes—within a Dutch Whisper snake, orthogonally-adjacent digits must have a difference of at least 4. Different Dutch Whisper snakes must not touch each other, not even diagonally.
Row/Column Whisper Sums: Cells with diamonds are on the Dutch Whisper snakes. A digit in a diamond gives the number of snake cells (including itself) that it sees either in its own row or its own column, with region borders obstructing vision (a digit in a diamond may see cells in the other direction, but those cells are not counted toward the total). The number in the top-left corner gives the sum of the digits that are seen in that corresponding row/column. A snake may contain more than one diamond.
Clarification: a digit in a diamond may see the same number of cells in both its row and its column, but the total (sum) need only apply to at least one of them (not necessarily both).
Example:
Here is an example of valid rule interactions. The two regions below are each Dutch Whisper snakes—adjacent digits differ by at least 4. The regions do not touch each other orthogonally or diagonally. The 6 in R1C4 sees six cells in its row, and the sum of those six cells is 28. The 3 in R2C6 sees three cells in its row, and the sum of those three cells is 17 (the cell in the column does not contribute to the count nor the sum). The 4 in R3C4 sees four cells in its column, and the sum of those four cells is 19 (the 4 also sees four cells in its row, but those cells do not necessarily sum to 19 since the diamond clue has already been fulfilled by the cells in the column).
Solve Online:
Solution code: Row 5 with dashes for region borders (ex: 35-2187-96-4)
Comments
on 1. August 2024, 01:09 by marty_sears
absolutely cracking achievement. how can so much complex information be crammed into 5 cells?
on 31. July 2024, 16:10 by vfig
this bit in the rules says that the sum is only for the seen cells in the row or the column, not both:
"The number in the top-left corner gives the sum of the digits that are seen in that corresponding row/column."
but the clarification muddies the water, by suggesting that the sum is permitted to be from both the row and column:
"the total (sum) need only apply to at least one of them (not necessarily both)."
these contradict each other. which is correct?
Nordy: Sorry for the confusion! Hopefully the “4” in the diamond of the example can help clarify. That “4” sees four cells in its column that add up to the sum of 19 (4+9+5+1)—so essentially that clue has now been fulfilled. That “4” also sees four cells in its row, but it doesn’t matter what those cells add up to. What’s important is that a diamond clue is fulfilled in at least its row OR its column (each taken separately), where the digit in the diamond matches the number of cells seen and those seen digits add up to the given total.
on 28. July 2024, 07:17 by yttrio
Wow! Amazing how this one just managed to unravel so well throughout the solve!
on 10. July 2024, 15:10 by marcmees
very nice CC but definitely felt less hard than 5*. Thanks
on 10. July 2024, 12:30 by Snookerfan
Brilliant puzzle! Lots of fun, thank you
