Thousand Yard Stair
(Published on 16. July 2024, 13:11 by Chilly)
This one is a follow-up to my 'staircases' puzzle, which you can find here. There is an example puzzle accompanying that one, which will help explain the constraint.
The Rules:
- Normal Sudoku rules apply.
- Staircases: A clue X outside the grid indicates that there exists at least one staircase of length exactly X in the respective row or column. A staircase consists of a run of 2 or more consecutive digits, ascending in the direction of the clue. If a row or column has a 0 clue, there are no valid staircases in that row or column, in that direction. For example, if there were a 3 clue on the LHS of row 1, then row 1 could contain at least one ascending run of exactly 3 consecutive digits from left to right, e.g. 123, 345 etc. A run of 4 such digits (e.g. 3456) does not count. If there is more than one clue on one side of a row or column, the clues are separated by a comma.
- If a cell contains a circle, it must be part of exactly two clued runs. If a cell contains a square, it must be part of exactly one clued run (although it may be part of a second run that is not clued). Not all circles and squares are necessarily given.
Thousand Yard Stair by Chilly
Solution code: Row 9
Comments
on 18. July 2024, 17:04 by XeonRisq
The initial idea was good, and you keep pushing the boundaries which makes each subsequent puzzle that much better. Keep squeezing, can't wait to see what you come up with next. ( Sucks that you already got stung =/ )
Thanks for the kind comments - next maybe a collab on rooftops & staircases :)
on 16. July 2024, 15:41 by marcmees
Q: A row with clue 4 may as well have a second staircase of different length in the same row?
Hi - yes, that is possible. There can be additional unclued staircases of any length in a row with a clue.
on 16. July 2024, 14:06 by MonsieurTRISTE
I think there is something not clear about the rules. Let me try to explain.
Consider a row 896745231, it has four staircases of length 2 from left to right. Now if this row’s clue on the left is “2”, it can refer to any one of the 4 staircases. Then which ONE of the 4 staircases is considered “clued”, or ALL of them is simultaneously “clued”, though there is only one clue? I think this difference matters for the circles and squares.
Hi - the rules mean only one of these staircases is considered clued, not all of them. It is for the solver to figure out which one is the clued one from the positions of the squares and circles. Does this help?
Yes, that makes sense. Thanks for answering :)
