A Different Kind of Differences
(Published on 21. November 2024, 20:28 by sujoyku)
I like to thank Marty Sears for all the nice discussions and the help with creating a grid that allows for extra note-taking space. I also thank gdc, ChinStrap, glum_hippo, Ecrowtist and MattDdraig for testing and giving feedback on the puzzle. The estimated difficulty is 3.5 stars. As always, your feedback in the comments is much appreciated. I wish you joyful solving!
- Normal sudoku rules apply, i.e. each row, column and 3x3 box has to contain the digits from 1 to 9 oncea each.
- Counting Differences: The difference between two adjacent numbers on a coloured line indicates exactly how many pairs of adjacent numbers along that line have that exact difference. Note: This also holds true for lines that are partially or entirely moving outside of the grid. On the outside, there may be higher than one-digit numbers.
Example: If two adjacent numbers have a difference of 2, there are exactly two pairs of adjacent numbers along the line that have a difference of 2. For example, a valid line could read 2465 (two differences of 2 and one difference of 1), but not 2468 since here occur three differences of 2.
- X-sums: Any number outside of the grid is an X-sum clue, i.e. it indicates the sum of the first X digits in the respective row or column where X is the first digit seen from the clue. The values of the X-sum clues have to be determined by the solver.
Here you can solve the puzzle online:
Solution code: Row 9 from left to right (9 digits in total)
Comments
on 24. November 2024, 17:57 by Lenivaya_Joppa
Thank you for this interesting puzzle, dear sujoyku! I really enjoyed the solve!
I only had a few little difficulties with the program. Unfortunately you can't mark numbers with more than one digit in the cells, so I combined the corner and the center function, but it didn't look so beautiful. And I don't like that the program automatically grades the digits by its size, so you can't write e.g. 42 because it becomes a 24. But these things are of cause not the puzzle's fault.
Apart from that I was not entirely sure about the rules, if on the lines outside the grid the digits can be identical in a row ore column. But during the solve it became clear and I enjoyed it very much! :)
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Thank you for your comment, Lenivaya_Joppa! I am glad that you enjoyed the puzzle. Concerning the issues you mentioned: I think there is no better way than using corner and central marks for two-digit numbers, but it is still better than having no notation space at all. As the rules state, Sudoku rules do only apply to the 9x9 grid. Numbers outside of the grid only have to obey to the Counting Differences constraint, so they may repeat if necessary.
Kind regards, sujoyku
on 22. November 2024, 15:45 by Franjo
Wun-der-schön! Die Kombination der neuen Linienart mit den alten X-Sums ist eine großartige Idee. Heißen Dank dafür! Und welche Standardfarbe wird sie nun erhalten?
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Vielen Dank für deinen netten Kommentar, Franjo! Es freut mich, dass Dir das Rätsel so gut gefallen hat. Was eine mögliche Standard-Farbe für die Counting Differences-Linien angeht, habe ich keine Ahnung. Mir gefallen sie gut bunt. :)
Herzliche Grüße, sujoyku
on 22. November 2024, 12:47 by marty_sears
One word springs to mind - delicious!
At first this looked like it was going to be very hard. But I unexpectedly found the break-in quite easily and then it all flowed pretty smoothly after that!
Lots of very nice moments and bits of fun silliness of the kind I really enjoy. Exploring the extremes of the ruleset is always fun. Great work
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Thank you for your kind comment, marty_sears! I can relate with your solving experience. The puzzle might look daunting at first, but I think once you have a foothold with the break-in and are familiar with the line type, the steps are not too difficult. I am glad that you enjoyed it.
Kind regards, sujoyku
on 21. November 2024, 21:19 by damo_89
Very tricky had to check my assumptions carefully, but some lovely interactions.
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Thank you for your comment, damo_89! I am glad that you enjoyed the interactions in this puzzle.
Kind regards, sujoyku
