Mousetrap? (A Rat Run Homage)
(Published on 16. January 2025, 06:00 by tallcat)
Normal sudoku rules apply.
GOAL: Mus the mouse must reach the cupcake and Felix the cat must reach the escape hole finding paths through the maze. Individually, their paths must not visit any cell more than once, cross itself, or pass through any thick maze walls. As well as moving orthogonally, both Mus and Felix can move diagonally if there's a 2x2 space in which to do so, but may never pass diagonally through a round wall-spot on the corner of a cell. Importantly, the paths of Felix and Mus can cross each other. This can only happen on even digits and if it does happen, both paths must continue on to another cell in a straight line as shown.
ONE-WAY DOORS: Mus and Felix may only pass through black arrows if moving in the direction the arrow is pointing. An arrow always points to the smaller of the two values it sits between.
BLACKCURRANTS: Cells connected by a blackcurrant have a 1:2 ratio (one is double the other.) Not all possible blackcurrants have been given.
GRAPES: Digits separated by a green grape have a difference of at least 5. Not all possible grapes have been given
PATH CONSTRAINTS: For Mus, the path within each box must be a thermometer with the bulb being the first square entered and the tip being the last square in the box. Repeat visits to the same box are considered separate thermos. For Felix, adjacent cells along the path must be of different parity (odd/even)
Crossing of paths
Paths must cross at right angles to each other and continue straight on to the next cell. This can occur in either way shown. The intersection must be on a digit (so cannot occur at cell corners)
Can be played online at Sudokupad
Solution code: Digits on both loops in column 5 (top to bottom) and column 8 (top to bottom).
Comments
on 27. January 2025, 18:59 by kagiso
Just as good as the original series, I enjoyed this.
on 24. January 2025, 15:14 by AshBrown
I missed the crossing on even rule and wasted an hour lost about 3/4 way through. Woops
on 24. January 2025, 01:23 by symbolic23
20:43 for me; very good use of the crossings which are unique to this rat run variant
on 23. January 2025, 20:35 by Playmaker6174
Phew that was a rewarding solve overall, quite easy to mess up the logic actually but at the end it was a fun time x)
on 23. January 2025, 15:15 by jakestilesowen
Great homage! Not quite the same feel as Marty's, but that's the beauty of homages!
on 23. January 2025, 12:44 by TheNineElements
Solve Time: 84:00
I rated this 4/5 difficulty.
Very fun puzzle & great homage to the rat run series. Really enjoyed the idea of having two separate paths, and the logic behind their crossing points was very cool!
I thought the break-in was fairly approachable for a 4* (maybe around 3-4/5 difficulty), but about 30 minutes in my progress halted for a while (around midway through both paths) and it took me quite a while to figure out which path went through the middle-area of the grid (don't want to give any spoilers). I experimented and worked on the rest of the puzzle for maybe 15-20 minutes until I finally figured out how the paths traversed their respective boxes and it was smooth sailing from there. That one portion where I got stuck felt 5/5 difficulty for me (quite a tough deduction to make for a 4* puzzle), but the remainder of the midgame logic was probably between 3-4/5 difficulty. Other than the part I got stuck, the puzzle well well paced (and very well constructed)- so I decided that a 4* difficulty was a fair overall rating for the puzzle.
Thank you @tallcat for constructing this puzzle. It is a bold move to create an homage to one of best (if not the best) Sudoku series - particularly in a very similar format/rulset to the original - but you definitely did justice to @marty_sears's great series.
Thanks for sharing!
As a note: I agree with @npinguy that the solution code description was a bit unclear. Went to look at my solution in C5 and C8 and momentarily thought I had made an error in my path logic. Of course it was obvious what the intended solution code was after checking my drawn paths, but reading "digits on both loops in..." seems to indicate we are to provide the digits which appear on both loops (where they intersect). I think phrasing it something like "digits appearing on either (or both) of the paths in column..." Would be more clear.
Additionally the 'path crossing' rule where you describe diagonal crossing of the paths was a bit confusing at first because I couldn't find anywhere that a diagonal path crossing (like the provided image) could legally occur with the given wall arrangement. I think the phrasing for everything was clear, but the example of a diagonal crossing (picture in this LMD description/post) just made me question whether I understood the rule correctly, given that the example didn't match up with any placements on the grid (since it seems to require a 3x3 cell area with no walls to block anything).
Not a big issue though!
on 22. January 2025, 05:27 by npinguy
I originally interepreted "both loops" for the solution code as meaning INTERSECTIONS, but you just meant digits on EITHER loop
on 22. January 2025, 01:44 by goldennumber
Made a CATastrophic assumption about Felix's starting cell early in the puzzle forgetting about diagonal travel and impact on odd/even parity - led to 30mins of work being unwound! Thankfully the wrong path had several right ideas, so didn't take too long to correct - very, very enjoyable puzzle, kudos to the creator
on 22. January 2025, 00:15 by bumperchip
very nice puzzle! i managed to get it done in a little under an hour, but i cant quite figure out the solution code lol.
wonderful homage! thanks for sharing!
on 18. January 2025, 21:55 by nunc
Purrfect and very mice hommage. Loved it.
on 17. January 2025, 16:30 by Paquet Voleur
Very fun and well constructed maze!
on 17. January 2025, 16:23 by OrestisLomis
PErfectly captures the essence of a Rat Run, lovely puzzle!
on 17. January 2025, 09:17 by virus_dave
Very enjoyable! Got stuck a few times, but then something would click when revisiting the rules and I'd trudge forward once more. Finally divining the nature of box 5 felt magical.
I imagine marty would be proud of this homage :)
on 16. January 2025, 21:54 by greyhathero
Very nice, really invoking your inner marty
on 16. January 2025, 19:49 by Franjo
Tasted like an appetizer for season no. 3 of the famous series, especially with the two paths …. Very well done! Thank you very much for creating and sharing this wonderful homage.
on 16. January 2025, 17:06 by mihel111
We are all missing the rat.
Thanks a lot, Tallcat.
on 16. January 2025, 16:52 by the_cogito
Lovely puzzle, really enjoyed working through this!
on 16. January 2025, 15:45 by Lakritze
Beautiful puzzle!
Forgot the part of the rules about only crossing on even digits and got stuck there for a while. Still worth the struggle :D
on 16. January 2025, 08:32 by Glasgow
Very nice homage!
