Recounting the Counting
(Published on 14. January 2025, 22:21 by pdyxs)
This is an approachable puzzle, based on the idea that a counting circle's value might need to change if more counting circles are revealed.
Rules
Some of the rules are variations on standard rulesets - I've highlighted some key variations in green.
Sudoku: Place the digits from 1-9 in the revealed cells so that no digits repeat in any row, column or 3x3 box
Kropki: A black dot between two digits means that one is double the other. A white dot between two digits means that they are consecutive.
Counting Circles: At any point, a digit N in a revealed circle means that the digit appears in revealed circles N times.
Stable Digits: Cells shaded green are stable: their value remains the same throughout the puzzle. All other cells are unstable.
Dynamic fog: The grid is partially covered in fog. Fill in all revealed cells (and only the revealed cells) based on the revealed clues, leaving any new stable digits until last. Filling in the stable digits will reveal more of the puzzle, at which point all unstable digits will need to be recalculated.
More Experimental Fog puzzles:
Solution code: Solution code will be displayed in SudokuPad upon completion
Comments
on 8. February 2025, 04:59 by pdyxs
Formatting updates
on 1. February 2025, 23:07 by crhodgkin
I absolutely loved this concept. It was like solving 5 different puzzles, each one harder than the last. Thank you!
on 29. January 2025, 11:02 by QuiltyAsCharged
I loved this just from reading the rules, what a great concept! And the actual puzzle lived up to its potential. Bravo
on 26. January 2025, 12:21 by boykeauto
Great puzzle with some pretty neat interactions. Incredible use of dynamic fog!!
on 26. January 2025, 10:09 by Firebird
That was really a wonderful puzzle! The most creative use of dynamic fog I've seen so far.
on 24. January 2025, 21:05 by DonQuichopp
What a lovely puzzle, how crazy it is that you could set this like that with the dynamic fog. Unbelievably cool!! Took me ages to finish once the fog was cleared. And in the end I couldn't logically deduce, I checked sone things, narrowed the possibilities down and then I just tried them out. So I can't fully claim I solved the puzzle. Had great fun anyways! Thanks a lot!!
on 24. January 2025, 02:48 by hanslovsky
Very creative and fun puzzle. I love the combination of counting and kropki. Kropki can sometimes feel like a filler but it really fit well in with this concept. Highly recommend, a lot of fun!
on 23. January 2025, 19:14 by OGRussHood
What an outrageous puzzle! I loved it!
on 22. January 2025, 17:26 by Grecolons
Very cool puzzle and concept! I had to recount 2 extra times because I messed up.
on 21. January 2025, 10:58 by Nurator
What a fascinating ruleset.
on 20. January 2025, 15:56 by wuc
Amazing. The construction is very very clever. Great work. Thx for sharing.
on 20. January 2025, 03:18 by novato
Very, very clever!
on 16. January 2025, 21:05 by econtrout
I rated this 4 stars, but maybe just 3 stars - with a lot of faith. What a great puzzle. I am very impressed.
on 15. January 2025, 19:37 by kikanya
Very fun! This is what fog was made for!
on 15. January 2025, 17:55 by LehanLehan
The steps need to exclude digits for the final circle counting was really hard to see. Great logic and great puzzle, thank you very much.
on 15. January 2025, 10:45 by Big Tiger
Incredibly interesting! I got a little fatigue from each new and larger recalculation but what a fascinating idea, and amazing that you made it work!
on 15. January 2025, 00:06 by OutOfMyMindBRB
Very nicely done! Lovely dynamic puzzle(s) - thanks :-)
