183654729
(Published on 31. January 2025, 20:58 by JeremyDover)
Rules
Normal sudoku rules apply.
Ratio Pairs: Digits separated by a black dot must be in a 2:1 ratio.
Missing Double Thermos: On a gray bulbless thermo, the odd digits must increase in one direction along the line, and the even digits must increase in the opposite direction.
Solution code: Column 3
Comments
on 2. February 2025, 15:36 by Franjo
Very entertaining puzzle! Loved how the constraints work together. Thank you very much for creating and sharing.
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JeremyDover: So glad to hear...thank you for the solve and the positive feedback!
on 2. February 2025, 12:02 by Joely
Love this ruleset. I'd say it's nearing 3 stars. Probably my favourite puzzle I've done though. Well done :)
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JeremyDover: So glad that you enjoyed the ruleset and the puzzle! Thanks for the feedback.
on 1. February 2025, 07:48 by TheNineElements
Solve Time: 31:47
I rated this 2/5 difficulty.
Interesting puzzle & ruleset! I think I have seen the 'missing double thermos" rule somewhere before (it seemed familiar, but I don't remember if it had same name for the rule; iirc that puzzle came from one of the CTC mobile apps) - but it felt novel and ended up creating some unique logic in the solve.
I think the break-in was my favorite aspect of the solve, but it took me probably 5-10 minutes to really begin making big progress. Being unfamiliar with the ruleset, I had to spend that time thinking/experimenting with ideas. I think the difficulty of the break-in fell between 2-3/5 difficulty.
The remainder of the solve was a bit easier for me, though that may be because I started to understand how the rules worked. The whole midgame was well-paced, and felt around 2/5 difficulty.
The solve did take a bit longer than my average 2* difficulty time. Part of this was due to my unfamiliarity with the variant and partly due to the actual logical complexity of the puzzle. I decided that most of the logic felt straightforward/approachable enough for an overall 2* difficulty, but maybe slightly on the harder end of 2*.
Thanks for sharing!
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JeremyDover: There was a series of "Double Thermo" puzzles by Reverend back in 2020, where the odds and evens are independent. I know I saw missing thermos in the past as well, where the increase can go either way. I had never seen the combination, and particularly not forcing the parities to increase in different directions...but I certainly don't claim this is any great innovation. Just hoping for a pleasant puzzle!
on 1. February 2025, 06:06 by Freegerator
Interesting! I got stuck for a bit and then the whole puzzle fell out.
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JeremyDover: Glad you enjoyed!
on 1. February 2025, 02:09 by fitzie
this was closer to a three in turns of how long I was searching for the next deduction, but I think that's because I haven't seen this ruleset before.
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JeremyDover: Thanks for your message. I definitely wavered between a 2 or a 3 as the base difficulty, but my initial testers' feedback led me to lean towards 2. Definitely close to the line, I think.
on 31. January 2025, 21:30 by mathpesto
Cool idea for a ruleset! And paired nicely with black kropkis
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JeremyDover: Thanks so much! Very glad you enjoyed.
