Rules:
Normal Sudoku rules apply.
Yin Yang: Shade some cells such that all shaded cells are orthogonally connected, all unshaded cells are orthogonally connected, and no 2x2 area is fully shaded or fully unshaded.
The shaded cells act as a German Whispers line: if two orthogonally connected cells are both shaded, then the digits in those cells must have a difference of at least 5.
A digit in a cell with an arrow counts the total number of shaded cells seen in the direction of the arrow (not counting the cell itself).
Solution code: Digits in unshaded cells in row 5 (left to right) followed by digits in unshaded cells in column 5 (top to bottom)
on 19. February 2025, 04:47 by novato
Really fun to solve, and very interesting ruleset.
on 15. February 2025, 19:52 by namko
Only got into sudoku in the last week or so, this puzzle was a little bit of a stretch however I managed to solve it in just under an hour. Probably the most enjoyable I've played so far and the solution is very satisfying as the puzzle flows so well :)
on 14. February 2025, 20:20 by Baklin
I love Yin and Yang puzzles. I struggled a bit with this one, but got through it.
Now I'm going to watch Simon solve it and see how I could have done it smarter.
Thanks for setting this puzzle.
on 13. February 2025, 01:26 by MaizeGator
If you forget to do basic sudoku (like me), this puzzle is a beast! If, however, you remember that digits cannot repeat in a row, column, or box, it flows very smoothly and enjoyably.
on 9. February 2025, 21:53 by Myxo
Great flow!
on 9. February 2025, 07:52 by Wuschel
Beautiful! Getting it going isn't easy, after that it just flows.
on 9. February 2025, 01:41 by superdog
I echo the sentiment here that the break in is relatively difficult compared to the rest of the puzzle, even knowing the "tricks" alluded to by others here it took me a couple of tries before I put everything together.
I encourage anyone stuck on the break in to keep trying as the puzzle is very fun!
on 9. February 2025, 00:19 by wuc
Awesome yes. 2* no. This is to me at least 3* if not more. I solved many 3* that felt easidr to me. That said this was... after the very hard break in... an excellent puzzle. Thx for sharing.
on 8. February 2025, 23:27 by BenTen
Beautiful puzzle. Thanks for setting yttrio.
on 8. February 2025, 19:17 by agvard
I didnt know much about Yin Yang when I started this. I initially was totally stumped, went and watched a CtC video that told me the 2 secrets of Yin Yang, solved a recently hard Yin Yang puzzle and then went back. When it finally clicked it was a great feeling, but man if this is 2* then I dont understand the scale :) Ive solved plenty of 3* that felt easier.
Wonderful puzzle
on 8. February 2025, 18:21 by dingledork
This puzzle is an absolutely amazing example of the coordination of several different “secrets” (to use a SiMarkism) of yin yang and whispers. VitP is correct - without an appreciation of those secrets this puzzle is basically impossible.
Gorgeous setting, and I hope this gets a CtC feature!
on 8. February 2025, 17:30 by VitP
this is a puzzle where the AVERAGE difficulty does not properly describe the MAXIMUM difficulty, so the difficulty should be expressed as TWO numbers, as 3/1.
you need to be a yin/yang expert to even get started. this automatically bumps the difficulty to 2. then you need to be sufficiently experienced with german whispers to know that there exists a global polarity structural condition in orthogonal snake gw puzzles. then you have to figure out the arrow rules. then you have to do the WORK. so it's a level 3, although the second half is level 1.
the puzzle remains "approachable" because you can teach any beginner the relevant principles in 5 min.
and an approval rating of 100% means that EVERY person who solved it loved it.
on 8. February 2025, 17:21 by VitP
for wuschel (no idea how to do a proper "reply" in this forum):
no, the wording of the rules implies a TOTAL count in some direction, regardless of any other considerations.
on 8. February 2025, 14:03 by mihel111
OMG, how I lost time on the fact that arrow cells doesn't count themselves. My bad, dummy me.
Sparse rules, sparse grid and a smooth path. A very good puzzle, as always.
on 8. February 2025, 13:42 by Franjo
Beautiful and approachable puzzle with perfect setting! I enjoyed the walk on the solving path. Thank you so much for creating and sharing another great piece of your work.
on 8. February 2025, 13:03 by Snookerfan
Very beautiful as always! Thank you
on 8. February 2025, 11:16 by oskode
You never disappoint!
on 8. February 2025, 09:31 by Wuschel
Do unshaded cells block the view? "cells seen in the direction" vs. "cells in the direction" makes me think so.
-------
To clarify: no, unshaded cells do not block the view. It is the total number of shaded cells in that direction, which may or may not have unshaded cells in between.
~yttrio
on 8. February 2025, 05:41 by thrutch
As others have said, beautifully smooth but without being at all trivial.
on 8. February 2025, 05:27 by Glasgow
So smooth. Fun puzzle. Thanks!
on 8. February 2025, 04:50 by klaudo
nice
on 8. February 2025, 02:05 by Calvinball
I'm not exagerating when I say this is easily one of the smoothest puzzles I have ever solved. Just left me grinning the entire time.
Please note: The German version of this page has changed. It is possible that this page does not contain the latest information.