Logic Masters Deutschland e.V.

Parasitic Destruction 2: Helminthic Boogaloo

(Published on 11. February 2026, 14:10 by Zack Szekely)

This puzzle is the result of another collaboration between me and NXTMaster. It's the sequel to the original Parasitic Destruction. Both that puzzle and this one show off the intricate interactions between NXTMaster's Chaos Destruction ruleset and my Parasites ruleset. Are you in the mood for an even bigger challenge? This puzzle was inspired by another puzzle of mine, Deadly Dodgeball, which has a similar layout, but a different solution and a harder solve path.

Rules:
  1. Place the digits 1-9 once in every row and column.
  2. Chaos Destruction: All given regions must be "destroyed" by making sure they do not contain all the digits 1-9. The grid also consists of nine hidden, orthogonally connected regions that each do contain all the digits 1-9. Digits in circles represent how many of its orthogonally and diagonally adjacent cells, including itself, belong to both the given and hidden regions where the circle resides (i.e., where they overlap). All circles are chaos destruction clues.
  3. Parasites: Draw parasites moving orthogonally through the grid that connect all circles that share the same digit. Parasites may not move diagonally, branch, or cross themselves nor each other, but they may touch themselves and each other otherwise. The start and end of each parasite must occur on distinct circles. The two types of parasites are "larva" and "adult."
    • Larvae must contain a total number of bends equal to the digit in its circles, and at least one of those bends must occur on a cell where its circle-digit appears outside of a circle.
    • Adults must contain a total number of bends between each circle (not counting bends on circles) equal to the digit in its circles. Additionally, all the digits an adult crosses are grouped by the hidden regions they belong to, and the sum of all the digits in each group must be divisible by that adult's circle-digit.
    This puzzle contains exactly two adults.
Here is an example to illustrate the rules (note the example puzzle is not solvable, it only serves as a showcase). You can solve the puzzle on Penpa (answer check requires parasites to be mapped out with green lines) or on SudokuPad.

Solution code: Column 4 (top to bottom). Include a "-" to separate digits belonging to different hidden regions.

Last changed on on 12. February 2026, 00:56

Solved by Da Letter El, oiyad
Full list

Difficulty:5
Rating:N/A
Solved:2 times
Observed:0 times
ID:000RF6

Variant combination Online solving tool Arithmetic puzzle Path puzzle Dissection puzzle

Enter solution

Solution code:

Login