6x6 Still Life Sudoku
(Eingestellt am 23. Juni 2021, 00:16 Uhr von Sktx)
This 6x6 puzzle is a prequel to my other so-called "Still Life" Sudokus, which combine Sudoku rules with the drawing of a stabilized Conway's Game of Life pattern (a "still life" in Game of Life terminology) in the Sudoku grid.
Try it on Cracking the Cryptic app
Try it on Penpa+ (adjusted rule to match the Penpa+ display of clues, and color check for dead cells)
==== RULES ====
6x6 Sudoku rules apply : Fill the grid with digits 1 to 6 appearing each exactly once in every row, column and 2x3 region.
Still Life rules apply : every cell in the grid is either in state Dead or Alive (not both) and the grid is a stable configuration under Conway's Game of Life, i.e. :
- Alive Cells MUST have exactly 2 or 3 Alive neighbors (diagonally or orthogonally adjacent cells)
- Dead Cells CAN NOT have exactly 3 Alive neigbors (diagonally or orthogonally adjacent cells)
Still Life clues :
- a CIRCLED cell's digit is the number of its neighboring cells in the SAME state as itself, INCLUDING itself.
- a SQUARED cell's digit is the number of its neighboring cells in a DIFFERENT state as itself.
Note : It is not necessary, but highly recommended to use coloring to solve the puzzle (see following examples).
==== EXAMPLES ====
In Example 1, a 3x3 box with a Game of Life pattern is shown (green for Alive cells, grey for Dead cells). But the cells marked with a ! are unstable : they either are dead but with 3 alive neighbors, or alive but with less than 2 or more than 3 alive neighbors. Therefore this pattern is not a Still Life pattern, and can not appear in a Still Life Sudoku puzzle.
In Example 2, a 3x3 box is shown filled with digits and clues (circles and squares), the Game of Life pattern that is shown is stable, and all the clues are fulfilled. This could appear in a Still Life Sudoku puzzle.
==== OTHER PUZZLES ====
If you like this puzzle, you may want to try the ruleset in 9x9 setting :
Living on the Diagonal : Diagonal + Still Life + outer clues (hard)
Eternal Life : Still Life + outer clues (very hard)
There's still life in my sandwich... : slightly different Still Life + Sandwich clues (super hard)
Users @Zombie Hunter and @stephane.bura also have Game of Life related puzzles posted here, with different rulesets. If you like Conway's Game of Life as much as I do, I recommand checking those out ! There is probably a lot of rulesets that can be designed for Sudoku VS cellular automatas.
Lösungscode: The digits of Dead cells from Row 3, then Row 4, (from left to right) then Column 4 and finally Column 5 (from top to bottom). No space, 18 digits total.
Kommentare
am 24. August 2023, 17:02 Uhr von wullemuus
It takes a little time to get familiar with the logic of still life and keep to the rules. But then the break-in was easy. I agree with playmaker6174 about the rest of the puzzle. Overall, it won't be my last one of this kind. Thanks!
Sktx @wullemuus : Thank *you* for trying and solving it ! I think that this ruleset will by essence always produce puzzles that require some acute sense of scanning and visualization... If you want to try puzzles of this ruleset but from different minds, SSG and Kafkapharnaum both published really cool takes on the idea, that deserve more solves !
am 7. Juli 2023, 06:02 Uhr von Playmaker6174
That was fun, thanks! It started off easy then got a bit trickier later on, but proper scanning helps a lot.
Tbh I’m quite scared of the bigger ones of this rule set xD
@Playmaker6174 : And rightfully so ! Most of them are very hard. If you ever decide to try them on, i suggest starting with "Living on the Diagonal", which is probably the easiest of the three I published... Thanks for solving this less intimidating one !
am 8. April 2023, 11:41 Uhr von Yann
Cute little morning snack.
It took me 16 minutes, because I think I'm used to this ruleset, which is a very cool one.
I hoped I could push this puzzle to a rating, but it turns out I didn't.
am 3. April 2023, 09:45 Uhr von Trams
Lovely rules with Game of Life. A small 6x6 gem.
Kafkapharnaum recommended you after I solved his/her/its(never know these days) Active Life + Fog puzzle.
Sktx, Well done to you too.
am 24. Juni 2021, 10:14 Uhr von Sktx
Added reference to other users' GoL-related puzzles
am 24. Juni 2021, 06:41 Uhr von filuta
I remember trying the first two puzzles with this rule set, which turned out to be too hard for me, but this one I was able to finish, even though I kept forgetting to use the still life rules. I find rather cool how the digits are suddenly limited when it's 6x6, but the number of neighbours isn't, which opens new possibilities. Really nice puzzle, thank you for sharing it.
@filuta : And thank you for spending time on my puzzles ! I am happy to hear this one fulfills its purpose, to make the ruleset a little easier to approach, and hopefully give solvers a grasp on it so they can try the harder ones with more confidence, even with 7s, 8s and 9s crashing the party.
am 24. Juni 2021, 02:02 Uhr von Sktx
changed Penpa+ link to add color check on dead cells
am 23. Juni 2021, 22:31 Uhr von PrimeWeasel
Smooth solve! Got there in 13:51, but I've got some experience :)
am 23. Juni 2021, 06:09 Uhr von Crawlie
Yikes, saw 6x6 and thought, a nice quick one before bed... not quite for the "quick" part! This ruleset is really tricky, anyway the 3 alive neighboors really got me. "Still" a fun puzzle though!
@Crawlie : Thanks for trying it ! I guess it is not as easy as the usual 6x6, sorry for misleading you... Yes, the "no 3 alive neighbors for dead cells" is probably the most tricky part, it is really easy to miss it when you have worked some different logic just before. I hope you enjoyed the ruleset despite the tricky parts ! Thanks again for your feedback.
Oh I didnt mean it like that! I did see the 3 stars rating, but thought it's a 6x6, how hard can it be XD So if anything it's me who misled myself! Hubris...
am 23. Juni 2021, 01:56 Uhr von Kafkapharnaum
Woohoo, first, haha -- Now hopefully there'll be plenty more :)
(Zombie Hunter, where are you ;-P)
