small single killer
(Eingestellt am 4. Januar 2023, 18:26 Uhr von bigger)
Standard sudoku rules applies. Fill the grid with numbers from 1 to 6 so each digit occurs exactly once in every row, column and 2x3 box.
Number in the top left corner of the cage is the sum of all the non-repeating digits in the cage.
Old Miles’ version
borescoper’s version
I guess people just don’t have time to set a 9X9 version. It’s interesting to see how the others would do with this idea. I actually did think about using 0. but no matter in what universe, 0 is still the most informationless clue. It won’t help the single solution stuff, which is exactly what i want. Even though i use little calculation, i still need those for empty grid.
Another thing is, i’m the only one who make the cages cover the whole grid. In my mind, killer cage should always cover the whole grid, at least that’s what i face normally, until i see the killer here. It’s like a hidden law for killer to me. And interesting enough, the difficulty doesn’t drop that much after the full coverage.
I guess it might going to be a long time before i set another killer variant, drawing cages is too hard. I might as well conclude why people like killer. It’s definitely not calculation, little killer prove that. No repeating digits inside cage, that’s extra region stuff. In China, a lot of killer lover solve killer faster than a normal Sudoku. So it should be the same reason as why people like Sudoku. First of all, a speed boost from solving more puzzles. Second, simple tricks hidden in plain sight. It’s not like anti-knight pairs level of searching. It’s those intersections. A good killer variant needs to have an illusion that can be solved faster than a standard, which is a good bar for me to set for myself.
Lösungscode: Row 3 of the first, second then third puzzle(18 digits)
Kommentare
am 5. Januar 2023, 14:00 Uhr von dodomos
Penpa+ link: https://tinyurl.com/2fj6x4ll
am 5. Januar 2023, 10:28 Uhr von Piatato
Very nice little collection! I did Old Miles' and Borescoper's puzzles first, which served as a fun warm up — both had some cute logic. Then your puzzle was very interesting, with some lovely ideas and fun interactions. As for what makes killers so appealing, I think you should also consider that it might be the combination of several traits. At least for me, my favourite killers are often the ones that I spend a lot of time on, because I have to figure out some very deep and fascinating ideas. In general it's deeply attractive to me when such an endless amount of ideas and complications can arise from very simple premises, and this is probably also what I value the most about killers.
bigger:hmm, interesting. the reasoning can also apply to other variants as well. small question, you mention killer as the combination of several traits, could you name those traits. it might be useful for me to set future puzzles
also, i really don't think killer has a simple premise. when writing the rules, it's a two liner, sum and no repeats. a lot of other variants also has this feature, like sandwich, x-sum. outside clues has a much cleaner grid than killer. that's why i think killer has something more than just caculation. a famous example should be 45 rule. i don't think anyone could solve a killer using only 45 rule and Sudoku trick
also, i don't think killer has endless ideas, probably because i like to categorize everything. in sudoku, we consider every known tricks are found. even if there's is a new sudoku trick, it would be either a complement to other known trick or too hard to find and use in actual puzzle solving. there's an end for sudoku, there should also be one for the killer. i just don't want to know what the end is.
am 5. Januar 2023, 03:29 Uhr von bigger
change solution code
