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(Published on 25. October 2023, 05:30 by zzw)
Continuing my recent theme of making weird Japanese sum puzzles! There are JS puzzles where the clues within each row or column have been reordered, but I hadn't seen one where the rows and columns themselves are out of order. This turned out a lot better than I expected, and aside from some silly errors I subjected the testers to, it wasn't that hard to set. While it may be hard to spot, there is a path through this puzzle that I think is fairly simple (by 5* standards), and with little case checking. Hope you enjoy it!
Rules:
Standard chaos construction sudoku rules apply, and Japanese sums specify the sums of runs of cells separated by region boundaries. In the clue areas, the rows and the columns have each been permuted.
Chaos construction: place the digits from 1-9 in each cell such that digits don't repeat in any row, column, or region. Regions are groups of 9 orthogonally connected cells that must be determined by the solver.
Japanese sums: clues outside the grid give the sum of all the digits in a contiguous stretch of cells that are in the same region (ending either at the edge of the grid or a different region). A ? specifies a sum less than 10, a ?? specifies a sum greater than or equal to 10, and a * specifies any number of clues (including zero). All clues are given.
Permutation: the clues for a row or column are in order within a particular row or column, but the row and column clues are permuted. That is, the clues next to a row are in order and valid for exactly one row, but not necessarily the row they are on. Likewise the clues above a column are valid for exactly one of the columns, but not necessarily the column they are on.
Some space is left between the grid and clues for making notes. In Penpa, the Line -> Free mode is useful for drawing lines to connect clues and rows/columns.
Solve links:
Puzzle:
Solution code: Row 1 followed by column 9
Comments
on 14. September 2024, 16:10 by Silverstep
Somewhat tricky opening, the rest is very clean and simple. Probably low-ish four stars. I don't think the rules are that scary? Then again, I might have been exposed to too much horrors....
on 27. April 2024, 06:26 by konklone
Outstanding! Extremely memorable and original puzzle, and I really enjoyed working out how this had to work. Thank you for making this - now I will need to go try out your other puzzles. =)
on 7. December 2023, 14:26 by Xendari
An excellent ruleset & execution! It took me a month and a half to work up the courage to solve this, but it certainly wasn’t as difficult as the horror I envisioned it as. Excited to try the sequel some time :)
on 24. November 2023, 05:22 by Agent
Incredible puzzle! The idea looks ridiculous at first glance, and yet the solution path was very elegant and satisfying.
on 17. November 2023, 09:58 by by81996672
At first, I made a mistake due to translation issues. Fortunately, due to the clever design of the puzzle itself, it was immediately exposed at the beginning, which allowed me to make timely adjustments. The subsequent process was quite smooth, and I did it quite smoothly. This is a very fun question. Don't be intimidated by the initial sorting rules, pay attention to the internal contradictions. I think everyone should try to challenge it.
on 10. November 2023, 20:49 by lerroyy
Very nice puzzle, thanks!
on 1. November 2023, 12:57 by zzw
update description intro a bit
on 29. October 2023, 10:42 by Piatato
I solved the puzzle again today, to truly be able to appreciate the amazing creation that this puzzle is. It's a complicated piece of art this one - tricky (for me at least) to fully comprehend on the first encounter, but wonderful when one finally has got to know it properly.
on 27. October 2023, 22:58 by Playmaker6174
Absolutely wonderful puzzle, among the most remarkable and epic Jsum puzzles I've done!
(and also the one that made me feel dumdum for a majority of time in the middle, which I can't blame due to myself still feeling pretty ill at that point)
on 27. October 2023, 20:15 by Myxo
Absolutely loved this, thanks!
on 27. October 2023, 17:03 by Snookerfan
Incredible and brilliant puzzle! Thank you
on 26. October 2023, 21:47 by halakani
10/10 puzzle
on 26. October 2023, 11:45 by Lavender Gooms
Just amazing. Loved it.
on 26. October 2023, 06:27 by marcmees
incredibly beautiful puzzle. Thanks.
