This is a follow up to Sort Circuit, which is an easier puzzle that uses the same rule set.
Rules
Normal sudoku rules apply. Along a grey line, for any orange marker on that line, every digit on one side of the marker must be greater than every digit on the other side of the marker. This rule applies to the end of the line in each direction, and the side of the marker which has the greater digits must be determined by the solver. Digits around a black dot must have a ratio of 2:1.
Examples
For a line of length 4 with a marker in the middle, valid combinations include 13/67, 67/13, and 13/66. Invalid combinations include 16/37 (because the 3 is greater than the 1 but less than the 6) and 13/37 (because 3 is not greater than 3).
For a line of length 3 with 2 markers, a valid combination would be 2/4/6. 2/6/4 would be invalid - the left-hand marker is satisfied but the right-hand marker is not.
Lösungscode: Columns 4 and 7
am 12. Juni 2024, 15:36 Uhr von SirJefferE
This one broke my brain, but after a couple restarts I finally got my head around the rules and stopped doing stupid stuff. And with that, I've finally finished every IcyFruit puzzle. Thanks again for *many* hours of entertainment!
am 25. November 2023, 19:32 Uhr von Mr.Menace
Great puzzle, and a real challenge! Thanks for this beauty
am 25. November 2023, 15:25 Uhr von Fool on Hill
Great puzzle. Tried starting in the wrong place, which held me up, but once I got that sorted it solved beautifully.
am 23. November 2023, 18:45 Uhr von simoons
I never saw a puzzle with that many pencil marks throughout all the solve that solves so beautifully!
Wonderful puzzle!
I don't regret having used the automatic pencil-mark tool though.
am 22. November 2023, 16:00 Uhr von BHUNTER47
The break-in and interactions in this puzzle are amazing.
am 20. November 2023, 17:48 Uhr von pms_headache
Absolutely fabulous. The effects of the simple rule set are incredibly interesting. Thought I had screwed up at the end, but managed to recover. Loved it.
am 20. November 2023, 16:35 Uhr von peacherwu2
All those pencil marks!!
am 19. November 2023, 19:36 Uhr von Playmaker6174
A very cool puzzle with lots of fascinating ideas as usual! The opening was quite hard to articulate in a clean way, then a couple of tricky steps in the middle and the solve became rather smooth after that part. Thanks again for a delightful treat :)
am 19. November 2023, 18:26 Uhr von henrypijames
Nice break-in, tricky middle game, but only 3¼ difficulty for me in the end.
am 18. November 2023, 00:31 Uhr von bansalsaab
Brilliant puzzle.
am 17. November 2023, 21:28 Uhr von IcyFruit
Reworded rules and added examples.
Thanks for the feedback everyone :)
am 17. November 2023, 20:31 Uhr von Myxo
Awesome puzzle as usual! :)
am 17. November 2023, 19:41 Uhr von Snookerfan
Excellent puzzle! The wording of the rules had me confused as well at first, but after some thinking I concluded it could only mean one thing to be meaningful. I think the wording of tangobunni makes it clear. Thank you!
am 17. November 2023, 19:10 Uhr von tangobunni
I think an alternative wording of "each digit on one side of an orange line must be greater or lesser than each and every digit on the other side of the orange bar" may clear up the meaning
am 17. November 2023, 15:30 Uhr von henrypijames
I think I understand the rules now. The issue, as it so often is, lies in the usage of plural instead of singular, which makes it unclear if a relationship applies to a single element or a group of elements. In this case, the relationship is "larger", and it's apllied not to any group, but to every single element within a group. So to put it clearly in singular:
On each grey line, every digit on one side of an orange divider must be larger than every digit on the other side of the same divider.
Please confirm whether this is the intended meaning of the rules. And provide some examples. My original understanding was that digits are being summed together somehow - which is what plural implies - but couldn't find a meaning that makes sense in regards to the grid.