8 Cornered 3s
(Published on 8. May 2024, 00:41 by jsmirob)
Normal sudoku rules apply. Draw a one-cell-wide loop of orthogonally connected cells. The loop must not cross the given digits, and may not touch itself orthogonally. Straight loop segments act as thermometers, i.e. digits must increase from one end to the other. The orientation of each thermometer must be determined by the solver.
Additionally, every corner in the loop must contain a 3, and every 3 that is not given must be in a loop corner. (In a 2x2 region which contains three loop cells, the remaining cell is a loop corner.)
Solution code: row 5
Comments
on 9. May 2024, 10:28 by Yawnus
Incredibly well-crafted puzzle with a nice new constraint! Thank you!
on 8. May 2024, 14:00 by lmdemasi
This was a phenomenal puzzle. The loop constraint was new to me, and I loved it. Figuring out how to build the thermos was also interesting.
I think it's more like a 3* puzzle than 4*. It was quite approachable.
