Logic Masters Deutschland e.V.

Throwback, by James Sinclair

Normal sudoku rules apply, and all clues are standard.
Killer cages: the sum of the digits inside each cage is equal to the small number in the top left corner.
Arrows: the sum of the digits along an arrow is equal to the digit in the connected circle.
Digits in cells separated by a white dot are consecutive.

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As I've developed as a setter, my puzzles have become "cleaner", for lack of a better word. I've improved at making everything fit together nicely, often with strong symmetry and a clear visual theme. That's all for the better, I think, but at times I feel nostalgia for the more chaotic grids I tended to come up with early on. This feels like a bit of a "throwback" to that style, albeit with (IMO) much better execution than I would’ve managed a couple years ago. The difficulty might be closer to 2.5, but I prefer to round up.

Anyway, this puzzle was originally published yesterday in Artisanal Sudoku, Volume 131. I publish five new puzzles there every Monday morning, and I only cross-post a handful of them here. This week's slate includes a very fun (and approachable!) puzzle by rockratzero, and the latest installment of a series I started recently where I include a weird bonus puzzle in prime-numbered volumes.