The Tiny Monster
(Eingestellt am 1. Oktober 2023, 17:30 Uhr von Yann)
It is also my first puzzle here, and I thank Kafkapharnaum and wullemuus for testing and encouraging me to publish it, as well as filuta for partial testing. I hope the format is OK.
Here it is :
Here's a Penpa+ link, answer check works for S-cell digits in ascending order.
And here's a CTC link.
Answer check works with S-cells pencilmarked or blank.
Place 7 of the digits from 0 to 9 once in each row, column, and box. 3 digits never appear in the puzzle. For the example, it's 5 of the digits.
To enable this, place a Schrödinger cell once in each row, column and box. These cells contain 2 values.
Furthermore, one digit in every row, column and box is doubled, and its value on the clues is 2 times the digit it contains. No digit is doubled more than once, and one digit is never doubled (so no Schrödinger cells are doubled).
The sum of the values on an arrow is the value of the cell in that arrow's circle. Digits may repeat along arrows, if they obey sudoku rules. If a Schrödinger cell is on an arrow, its value is the sum of the 2 digits it contains.
In the example puzzle, the shape is either an inequality sign that points to the smallest value, or is a V, meaning that the sum of those 2 cells is 5.
Here is the example and its solution :
You can play it on CTC here
There is answer check in the same conditions as the main puzzle.
If anyone can translate this to German, it's much appreciated.
According to the testers, the difficulty should be around 5 stars, even though I think it's more a 4,5 star puzzle.
Have fun solving, ratings and comments are appreciated, feel free to write a hidden comment if you're stuck!
Lösungscode: Row 4 (left to right) followed by row 5, with S-cell digits in ascending order.
Kommentare
am 6. Juli 2025, 04:33 Uhr von bodemeister
Wow this was a real mindbender for me! I began eliminating some digits and quickly realized I couldn't eliminate them due to the S-cell rule. :D Took me awhile to gain some traction, and pretty cool that I couldn't eliminate the final 3rd digit until right at the end of the puzzle. Very nice construction!
P.S. I see you've also solved the majority of Kafka's doppelganger puzzles. If you're interested, I've also designed some doppelganger puzzles if you want to check them out!
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Hi, thanks for the solve and the feedback ! I never expected this puzzle to be my most appreciated puzzle, but yeah I really liked the interactions with the S-cells, they almost feel as though no progress can be made, but yet it can be solved ! I actually wanted to disambiguate the last digits earlier, so as to lessen the difficulty after significant progress has been made, but the puzzle decided otherwise !
And sure, I can try one of your puzzles ! I didn't get much time to solve and set for more than a year now, between high school starting and math olympiads becoming more demanding, so I might be rusty. Is there one puzzle in particular you'd like me to give a go during the summer holidays ?
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Well if you like math, I'd recommend my first puzzle Doomsday Killer Sudoku or a doppelganger Does Phistomefel's Ring Still Apply. If you're wanting a hefty challenge I'd recommend Broiled Doppelganger. Maybe we'll see some 9x9 puzzles from you in the future? You've got some great ideas!
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Thanks ! I don't think I'll likely get back to setting for a (very long) while though, even less with 9x9s, which are significantly harder to set as there's more room for deductions, so more freedom in the clue placement.
I think I'll try your intriguing Phistomefel Ring puzzle, and maybe even the "Scattered Thunderstorm" one, as the sparse grid appeals to me !
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While there are many nice deductions along the way, as a fair warning Scattered Thunderstorms was intended to be pure evil. It is quite grueling for most of the solve, where simply eliminating one of four possibilities from a cell feels like major progress. Having said that, I spent a lot of time going for the hardest puzzle ever and came up with https://sudokupad.app/r8dpw9rm03, but that puzzle is just ridiculous and I believe it cannot be solved without bifurcations on bifurcations.
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OK, thanks for the heads up !
am 12. November 2024, 21:24 Uhr von Yann
Added hyperlinks
am 1. August 2024, 13:57 Uhr von Nebuzaradan
Very fun! The break-in is, in my opinion, extremely well-telegraphed, and gives you exactly as much information as you need and not a drop more. That sets the tone for the entire puzzle -- it's the kind of puzzle you chip away at, very slowly but steadily and consistently, without any steps that really stump you. I enjoyed tremendously!
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Thanks for the solve and the comment ! It makes me happy that people get to enjoy my puzzles ! I mainly built both these puzzles around the break-in, and by trying to keep the grid as "normal" as possible (no 4-cell arrows, no 1-cell arrows in the same box...), but then again, they turned out much better than intended. In any cas, thanks for the solves (it seems you're on a mean mini solving streak) !
am 2. März 2024, 17:13 Uhr von filuta
Finally! The Spaceship felt relatively straightforward after the break-in, but this one, that was something else. Extremely though. Incredible.
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Thank you so much for your solves on all of my puzzles, I really didn't expect them ! The aim for this puzzle was to set a doubler S-cell mean mini no matter the difficulty, without including steps that seemed kind of boring, and I'm really happy with how it turned out ! The spaceship was set before this one, and I wanted to set a smooth but interesting puzzle so yes, it's really easier.
am 3. Oktober 2023, 20:13 Uhr von Lizzy01
Very nice, and definitely 5 stars! It took me almost 3 hours. I'd love to see more from you!
If you like these sorts of mind-bending monsters using things like doublers/S-cells, you might also like to check out this one:
https://logic-masters.de/Raetselportal/Raetsel/zeigen.php?id=000BWX
(also it could use some more solves...) ;)
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Thanks for the solve and the lovely feedback, I'll definitely give your puzzle a try (it seems even weirder than mine) when I have time, maybe I could get it to a rating, but first I would like to finish one (at least) of three puzzles I was solving, I feel I'm on the right track for one...
As for my other puzzles, I actually published my best one first, then the others, but two of those turned out pretty well, and I am working on one with S-cells, doublers and negators !
am 2. Oktober 2023, 18:19 Uhr von Yann
Added difficulty, I don't know why autocorrect didn't register it, thanks to Lizzy01
am 2. Oktober 2023, 08:22 Uhr von wullemuus
Congratulation to your first puzzle. It's really ambitious! The interactions between the arrows are amazing. The use of zeros, doublers and S-cells open a total new variability. I hope that many others will try it. Looking forward to your next!
I could translate the instruction in German if you want ... .
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Thanks for the solve and the nice comment, and that would be so nice of you for the translation !
am 1. Oktober 2023, 20:26 Uhr von Yann
Added skipped lines
am 1. Oktober 2023, 18:25 Uhr von Kafkapharnaum
Oh, there it is! I don't care how "easy" others will maybe find it, but personally I am super proud of having solved that one -- this surely has to be one of the trickiest 6x6's out there, the intricacy it holds is something else -- congrats on setting that aptly titled 'monster'! :D
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Thanks for the solve and the comment, and for the tricks for publishing it ! Weirdly my computer and my phone don't register when I skip a line, do you see the skipped lines ?
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It's <br> for a line break, multiple <br> for skipped lines! :-)
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Thanks !!
