Lupin's Loop 5 - Countercount
(Eingestellt am 24. Juni 2026, 12:37 Uhr von Rab3aron)
Then Lupin noticed the pattern: the aliens had been several steps ahead. They had split their secrets into fragments and scattered them across Earth, hiding each piece in a different country, inside ordinary places no one would ever suspect.
The first fragment was already in Lupin’s hands. The rest were scattered in secret locations, each protected by strange alien markers and blocked paths. Alone, each fragment was useless. Together, they would reveal what the aliens were truly planning.
There was only one problem: once the first fragment was activated, the others would stay readable for a limited time before sealing forever. To access the data, finding every fragment was not enough. Lupin had to find them in the one correct loop order: a single route through every piece, beginning and ending where the first fragment was found. Only then would the aliens’ full secret unlock.
The countdown had begun.
Normal Sudoku rules apply.
Greater Than: A greater than sign points to the smaller number.
Airplane Route: Draw a single route for the airplane that travels orthogonally from cell to cell, never branching, crossing, or overlapping, and eventually closes into a loop. The route starts at the airplane, passes through every country, and returns to its starting point.
Turbulence: Thick black borders represent heavy turbulence that the airplane cannot cross.
Countercount: If a digit N appears on the route, then the digit N appears exactly N times in cells not on the route.
Countries: If two countries are directly connected by the route, their digits differ by the length of the segment connecting them.
Airplane: If a country and the airplane are directly connected by the route, the digit in the airplane equals the length of the segment connecting them.
Note: Segment lengths include both endpoints. Two objects are directly connected by the route if no other object lies between them along the route.
Lösungscode: Digits not on the loop in Row 2.
Kommentare
am 5. Juli 2026, 01:03 Uhr von barfurth
Loved this!
The break-in required a few tricky steps but nothing too far out. And after that it flowed nicely with a couple of phases that brought different aspects of the ruleset to the forefront.
am 2. Juli 2026, 02:46 Uhr von kisukeA
Honestly, this is the only hand-wavy solution I came up with throughout this whole series. Even so, I still consider this puzzle (and all the rest) to be amazing, which is why I'm giving it 5 stars. Hopefully, Simon will feature this puzzle on his channel, and I can learn a better way.
am 26. Juni 2026, 13:44 Uhr von BG03
I am amazed that this series is not getting more solves given how popular the rat runs are!
My only criticism is that there is no french flag in this puzzle - it was the first thing I looked for and I was disappointed :D
am 25. Juni 2026, 19:34 Uhr von madhupt
An excellent puzzle! After the extremely cool break-in it was very very smooth with a very logical solve path. At times, it felt that I’ve made a mistake but the rule set just made everything fall into place. Thanks a lot for sharing this masterpiece!
I think they will all make it to the knockout stage barring maybe one or two!!!
am 25. Juni 2026, 07:38 Uhr von SparkNights
if 2 countries are orthogonally connected and directly linked with straight route, is its length counted as 1 or 2?
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Hey, it's 2, the length of a segment is the number of cells on it.
am 25. Juni 2026, 02:10 Uhr von Douglass
What a puzzle! And if the brilliant setting wasn't enough, the mere presence of flags takes it to another level.
am 24. Juni 2026, 21:40 Uhr von waxy
I love these puzzles, amazing solve
am 24. Juni 2026, 19:44 Uhr von harry_anthony
Amazing!
am 24. Juni 2026, 19:38 Uhr von 6yler
The puzzles are spectacular as always but I’m also loving the backstory too
am 24. Juni 2026, 16:39 Uhr von Vionix
Great puzzle, very nice break in!
am 24. Juni 2026, 15:29 Uhr von Fool on Hill
Excellent puzzle. I had to think hard about this to find a magnificent break-in.
am 24. Juni 2026, 13:36 Uhr von Vikkz
Incredible puzzle!
