The Victoria Sandwich Is A Lie
(Published on 8. June 2022, 17:50 by fjam)
- Normal Sudoku rules apply.
- Clues outside the grid give the sum of digits sandwiched between a 1 and 9, starting from the first 1 or 9 in the respective row/column. However, these clues are lying and must be increased by X, where X is the digit nearest to the clue in the respective row/column.
- The oval shapes are portals. Each portal has a partner, such that there are four pairs of portals which must be deduced. Pairs of portals contain identical digits.
- When a row/column sandwich sum hits a portal, it travels through it and continues towards the 1 or 9 in the new row/column.
- Digits in portals do not count towards sandwich sums and cannot be 1 or 9.
Sum continues travelling right towards 9 (started with 1).
Sum U-turns and travels right towards 9 (started with 1).
Sum starts after portal, so portal is ignored.
Sum includes extra 1 as it ends at the 9.
As an extra clarification note for solvers, do not think of portals as having directional properties in this puzzle. For example, while a column sandwich continues as a column sandwich after a portal, whether it travels up or down is determined only by where the closing sandwich 'crust' digit is. As such, it is possible for two sandwich sums, one starting from 1 and one from 9, to enter the same portal from opposite directions, but then travel in the same direction on exiting if the 1 and 9 in the new row/column are on the same side of the destination portal.
The idea for a puzzle themed around the game Portal had been in mind for a while, but Playmaker6174's Portal Sum - Little Killer gave extra impetus to put this together. The webpage for that puzzle can be found here.
Solution code: Row 1, Row 3
Comments
on 8. February 2023, 02:28 by Myxo
Amazing and insanely difficult puzzle.
on 27. November 2022, 14:48 by Andrewsarchus
Wonderfully Evil!
on 24. June 2022, 00:52 by Xenonetix
Very impressive setting for this puzzle, but insane solve. Always remember to add the digits to those clues, because that kept tripping me up!
on 15. June 2022, 22:43 by Playmaker6174
Absolutely brutal and insane, one needs to stay awake mostly all the time to keep track with what's going on, and I slowly but surely turned into a completely terrible solver and an angry person as well in the later half. Nevertheless, I'm glad that the portal idea inspired you to make such a wonderful puzzle :)
on 10. June 2022, 23:55 by PrimeWeasel
I did it!. That was exquisite and also pretty darn hard :) I was sure I had broken it, but I was still convinced that my logic was sound, and I made it through eventually. Lovely stuff
on 9. June 2022, 01:08 by Leonard Hal
This puzzle is so wonderful that I was deeply involved in it.
Thank you!
