Dotted around [Kropki Deconstruction]
(Published on 10. February 2023, 22:41 by Christounet)
I still remember the first time I discovered Jay Dyer's inventive deconstruction rule, which inspired many fun and memorable puzzles afterwards. I started playing around with it a bit, to see how fun it could be to set with that rule. I tried to combine it with "pure" kropki dots, which hasn't been done yet, to the best of my knowledge. This is what I came up with and I'm quite pleased with it, so I decided to share it here!
Thanks to ONeill for the test!
Rules :
- Normal sudoku deconstruction apply : Fill the grid with nine non-overlapping 3x3 square regions, such that each region contains the digits 1-9 once each and no digit repeats in any row or column. Cells outside regions do not contain digits.
- Normal kropki rules apply : white dots separate consecutive digits, black dots separate digits that have a 1:2 ratio. Note : if a dot is on a border with an empty cell on either side, it has no effect on the puzzle.
The puzzle :
Difficulty should be between 3 and 4/5, depending if you are familiar with deconstruction or not. If you want to learn basic knowledge on 11×11 deconstruction, you can check out Zetamath's deconstruction puzzle, but it is some logic you can discover by yourself pretty easily, so it's up to you.
Enjoy ! And consider leaving a comment if you appreciate the puzzle !
You can check out my other puzzles here if you liked this one.
Solution code: Row 6 of the grid, ignoring blank cells
Comments
on 27. November 2023, 23:09 by annaswan
This was great! I had a lot of fun figuring out where all the regions could possibly go. The logic involved in all the kropki dots was really fun to puzzle out, and it remained a theme for the whole solve which I really enjoyed. I was surprised and pleased by how approachable the puzzle was and by how smoothly the solve unfolded.
on 21. September 2023, 12:52 by LehanLehan
This is the best;smooth,tasty logic.I think it's the trait of the wonderful mind and of the greatest setters.
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@LehanLehan : Wow, thank you so much for this wonderful comment and compliments ! I'm so glad you enjoyed this puzzle that much :) Do try the other deconstructions I made, I think you might enjoy some of them.
on 3. May 2023, 04:49 by OldCaptainWZJ
First puzzle in the series and already of high quality! I made a mistake when deducing that specific column, but that actually revealed what the real contradiction is. And don't worry, I don't mean I solved it by bifurcation, I just went back and rebuilt the logic with new intention. Really like that step, but of course the puzzle was amazing all the way through.
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@OldCaptainWZJ : Thanks ! You really are commited to deconstruction puzzles ! I agree it is more fun to try and discover the intended logic rather than use the result of an error when I am solving a puzzle. I find it too frustrating otherwise.
on 29. March 2023, 17:27 by Paquet Voleur
As commented by others, it is a scary-looking puzzle with its generous sprinkling of dots, but some areas could quickly be identified as highly problematic and one can get the solving under way without too much hassle. Some very interesting logic at play at several points. Beautifully set! Thanks!
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@Paquet Voleur : This was indeed meant to look impressive at first glance, but quite approchable after a careful examination. I'm glad you appreciated that one ! Now you're gonna be hooked on deconstruction puzzles :)
on 12. February 2023, 02:53 by heliosfant
Surprisingly not that hard. I usually struggle already with 2star difficulty. Loved the puzzle. Thank you.
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@heliosfant : Thanks, glad it provided more pleasure than struggling to you :)
on 12. February 2023, 01:59 by thrutch
This looked quite intimidating at first, but was very nicely constructed with all of the parts working nicely together. Thanks for setting!
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@thrutch : Thanks, glad you got past the first impression and solved it. The number of available clues does reduce considerably once you get past the first relatively easy deductions.
on 11. February 2023, 21:21 by Niverio
Fantastic puzzle! It's an absolute pleasure to solve!
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@Niverio : Thanks, puzzles are all about pleasure, so I'm glad it provided some to you!
on 11. February 2023, 20:13 by Shotguntemplar
That's a good puzzle.
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@Shotguntemplar : Thanks, glad you liked it !
on 11. February 2023, 16:58 by Agent
Really great puzzle, tricky start but it gets really smooth. Very enjoyable :)
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@Agent : Thanks ! I knew that myriad of dots may feel disorienting ar first, but I was confident that careful examination would get solvers quickly and smoothly on the right track !
on 11. February 2023, 16:53 by Snookerfan
Great fun! Thank you
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@Snookerfan : Thanks, glad you had fun with this puzzle !
on 11. February 2023, 12:47 by Christounet
Updated link description
on 11. February 2023, 12:09 by Florian Wortmann
Superb! I loved that one specific column. btw, there is proper solution check in the CTC-App :-)
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@Florian Wortmann : Hey, thank you for the info, I really thought I failed to put the solution check in CTC. I'll update the link description. And thank you very much for the warm feedback ! I did enjoy very much setting "that" column as well. That's when I knew I had a real puzzle between my hands.
on 11. February 2023, 08:42 by KNT
Extraordinarily smooth! thanks :)
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@KNT : Thanks for the compliment ! Glad you liked it.
on 11. February 2023, 06:54 by ONeill
A pleasure to test, thank you :)
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@ONeill : Thanks for you support and test as always !
on 11. February 2023, 00:11 by Myxo
Very nice and smooth! Solid 3/5 difficulty for me.
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@Myxo : Thanks, glad you liked it. I agree on the difficulty level.
on 10. February 2023, 23:25 by lerroyy
Very nice
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@lerroyy : Thanks !
on 10. February 2023, 23:17 by Christounet
Typo in the rules.
