Losing Your Marbles
(Published on 20. January 2024, 00:10 by ThePedallingPianist)
CHAOS CONSTRUCTION:
• Divide the grid into orthogonally connected 5-cell regions;
• Place a digit from 1-5 in each cell so that digits do not repeat in a row, column or region;
• 'Marbles' join cells that share a region, and no two marbles share a region.
MARBLE RUN:
• Draw a 'Marble Run' from any cell in the top row to a 3 in a corner;
• The line is formed entirely of L-shaped line segments: a downwards movement (to gain speed) and then a horizontal movement of the same distance;
• Adjacent cells on the Marble Run are in different regions.
???:
• Use the information provided to discover a secret code and enter it at the top of the grid to reveal the final rule.
Solution code: Column 1 (furthest left), top to bottom
Comments
on 13. October 2025, 00:53 by ThePedallingPianist
New versions for PC and mobile, and major update to the puzzle presentation
on 5. February 2024, 02:19 by ViKingPrime
I learned more about pentominoes today than I ever thought possible.
on 30. January 2024, 00:17 by marty_sears
This was amazing! So happy I found the cryptic step on my own... I benefitted from knowing Stu quite well now, and also because it is exactly the sort of thing I'd do!
The moment you get it is such a lovely moment.
The fact that all 4 steps of this puzzle (finding the path, finding the regions, finding the cryptic clue, and then entering the digits) fit so well together is miraculous. And each step is also fun and challenging in its own right.
This is a true one of a kind puzzle, it made my day!
on 26. January 2024, 18:29 by RubberMittens
Very cool puzzle. I got as far as the cryptic step and then everything came to a stop, as I couldn't figure it out. The cryptic step is quite awesome.
on 22. January 2024, 05:59 by Knickolas
This had a lot more interesting steps than I thought you could pack into a 5x5! Very cute and good fun :)
on 21. January 2024, 19:31 by ThePedallingPianist
Solution guide added
on 20. January 2024, 05:24 by RJBlarmo
Nice puzzle idea :)
