James Sinclair Tribute/Hommage
(Published on 1. December 2024, 22:57 by Ryx)
Normal Sudoku rules apply. Additionally:
Digits in a cage sum to the number in the corner of the cages. Digits cannot repeat within a cage
Numbers outside the grid give the total of the digits between 1 and 9 in that row or column.
I got the idea for this puzzle from two things: The November CTC Discord server monthly puzzle prompt (borrowed ideas) and a recent James Sinclair puzzle, that I saw Simon solving on the CTC YouTube channel.
Solve on f-puzzles or CTC
Solution code: Digits from row 8
Comments
on 27. September 2025, 18:41 by eap314
Although the break-in was obvious (i think), the amount of adjusting pencil marks to get the first digit definitely makes this a 2 star. It's very back and forth.
@eap314 - Thanks for the feedback. But, I have no control over the ratings, once it gets promoted from unrated to rated. It's just taking the average of what folks put when they rate the puzzle.
on 24. December 2024, 00:12 by Blackophelia
That was a lovely puzzle and flowed well!
@ Blackophelia - I am glad you enjoyed it and thank you letting me know.
on 4. December 2024, 19:10 by jwsinclair
Wow, honored and humbled. Really nice puzzle :)
@ jwsinclair - You are most welcome. And thank you for all your excellent puzzles ... and of course, the inspiration for this one.
on 2. December 2024, 21:11 by Ryx
Changed solution to just 9 digits and set difficulty to 2, since it seems like it is really a "more than one star" difficulty, more like 1.5.
on 2. December 2024, 12:14 by Visumation
I agree with your 1-star rating. Maybe 1.5 for the break-in. But it is a really nice puzzle. Thanks for sharing.
@ Visumation - Yes, 1.5 stars seems right, since this one's rating keeps bouncing between 1 and 2 stars. And thank you for the praise. The beginning was pretty easy to set, the middle a bit more challenging, then I was stuck on the ending for a while. I am really happy with the end result.
on 2. December 2024, 08:25 by Montikulum
Gorgeous construction! Flowed like silk. Only suggestion: One row/column for the solution code might be quite enough?
@ Montikulum - Thank you for the kind words and advice. As someone else noted, they would like a 9 digit solution. It's funny, in 4 years of setting puzzles, this was the first time I got that feedback ... and twice :-) I will go ahead and change that.
@Ryx I normally tend to avoid writing it every time - it's simply that as a regular solver it tends to get a bit more tedious and in the end the number of solution digits does not change anything except making the process a bit quicker for both setter and solver. Thank you for reacting to that!
on 2. December 2024, 08:04 by Squiz
Definitely not a 1* puzzle, more like a 2/2.5.
Recommend having less digits on the solution string if possible for next time.
Great puzzle, thanks for creating :)
@ Squiz - Thank you for the kind words and advice. This puzzle seems to be bouncing between 1 and 2 stars. Funny, I've been setting puzzles for 4 years now, but this is the first time anyone has mentioned the two column answer (you and one other). Is that a new trend, just using 9 digits? I will go ahead and edit the solution for this one.
on 2. December 2024, 01:58 by askaksaksask
Fun!
@ askaksaksask - I am glad you enjoyed it. I really struggled with setting it (in regards to the ending) for a while, but it did finally come together.
on 2. December 2024, 01:23 by RussKozerski
Beautiful puzzle. Possibly the most challenging solve I've ever completed. I would never rate this a 1-star for difficulty. But definitely enjoyable. Thank you.
@ RussKozerski - Thank you and thanks for the input. I really felt like it was 1 star, but I guess that is because I knew the break in. I wasn't sure how apparent it would be, but the tribe has spoken - 2 stars it is.
on 2. December 2024, 00:20 by nunc
Really nice interactions. Thanks for sharing!
@ nunc - Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it.
