Counterproductive
(Published on 24. June 2025, 10:47 by marty_sears)
Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply. A cage's product (the result of multiplying its digits together) exactly equals the number of cages with that product. Note: if a cage has only one digit, that digit is considered to be the cage's product.
Solution code: Column 5 reading downwards
Comments
on 16. August 2025, 23:18 by MikeMeech
Very cool concept from one of my favourite constructors!
on 4. August 2025, 18:32 by Klausku
Great puzzle! Very hard for me but very satisfying. For a long time I was not sure, that my approach was correct. But everything came together nicely in the end. Thanks Marty!
on 4. July 2025, 10:37 by novato
That was a really, really, really, really good puzzle. Took me 1h10m but felt like just 10 minutes (that's a lie it felt like forever). Thank you.
on 29. June 2025, 17:38 by Qodec
Brilliant!
on 29. June 2025, 16:58 by sujoyku
What a fantastic puzzle! It took a lot of me to appreciate all that could be used and I enjoyed every second of it. Your setting never ceases to amaze, Marty! Thank you for this wonderful and fun construction!
on 29. June 2025, 15:58 by mscha
Pfew! Finally, after trying and giving up for days, I managed to figure it out. Not with any big break, just lots of small things about allowed products and such.
Now off to Simon's video to see if there is a more straightforward break-in.
on 28. June 2025, 11:11 by Snue
So lovely :)
Great beginning, middle and end :)
Thanks for the puzzle ^^
on 25. June 2025, 19:50 by eladv
This was really awesome. For me it was quite hard, maybe 4.5*. (I likely overlooked some very elegant solve paths.)
on 25. June 2025, 19:36 by npinguy
I liked this one a lot! I think I went on the solve path Marty intended, and it didn't really need much math. A couple of the possible constraints revealed themselves, and then i could do passes through the puzzle one digit at a time. There were a lot of beautiful a-ha moments!
on 25. June 2025, 18:50 by Norkas
Exellent. This is just what I keep returning to Marty's puzzles for whenever I spot them.
on 25. June 2025, 18:43 by jakestilesowen
Excellent puzzle, great title, smooth solve path. Thanks Marty!
on 25. June 2025, 08:24 by antiknight
Great puzzle with a well-executed idea and smooth, logical flow. I really enjoyed the break-in as well!
on 25. June 2025, 03:25 by Douglass
Top top puzzle!
on 25. June 2025, 01:06 by OrestisLomis
This felt more like a brainteaser rather than a sudoku. In sudoku it often (especially with your magical setting) feels like the puzzle is underconstrained so you slowly chip away until you can deduce a unique solution. In this case the puzzle felt overconstrained. I realised quite quickly what the solution should look like, but I could not make the digits fall in place for a long time. Once I finally did though the puzzle was oh so smooth. Thanks for the lovely setting!
on 24. June 2025, 23:16 by Prof.Dori
Great puzzle, and interesting variation on counting circles.
on 24. June 2025, 20:40 by henter
What a marvellous puzzle. Got stuck in a mental cul-de-sac for a bit but everything fell into place beautifully.
on 24. June 2025, 19:46 by QuiltyAsCharged
A simple idea, perfectly expressed
on 24. June 2025, 17:39 by arctan
absolutely lovely, a great series of little deductions to narrow things down and understand the puzzle just a bit more until everything clicks into place and there's numbers agogo
on 24. June 2025, 17:00 by richcard
It's a lot of fun to see a seemingly wide open field of possibilities slowly whittled away to leave just one set.
on 24. June 2025, 16:32 by MonsieurTRISTE
I really enjoyed it. Thank you. :)
on 24. June 2025, 14:04 by Franjo
Interesting twist of your Counting Circles presented in perfect setting. So much fun! Thank you very much for creating and sharing this beauty.
on 24. June 2025, 13:05 by vitaminz
Feels like after the first few deductions that it’s just a matter of finding the right orientation, but then this puzzle has a few more great surprises in the middle! Lovely execution on this idea.
on 24. June 2025, 12:56 by bboom
Very cool puzzle, quite easy to get lost a bit in chains of reasoning that aren't the way forward, but eventually there is always a reasonable step forward to be found.
on 24. June 2025, 12:50 by sorryimLate
What a lovely solve path! Thank you!
