Goblin Cave
(Published on 15. September 2025, 16:00 by Blobz)
The Hobbit Puzzle Pack
IV : Goblin Cave
Image with kind permission from Ted Nasmith
The goblins seized Bilbo and the dwarves and hurried them along. It was deep, deep, dark, such as only goblins that have taken to living in the heart of the mountains can see through. The passages there were crossed and tangled in all directions, but the goblins knew their way...
Normal sudoku rules apply.
Begin by filling in digits for the Runes from the previous puzzle.
Cells are either "wall" cells or "cave" cells. All diamonds and circles are wall cells; all cages are cave cells.
Use two colours to shade the puzzle such that:
- each WALL segment is an orthogonally connected group of cells where at least one cell touches the edge of the grid
- each WALL segment includes exactly ONE diamond, and contains the digits 1 to N (with no repeats), where N is placed in the diamond
- no two DIAMONDS contain the same digit
- digits in CIRCLES match the number of orthogonally adjacent CAVE cells
- digits in CAGES match the number of CAVE cells (including itself) that are seen orthogonally from that position (walls block vision)
- the CAVE is a SINGLE orthogonally connected area
Note that 2x2 areas of all wall, or all cave, ARE allowed.
Have fun, leave a comment if you enjoy the puzzle!
- I : An Unexpected Party
- II : Roast Mutton
- III : Thror's Map
- IV : Goblin Cave
- V : Riddles in the Dark
- VI : Out of the Frying-Pan...
- VII : Beorn
- VIII : Flies and Spiders
- IX : Barrels Out of Bond
- X : Lake-Town
- XI : When the Thrush Knocks...
- XII : Smaug
- XIII : Mithril Coat
- XIV : The Dragon's Wrath
- XV : Barricade
- XVI : Beyond Price
Solution code: Row 2
Comments
on 6. December 2025, 16:55 by Totodex
very interesting puzzle. I was stuck on this one for days, i think I ran into a failstate and had to restart about 10 times. successful run with about 3 resets in it has a time listed of 280 minutes though it was a lot longer than that total. Glad i finally cracked it and figured it out.
on 20. November 2025, 12:57 by Aronana
My Favorite of the bunch so far! What a cutie patootie puzzle. I solved this with my little 'hobbit';)
on 19. November 2025, 16:20 by madlil
Is the middle cell in a cage counted twice in regards to cave?
--
No, there is no double-counting.
~Blobz
on 10. November 2025, 00:18 by NotSoMagnifique
Yin-yangs are not my specialty, even with the 2 by 2 constraint removed - this was suitably testing!
on 28. October 2025, 16:36 by Snookerfan
Excellent! Thank you
on 14. October 2025, 06:53 by therealsillypenguin
So far, this one is my favorite out of the series! Very well set, and thanks for sharing!
on 6. October 2025, 22:19 by muchiquillo
fue bastante desafiante pero nunca se sintió imposible. Muy bien logrado
on 25. September 2025, 00:31 by KelleyCook
It started out well, but I got stuck and found it quite difficult, I finally solved it using a set of nasty chains. Probably missed something obvious.
on 22. September 2025, 19:09 by CHalb
Brilliant puzzle, thanks a lot!
on 21. September 2025, 15:56 by Tuanzi
Note: Cells containing a Rune contain the same number in the previous puzzle
on 16. September 2025, 13:22 by jhsa
@x3y2z1 Cages being cave is said in the rules. 'all cages are cave cells'
on 16. September 2025, 12:28 by x3y2z1
For cages: do walls blocking vision imply that they themselves have to be cave cells?
edit: ah yes, reading comprehension...
on 15. September 2025, 22:14 by pookster
Awesome as usual, Blobz!
