Counting Constraints
(Published on 22. July 2025, 16:25 by etoler)
Normal Sudoku rules apply.
Dynamic fog: The grid is partially covered in fog. Correctly placing digits may clear fog somewhere in the puzzle. Correct digits do not necessarily clear fog from their own cells.
Counting constraints: A digit on a constraint indicates the total number of times that digit appears on any of the constraints below. No cell contains more than one constraint.
German whispers: Adjacent digits along a green line must have a difference of at least 5.
Dutch whispers: Adjacent digits along an orange line must have a difference of at least 4.
Nabner lines: No two digits on a yellow line may be the same or consecutive.
Renban lines: Pink lines are filled with a consecutive set of non-repeating digits.
Counting circles: A digit in a black-outlined counting circle indicates the number of times that digit appears in a counting circle.
Odd circles: A digit in a gray circle must be odd.
Kropki: Digits separated by a black dot have a ratio of 1:2 (i.e. one is double the other).
Solution code: Row 4, left to right
Comments
on 24. July 2025, 19:01 by Exigus
That was very cool. Loved it, but at the same time a bit scary being able placing so many digits that don't clear any fog. Thanks!
on 24. July 2025, 18:14 by Franjo
Gorgeous! To find the break-in wasn’t easy at all. Needed one hour, but then it was a nice trip along the path. Thank you very much for creating and sharing this beauty.
on 23. July 2025, 03:39 by Calvinball
That was fun! A lot to unpack at first, but when you start to break it down it get's smoother and smoother.
on 22. July 2025, 22:09 by sujoyku
Thank you for your clarification, Erin!
on 22. July 2025, 20:59 by etoler
Rules clarification
on 22. July 2025, 20:45 by GorgeousNicko
Tough but lovely!
on 22. July 2025, 18:35 by sujoyku
Thank you for this nice puzzle, etoler! It was great fun to figure out the counting. I had one slight problem/insecurity when starting out: I was unsure if all the constraints were counting together or if each constraint counted on their own (a 6 on a GW meant there would be exactly six 6s on GW lines). I don't know if I am the only one here, but if not, it might be worth emphasizing in the rules that ALL constraints count together. Thanks again for setting and sharing this treat!
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Glad you enjoyed it! One person got caught on this in testing but said they worked it out pretty quickly, so I left it alone for brevity. Without getting spoiler-y, you could prove that a per-constraint version wouldn't work based on the starting grid, but since you're the second person to bring it up, I decided to go ahead and tweak the rules. Let me know if you think this works or if I can adjust it some other way!
-Erin
on 22. July 2025, 18:23 by 9Rookienumbers
Wonderful setting, thank you!
on 22. July 2025, 17:05 by rameshsrivats
Lovely puzzle.
