Silent Sweeper
(Published on 22. October 2025, 14:54 by gdc)
Inspired by SONAR. This puzzle was originally set for sudoku adventure, but got rejected because the difficlty is too high. Accoing to testers (thanks everyone), it should be a 1-1.5 star. Hope you enjoy!
Mein Sweeper: A digit in a circle counts the number of the (up to 8) surrounding digits that differ by 3 or more from it. For example: If r2c3 is 2, then exactly two of the eight cells surrounding it contain a 5 or 6.
Solution code: Row 3 left to right (6 digits)
Comments
on 10. November 2025, 04:17 by Aronana
Very cute. Hope not to step on any bombs. I have a family..
on 5. November 2025, 08:29 by JVA
Very nice puzzle, perhaps a high 1*, but not 2
on 23. October 2025, 19:38 by googuee
Enjoyed solving this puzzle!
on 23. October 2025, 18:32 by Winterbeard
I think it’s a solid 1 star, but for those with a bit of experience in variant sudokus.
It could be nice to see a bit of nuance in the star rating. Eg I’m a solid 1 star player, who has completed one or two 2 star, but tend to stay away from them. But if I could see it was a 2.1 star, I’d be tempted and maybe push my level a bit.
on 23. October 2025, 14:14 by AshBrown
Nice puzzle. 2 stars for me Clive
on 23. October 2025, 14:13 by Winterbeard
I think it’s a solid 1 star, but for those with a bit of experience in variant sudokus.
It could be nice to see a bit of nuance in the star rating. Eg I’m a solid 1 star player, who has completed one or two 2 star, but tend to stay away from them. But if I could see it was a 2.1 star, rather than a 2.8star, I’d be tempted and maybe push my level a bit.
on 23. October 2025, 09:57 by jorningekr
Very nice. Clear 2 star 6x6 for me
on 23. October 2025, 09:46 by abw
Great puzzle! I started by writing out all the possibilities for mined numbers, e.g. 1 must be surrounded by one of 4, 5 or 6. 2 must have two of 5 or 6 and so on. That was a great help in understanding the constraint. After that it was a series of logical steps to reach the solution. Not too hard, but not trivial either. Very enjoyable for a relatively inexperienced solver like myself.
on 22. October 2025, 18:47 by Snookerfan
Very nice! Understanding the implications of the ruleset is harder than 1 star in my opinion, but after that it is a quick and smooth solve. 2 stars for me. Thank you
on 22. October 2025, 18:46 by Zibl
Lovely puzzle! Thank you!
on 22. October 2025, 17:59 by damo_89
@MattYDdraig as there is nothing new under the sun, andrewsarchus earlier set a puzzle with this ruleset: https://logic-masters.de/Raetselportal/Raetsel/zeigen.php?id=000IT0
on 22. October 2025, 17:01 by SamuPiano
Great puzzle, thank you!
on 22. October 2025, 16:57 by gdc
@MattYDdraig: Thanks! The puzzle I linked at the very top (P60) is a 9x9 with the same rules by @damo_89.
on 22. October 2025, 16:46 by sujoyku
Nice one! Thank you, gdc!
on 22. October 2025, 16:26 by ChinStrap
Elegant, smooth, and still surprising at the same time.
on 22. October 2025, 16:18 by MattYDdraig
Very elegant simple snack with excellent use of the power of the constraint. Would be interesting to see how it scales.
on 22. October 2025, 15:51 by damo_89
I love the visuals! Really lovely and smooth.
on 22. October 2025, 15:35 by Nebuzaradan
Great introductory puzzle to an unfamiliar constraint! Extremely smooth after discovering the constraint's implications. No need for massive bifurcation or deep study.
on 22. October 2025, 15:29 by VitP
shouldn't take too long to figure out that the constraint is very weak. thus you have 2 choices:
1) massive bifurcation
2) deep study to try to find patterns, which may or may not exist.
3) probably both
so, definitely NOT level 1
