Shuffledoku
(Published on 31. October 2025, 08:00 by Kaktuslav)
Rules: This grid used to be a standard sudoku grid with rows, columns, and 3×3 boxes numbered 1–9: rows from top to bottom, columns from left to right, and boxes in normal reading order (e.g., box 7 is formed by rows 7–9 and columns 1–3).
The grid has been shuffled: the rows and columns have been reordered (so boxes may now consist of multiple disconnected pieces).
Sudoku: Place the digits 1–9 exactly once in each row, column, and box.
Friendly cells: A cell with a gray square shows its box number. A cell with a tall rectangle shows its original column number (before shuffling). A cell with a wide rectangle shows its original row number (before shuffling).
Region sum lines: Box borders (i.e., points between adjacent cells belonging to different boxes) divide each line into segments. Along a single line, all segments must have the same sum (which can differ between lines).
Dynamic fog of war: The grid is partially covered in fog. Placing correct digits will reveal their own cells and may also clear fog elsewhere in the grid. No guessing is required.
Example:
Solution code: Negative diagonal of the UNSHUFFLED grid (i.e. R1C1, R2C2, ..., R9C9 --- nine digits, no spaces).
Comments
on 28. November 2025, 09:21 by koXx
Great idea, amazing and, at least for me, brain twisting start! As mentioned by others, the end can unfortunately not quite keep up with the complexity of the start. Nonetheless a great puzzle that was worth every minute of solving!
on 27. November 2025, 01:59 by QuiltyAsCharged
This was fantastic! I've never solved anything quite like it. The opening logic is especially cool.
I was stumped for a while until I properly understood what it means that "the rows and columns have been reordered". It's not the same as just saying everything is scrambled. Studying the example really helped.
on 31. October 2025, 14:27 by kublai
Great puzzle! Tough to get started, but flowed nicely from there.
