Variant Sudoku 101: Renban Lines
(Published on 11. December 2025, 22:24 by PhoenixAki)
There used to be a hint here because I worried the puzzle was tougher than the previous entries in the series, but after enough feedback saying the hint wasn't necessary, I took it away when updating this post to match the format of my others. If you do need help, the solution video is available on my YouTube channel :)
- Normal sudoku rules apply. Place the digits 1-9 in each row, column, and 3x3 box without repetition.
- Dynamic Fog: The grid is partially covered in grey fog. Placing correct digits will clear the fog, at minimum under that cell and sometimes in other parts of the grid. No guessing is required.
- Renban: Digits placed on purple lines must be a non-repeating set of consecutive digits in any order. For example, a 3-cell line could contain the digits 456, arranged as 456, 564, 465, etc.
To increase accessibility to my puzzles, I post solution videos on on my YouTube channel. If you'd like to solve this in your own video, go ahead! But ideally, let me know here or via Discord (same username) if you do ^.^
Solution code: Box 2's digits in normal reading order (left to right, top to bottom). 9 digits.
Comments
on 5. January 2026, 22:45 by PhoenixAki
Updated post as part of an effort to improve consistency of rule phrasing and post layout across all my puzzles.
on 17. December 2025, 03:15 by byale
nice puzzle! 21:43
on 16. December 2025, 22:23 by philolologue
18:40 for me :) loads of fun, thank you!
on 14. December 2025, 06:39 by ZiiNerD
20:48 for me! I think renbans tend to not have obvious deductions for my brain, but I was able to get the break-in paying attention to the possibilities. Well set and a nice intermediate level puzzle that is approachable for newcomers like me! Thanks for the puzzle, PhoenixAki!
on 13. December 2025, 00:02 by PhoenixAki
I've realized now there's a much easier way of phrasing/seeing the break-in compared to what I was envisioning when I set it, and that's probably why the hint hasn't been necessary for people so far seemingly. Ah well. Crazy how you can take the same deduction and phrase it in different levels of difficulty depending on how you look at it.
on 12. December 2025, 15:32 by Myfyr MJ
Very nice and easy, thank you. Took me 12 minutes.
