(Not so) Little Killers
(Published on 15. December 2025, 21:35 by SennyK)
I am happy to present pure little killer puzzle :-)
I hope you will enjoy and I would be really grateful for all the comments and ratings.
Normal sudoku rules apply.
Little killer: A clue outside the grid gives the sum of the digits along the indicated diagonal.
If you liked this puzzle, I recommend trying out my other puzzles: The Erica Series:★☆☆☆☆: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 12, 15, 17, 23, 26, 27
★★☆☆☆: 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 25
★★★☆☆: 9, 19, 21, 22, 28 Shading/Ying-Yang:
★★☆☆☆: Pretty Odd Shaded Area
★★★☆☆: (+5)-Yang, Negative 8 YY
★★★★★: Why-Why? Fog of War:
★☆☆☆☆: Erica 12, Erica 17
★★☆☆☆: It's What You Do in the Dark That Puts You in the Light, Find It All, What the Fog?, Erica 20
★★★☆☆: Broken Flashlight in the Dark Pencil Puzzle/Sudoku Hybrid:
★★☆☆☆: Masyu (Short) Sudoku
★★★☆☆: Tetromino Sudoku
Various Puzzles:
★☆☆☆☆: Blown Fuses in Electrical Installation, Let Me Introduce Myself, French Wrench
★★☆☆☆: Symmetrical Fan, Night Club, Important Hour on the Clock, What Was the Sum Again?, Disgroup Joints, 10-Arrows, Antiking Dutch Skyscrapers
★★★☆☆: Cops & Robbers, Positive Symmetry, Doppelgänger Killer 1-25
★★★★☆: Liars. Liars Everywhere.
Solution code: First (1st) column of the grid from top to bottom.
Comments
yesterday, 23:02 by Reina
The shorter the rules the harder the puzzle, huh. Way harder than 2 stars in my opinion, but very fun nonetheless. Thank you!
on 18. December 2025, 01:38 by PinkNickels
Very tricksies. Well done! THanks for sharing with us
on 17. December 2025, 19:04 by superkinkel
Well, if someone is very much into the "degrees of freedom thing", it may be relatively easy. For everyone else it's a tough bootcamp.
But I had never realized that candidates differing by more than the degree of freedom can be eliminated. Very useful takeaway!
on 16. December 2025, 23:35 by UnknownDjinn
As someone who only recently started doing Variant Sudokus this was a pleasure. Excellent puzzle with a very clean break in and quick to pick up and follow progression. I would rate it 1* for most of the puzzle and 2* towards the end.
on 16. December 2025, 22:56 by VitP
calculus is easy - after you learned it, and spent years studying it.
to get started, you have to COMBINE several diagonals. but that's still easy enough.
there's a tricky section in the middle where you have to reduce multiple degrees of freedom (would a beginner even know what that means ?). actually, it's still pretty easy, if you apply "simple colouring" to the 34 pairs, and then use basic sudoku.
level 2
on 16. December 2025, 15:03 by Steven666v2
I normally really struggle with 2 stars, found this more like a 1 star! Def not a 3 star per other comments! But I found the breakthrough easily and then it just flowed from there.
on 16. December 2025, 10:00 by woody
Nice puzzle. Beautifully constructed. I also rate it 3 stars.
on 16. December 2025, 06:32 by BorisTheSnake
Definitely a 3*, but very enjoyable... a little tricky at times, but fun! :)
on 15. December 2025, 22:56 by sujoyku
Very nice puzzle! To me, it felt a bit trickier than 2 stars, maybe 2.5-3? In any case, thank you for this lovely treat, SennyK!
