„Mole Sneaker“
Cloud-like dirtpiles have appeared everywhere over night and sparked Nala's curiosity. She catches a scent and as she starts to follow it something moves a bit further away. Constantly her attention shifts to another of these piles! Will she find more than dirt upon closer inspection?
Normal 9x9 Sudoku rules apply: Place the digits 1-9 in every row, column and box exactly once each.
Dynamic fog: The grid is partially covered in fog. Placing correct digits might clear some fog from its surrounding cells, possibly revealing more clues. Additionally Nala will sometimes be attracted to sudden noises that draw her attention. Extra fog might reveal unexpectedly when she does.
Guide Nala around the molehills by drawing an orthogonally connected path that starts in R6C2. The end point is somewhere in the bottom half of the grid and the exact location has to be determined by the solver. The path is not allowed to touch itself orthogonally.
Nala has to be extra quiet because she expects whatever she sensed to hide if she approaches too quickly or makes too much noise! Therefore the path is a German whisper line: digits along the path differ by at least 5.
Molehills (cloud-like piles of dirt according to Nala) act as sweeper cells and the digit on a molehill counts how many of its surrounding 8 cells are on the path. The molehill itself cannot be on the path.
All drawings aside from molehills are simply cosmetic.
Good luck on your hunt!
Solution code: Digits from column 1 (top to bottom):
on 21. January 2026, 20:50 by Geb
I'm happy to see you posting these again. Every puzzle you set has so much character and happiness to it.
on 19. January 2026, 18:40 by filz
Nala is back!!!
Hope your studies are going well, Sandra!
Sandra here! Yessss Nala is back :)
Aside from procrastinating the master thesis, everything else is finished! I missed setting puzzles and sharing Nala‘s Adventures. It’s the perfect distraction..
on 19. January 2026, 07:34 by wuc
If you ever look for a benchmark for a smooth puzzle 2* as smooth as it can be - this is a perfect example. Great setting thx.
on 17. January 2026, 21:58 by silent_rob
Thanks very much for such a lovely puzzle; I really enjoyed it!
on 17. January 2026, 11:20 by Kimberly
Absolutely beautiful. Thank you.
on 17. January 2026, 09:20 by davidz32z
Lovely stuff! Really got stuck for a minute at the end thinking I needed to make it to the revealed art even though the rules specifically say all other art is cosmetic haha. Also loved the cheeky corner fog reveal near the end!
on 16. January 2026, 22:08 by sujoyku
Thank you for this fun adventure, SandraNala!
on 16. January 2026, 21:47 by DrownsInWater
This was so much fun! Well done, very cute and took some thought but never took me too long to find the next step. Great puzzle!
on 16. January 2026, 18:20 by Fra314
Lovely puzzle, smooth yet elegant with so many cool spots and interactions. (I especially love all the cute drawings). Excellent!
| Difficulty: | ![]() |
| Rating: | 96 % |
| Solved: | 140 times |
| Observed: | 0 times |
| ID: | 000R15 |