RAT RUN 28: Hypothesis
(Published on 4. March 2026, 02:08 by marty_sears)
- Normal sudoku rules apply.
- AIM OF EXPERIMENT: Finkz and Phinx must both reach different cupcakes by finding a path through the maze. The paths must not visit any cell more than once, share cells, cross themselves or each other, or pass through any thick maze walls.
- As well as moving orthogonally, they may move diagonally if there's a 2x2 space in which to do so, but may never pass diagonally through a round wall-spot on the corner of a cell.
- TELEPORTS: Entering a teleport will cause a rat to be instantly transported to the matching coloured teleport. Matching teleports always have identical digits, but teleports that don't match always have different digits.
- ONE-WAY DOORS: A purple arrow may only be passed through in the direction the arrow is pointing. An arrow always points to the smaller of the two digits it sits between.
- GRAPES: A green grape sits between two digits with a difference of at least 5.
- TEST CONSTRAINT: In this experiment, Finkz may only visit even digits, and Phinx may only visit odd digits. You must determine which rat is which.
Solution code: Digits visited by Finkz or Phinx in column 1, reading downwards
Comments
on 6. March 2026, 14:55 by Clementi
One of the things on my bucket list is to complete a Rat Run puzzle without having to restart halfway through because I forgot diagonal moves are allowed
on 5. March 2026, 19:45 by wuc
Brilliant. Great construction. I love the way the path reveal in the end.
on 5. March 2026, 17:22 by luna_vale
Amazing! I really liked how everything flowed smoothly
on 5. March 2026, 10:20 by mscha
Oof! I suppose this *is* a bit easier than the last few runs, but somehow it took me forever to find the right paths.
Beautiful puzzle though.
on 4. March 2026, 23:55 by davidz32z
Now that's quite the path! So much fun I loved the moments where the paths got so close I was sure I had broken it, but then a teleport saves the day :)
on 4. March 2026, 23:10 by monsen
Loved it. Lovely how the constraint and the other path forced some very nice paths in this one. Had so much fun solving it.
Only downer is the wait for the next one. But, with this in the box, I see Simon has just posted a video, so let me see how he got on with it.
on 4. March 2026, 20:59 by Nairurian
Very nice puzzle and a nice change of pace from last week’s more difficult one (although I had to take a break from this one after first starting it just when it was posted, since my brain at 2 am completely missed the break in).
on 4. March 2026, 20:33 by dzamie
I really enjoyed this one. Pretty clear to tell where to begin, and even quick to distinguish which rat is which, but there was a lot of really interesting logic to go through.
And wow, Finkz and Phinx covered a *lot* of ground in this one. They must be tired.
on 4. March 2026, 19:05 by LunchEntity
Charming as usual! I suppose one might describe it as being on the easier side of the difficulty scale ... as long as one doesn't make multiple incorrect assumptions while drawing the less obviously constrained parts of the path (ask me how I know).
on 4. March 2026, 18:39 by little_turd
Super smooth and fun to solve
on 4. March 2026, 17:38 by Puzzlefan
Another beauty of a puzzle! I know by now that both rats will always take the most incredible route and again, they didn't disappoint. I loved this puzzle, would rate it 2/2.5 stars for difficulty, but maybe that's because I'm used to all of these shenanigans ???? Love the teleports too!
on 4. March 2026, 15:53 by blackjackfitz
Huzzah!
on 4. March 2026, 15:41 by GeorgeTheToad2
Took a while to work out which rat was which, but then it flowed beautifully until I hit a small roadblock which took more thinking. Got there in under an hour so pleased with yet another fantastically constructed puzzle. Thanks Marty.
on 4. March 2026, 14:59 by DonQuichopp
I loved this one a lot. For me it was very easy to spot the path and the deductions. I usually struggle with 3*+ puzzles, this one I got through in less than 2 hours (which is fast for me ;-) )
I dread the Wednesday morning, when there's no new Finkz and Phinks puzzle ????
on 4. March 2026, 14:22 by AshBrown
First one this series ive done in one sitting. Enjoyed it thanks
on 4. March 2026, 13:24 by Franjo
While solving this one every few minutes I shouted at me: „No! That’s impossible! … But what if … oh, dear!“ Luckily nobody listened to me. Thank you very much for creating and sharing another incredible pair of paths.
on 4. March 2026, 12:35 by Rab3aron
Very beautiful puzzle! Definitely easier than last week's puzzle. Already waiting for the next one :)
on 4. March 2026, 11:49 by kagiso
Another brilliancy... I hope this series never ends XD
on 4. March 2026, 11:02 by QUGO
This was beautiful!
on 4. March 2026, 10:40 by Christounet
Stellar storytelling, with new elements explaining some key events of the past, and a thickening plot around the SRT concept and what Elliot intends to do with it...
Oh, and the puzzle is nice too :)
on 4. March 2026, 10:16 by Klausku
I love this puzzle. Brilliant setting. Not too easy, not too difficult. And it has a wonderful flow. Thanks Marty. I hope this season continues for a few more episodes.
on 4. March 2026, 08:37 by etoler
This one is definitely easier than some other recent entries, but it's no less beautiful for it. Thanks for yet another stellar puzzle!
on 4. March 2026, 08:14 by Guvenistan
For those wondering where the rats and pastries are: you need to toggle "Disable Emoji Replacement" to "Off".
on 4. March 2026, 03:38 by antiknight
Cool puzzle. I think this was the easiest one of the phase.
on 4. March 2026, 03:32 by Calvinball
Seriously lovely puzzle. Although the morbid side in me is left wondering how many of Finkz and Phinx's predecessors paid the ultimate price to perfect this teleport technology.
on 4. March 2026, 02:16 by ViKingPrime
I love a good runned-rat puzzle but I especially love when they involve teleporter shenanigans.
