Thinking Outside the Box Fan
(Published on 3. March 2026, 08:29 by PhoenixAki)
This puzzle was originally meant to be one of the Patreon-exclusives for March 2026, but one of my testers said this was their favorite puzzle they've ever solved of mine, so I opted to put this one as a public release in hopes that it gets a similarly good reception from people here :) There was no particular theme I was going for with this, I literally just drew the lines in that shape, noticed how they interact nicely, and put the cages + dots in after to make the solve path flow from there. The title is just because a friend thought the grid looked like a box fan lol.
- Normal sudoku rules apply. Place the digits 1-9 in each row, column, and 3x3 box without repetition.
- Killer Cages: Digits in dotted-line cages must sum to the number in the top left corner of the cage. In this puzzle, these totals are given as strict inequalities. For example, a cage that says "> 35" in its top left would have a sum higher than 35 (and not 35 itself).
- Region Sum Lines: Box borders split blue lines into sections, and the digits on those sections must sum to the same value.
- German Whispers: Adjacent digits on a green line must have a difference of at least 5.
- Consecutive Pairs: Digits separated by a white dot must be consecutive.
To increase accessibility to my puzzles, I include hints in my puzzle posts (see below). I also post solution videos on my Patreon and YouTube channel. Puzzles released prior to February 2026, as well as my snackdoku and variant sudoku 101 series will continue to get public solution videos on YouTube, while others will be Patreon-exclusive.
Hint 1: All of the german whisper lines must have the same polarity pattern due to how the ends touch the region sum lines. The centers of each whisper line can be reduced down to 2 options each, which is critical for the break-in.
Hint 2: Once you know what digits go into the box 5 cage, keep going with classic sudoku reductions to continue. Once you have 3 digits placed in box 4, an X-wing across the middle rows will give you a digit in the > 18 cage.
Hint 3: Where can 6 go in row 5?
Hint 4: The cages in boxes 2, 6, and 8 are able to be worked on shortly after the > 18 cage. Push the classic sudoku deductions as much as you can first as that will help you a ton with sorting out the other cages.
Solution code: Box 3 in normal reading order (left to right, top to bottom), 9 digits.
Comments
today, 03:16 by hamosphere
Very nice. While I didn't require the clues, I really appreciate setters that put them in, thanks.
on 4. March 2026, 14:51 by QUGO
fun puzzle
on 3. March 2026, 11:36 by superkinkel
Very nice and well thought out Sudoku. Im a not sure I've solved other puzzles from you, so it is probably indeed the best one from you I've solved ;-) (P.S.: Looked it up, solved four other of your sudokus and still find it to be the best one).
While I didn't need them (and I'm not sure whether I proceeded along Hint 2, or at least didn't notice I did too much classic sudoku) I also appreciate the hints. While I usually have no problems with two star puzzles, you sometimes get too stuck in the other ones and abandoning them is more frustrating than taking a small hint.
