Haunted Mansion
(Published on 9. March 2026, 02:39 by Eccentric Panda)
Haunted Mansion
Rules:
- Chaos construction: Divide the grid into 9 orthogonally connected rooms. Place the digits 1-9 once each in every row, column, and room.
- Find a path that travels orthogonally through the haunted mansion and does not revisit cells. Start at the entry (R8, C9), and end at the ghost in the attic (R3, C9). The path may only pass through room walls where there is a door (brown line). Doors are always on walls, never in the middle of a room.
- Digits on ghosts are all different. The digit on a ghost counts how many cells of its room can be seen horizontally and vertically including itself. Walls block vision. The path visits all the ghosts.
- Hot and cold path. The temperature (digits) decreases if you step toward a ghost in the room you’re in and increases if you step away. The same applies if you re-enter a room. A ghost will always have the lowest digit on the path in its room. No need to take temperature readings if you enter a room without a ghost, digits on those paths will be random.
- If you enter a secret passage (hole emoji), you will exit from a different passage with the same digit. Each passage shares exactly one other passage with the same digit.
- Digits on either side of a bat are in a 1:3 ratio.
Sudokupad link: Click Here
Have Fun!
Solution code: Digits in row 1 from left to right.
Comments
on 9. April 2026, 10:04 by LunchEntity
My interpretation of the hot & cold rule was the same as barfurth's at first, but of course that led to a contradiction. I agree it should be rewritten. Perhaps this works?
Hot and cold path. A ghost will always have the lowest temperature (digit) of all the path squares in its room, and on path squares directly connected to the ghost, the temperature decreases as you approach the ghost and increases as you step away. In a room without a ghost, temperature readings are unnecessary (that is, digits on the path will be random).
on 19. March 2026, 05:10 by barfurth
The hot and cold path rule is at least ambiguous, if not borderline misleading.
I read the "including, if you re-enter a room" clause as applying to the entire thermo-path in a region, i.e. if you have digits on the path before reaching the ghost they decrease (and that sequence may be interrupted by leaving and re-entering the room), then after the ghost they increase (and that sequence may also be interrupted by leaving and re-entering.) Alas that didn't yield a solution.
on 19. March 2026, 05:09 by QuiltyAsCharged
Fantastic spooky puzzle! I especially liked the ghost logic. I'm ready for Halloween half a year early :)
on 10. March 2026, 12:23 by 72kchunshuai
What a cool puzzle! Thank you.
