SLIDE-OKU #1 - Penguindrome
(Published on 17. July 2026, 15:49 by Jekyll)
This is an updated version of a previous sudoku aimed at a smoother and more logical solve path and ending. My apologies for posting multiple times, i hope you have fun with this one.
Chapter 1
You're awakened in the middle of the night by a deep growl from your stomach, your mind fixed on one single thought: food. You drag yourself out of bed, slide your feet one after the other across the cold floor until you reach the kitchen and open the fridge door. You lean in, your eyes assaulted by the light and the cold air, searching for something, anything, that could satisfy this unusual hunger. Suddenly, the cold intensifies; your body stiffens, the light grows brighter and brighter, gravity lets go and for a moment there’s nothing but white.
When your vision returns, you're no longer in your kitchen. You're lying on the icy floor of a cave, surrounded by the sound of dripping water echoing off the cold, damp stones around you. You try to get up, but your hands have been replaced by flippers, and every awkward move only manages to propel you a few inches, sliding on a feathered belly.
Your eyes fall on your reflection in the ice, confirming your suspicions.
Somehow, reaching for a midnight snack turned you into a penguin.
Confusion has no time to settle before hunger comes roaring back, sharper, wilder, primal. Somewhere in this cave, you can feel it, a precious meal awaits, and you're already racing after it.
Click on the puzzle to solve on SudokuPad!
RULES:
Normal 9x9 sudoku rules apply.
ICE SLIDING: Draw a path from the penguin to the shrimp. The ground is covered in turquoise slippery ice. When the penguin starts sliding in a direction it can not stop until it hits an obstacle (a wall or a rock) and stops in the preceding cell. The path can then turn in any available orthogonal direction and continue until the next obstacle. The path can cross itself but not overlap. See example below.
COINS: All coins that are collected along the penguin's path are BLACK KROPKI dots (digits separated by the dot have a 2:1 ratio). All coins that are not on the penguin's path are WHITE KROPKI dots (digits separated by the dot are consecutive). Not all possible coins are shown.
There are multiple paths to the shrimp. In this puzzle, find the only penguin's path that is a valid PALINDROME LINE (digits along the line read the same in both directions).
EXAMPLE:
ALL PUZZLES IN THIS SERIES:
Solution code: Rocks, top to bottom
Last changed on on 20. August 2026, 19:37
Solved by rifflter, Wetuts, Kattorzeh, SKORP17, Mondo, sehringdipity, ly_ra17, mew_rocks, mscha, ralfdb, HonkIfYouLoveBeer, SSG, marty_sears, tecu, emoney1374, Vazzo, fryguy1013, DarkPaladin, QuiltyAsCharged, ... sullyross, Khatru, bovine_buddha , BtterSweet, 729, asynchronous, redfoot, OGRussHood, sanchous, Lakritze, millie, pitwiki, VolpeRosso, MoriG, Uhu, zeniko, Swiddow, Illuminated, amaterasu, paranoid
Comments
on 4. August 2026, 02:52 by Atticus837
Great puzzle! Looking forward to more of these.
I agree with Otto for the name
on 4. August 2026, 02:48 by sullyross
Pip
on 3. August 2026, 14:09 by xsansara
Bob
on 1. August 2026, 00:34 by PitSoft
Fantastic puzzle! Voting for Bob, although a bit short.
on 30. July 2026, 20:20 by PatternSpren
Lovely puzzle and such fun concept - a penguin sliding on the ice for the path. *chefs kiss*
Looking forward to this series already. Keep the good work up, mate.
Last changed on 30. July 2026, 14:32on 30. July 2026, 14:28 by josebastian8
Lovely puzzle! Hope you make lot more of these. As for the name, I like how "Pinip" sounds (as /pee:-/neep:) :D
on 30. July 2026, 13:16 by MasterVesuvius
Very cool puzzle, definitely threw me for a loop multiple times. Have you considered the name Sos since they're lost?
on 30. July 2026, 12:52 by sandini
Great puzzle combining ricochet robots and sudoku! If your penguin is female, you could give her the name „Eisie“ (from the German words for „ice“ and „she“). In English, the name „Bob“ would perfectly refer to a bobsleigh.
on 30. July 2026, 11:21 by amirs
Beautiful puzzle!
on 30. July 2026, 07:46 by QuiltyAsCharged
Lovely puzzle! As for names: Otto, Anna, or Steven P. Nevets
on 30. July 2026, 01:37 by marty_sears
Amazing piece of work. Full comment under your very well-deserved CtC feature :)
Last changed on 30. July 2026, 00:00on 29. July 2026, 23:05 by mscha
Beautiful! I haven't seen the previous iteration, but this one was tough but fair. Basically two puzzles in one, with one of the rules gluing them together.
Looking forward to episode 2.
PS: Bob.
on 18. July 2026, 01:22 by Mondo
Superb puzzle. Challenging but always fair; and extremely satisfying. Really looking forward to seeing where this series goes.
(Also, the path-finding element took me right back to ice-sliding puzzles in some of the 90s/00s video games of my younger days!)
on 17. July 2026, 19:22 by Kattorzeh
OMG it was fantastic!!!
on 17. July 2026, 15:48 by Jekyll
We won't forget you Phillihp :)
