Pickles (Ichikara)
(Published on 18. July 2026, 10:27 by juggler)
ICHIKARA
• Divide the grid into regions. A region contains the numbers from 1 to N once each, where N is the largest number in the region.
• "?" stands for any number.
• Regions may also contain empty cells.
Solution code: The region size (largest digit in region) of each cell in row 5 of both puzzles (15 digits)
Comments
on 20. July 2026, 17:24 by Winterbeard
Thank you for a great puzzle! Lots of fun and lovely flow….thanks to quiltyascharged
on 20. July 2026, 00:56 by fitzie
i don't understand how this puzzle is that simple. i wonder what something more complex would look like.
on 19. July 2026, 02:40 by SennyK
Very nice! :-)
on 18. July 2026, 21:21 by QuiltyAsCharged
Very nice concept! And there is a logical way to draw the regions. Also, now I want a pickle.
Tip 1: You're not placing any digits, just drawing the regions.
Tip 2: Look at the largest given digit. Suppose it's a "5". You need to make an orthogonally connected region including that 5, plus exactly one each of (1,2,3,4), plus any number of blank cells as connectors.
Tip 3: A region of all blank cells is not allowed because it wouldn't contain "numbers from 1 to N".
on 18. July 2026, 20:40 by Miatc
So, for the record, this puzzle does NOT include placing digits, just drawing the regions, do I understand correctly? (Understanding this I solved pickle 1, about to do pickle 2)
on 18. July 2026, 20:14 by JVA
I don't understand how these puzzles aren't broken. If the empty cells in regions can determine region size, that just seems to allow for multiple valid solutions, including arbitrarily large regions of nothing but empty cells
on 18. July 2026, 19:42 by Franjo
Thank you very much for creating and sharing another lovely two Ishikara-puzzles.
