Secret Squirrel
(Published on 1. October 2026, 11:29 by IcyFruit)
Divide the grid into 9 orthogonally connected regions. Place a digit from 1-9 in every cell such that they appear once each in every row, column, and region.
A question mark in a clue may represent any digit. A letter represents the same digit everywhere it appears. Different letters represent different digits.
A caged cell contains the indicated digit.
A clue outside the grid in the form X, Y indicates that in the row or column next to the clue, the Xth through Yth cells closest to the clue contain the set of digits from X to Y, in any order. For example: 2,4 could indicate that the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th nearest cells to the clue contain 3, 2, and 4.
In addition, the Xth through Yth cells belong to the same region, and the adjacent cells on each side do not belong to that region.
X and Y are always different and in ascending order.
Solution code: Row 3, replacing digits with their encoding letter (when there is one) and using a dash to represent region boundaries, eg. ABC-123-4-D5
Comments
on 2. October 2026, 19:22 by cyddrdrd
Devilish squirrel!
on 1. October 2026, 23:34 by pmays123
Absolutely brilliant! I hit a wall for a bit at one point but progress was very rewarding. Thanks very much for sharing!
on 1. October 2026, 20:17 by Snookerfan
Absolute banger! Be prepared to suffer, but, when you get through, to receive the feeling of ultimate glory. Thanks!
on 1. October 2026, 15:11 by Myxo
Absolutely amazing, one of my favourite Chaos Constructions!!!
on 1. October 2026, 15:08 by ChigBeese
Had to go back and redo a couple times but was very enjoyable, be very careful!!!
on 1. October 2026, 14:35 by han233ing
evil cell-counting.
on 1. October 2026, 13:14 by sanabas
Good fun. Would be helpful to have some extra cells to take notes of known cipher digits.
