Renbalance
(Published on 22. September 2026, 13:55 by Nicho)
Hi! I've been a long-time Sudoku solver, but this is my first puzzle upload. I had a lot of fun putting this together and hope you enjoy it!
Click here to play on SudokuPad
Rules:
Normal Sudoku rules apply.
Renban Scales: Red lines are "Renban Scales". Digits above each line are consecutive and non-repeating. Each digit has weight equal to its value, and provides a torque equal to its weight × horizontal distance from the pivot point (where the scale hangs from). The total torque on each side of the scale must be equal.
Hanging Scales: Hanging scales apply their total weight at their attachment point given by a Black Kropki dot. Total weight includes the digits on the scale and all connected scaled beneath it. (Brown lines are just visual to show where the pivot point of each scale is located and do not contribute to the weight). Single-cell red lines are one-cell scales.
Kropki: Black dots are standard 1:2 Kropki dots.
Total Weight: The two-cell dashed cage, read top-to-bottom, gives the total weight of the entire structure.
Good luck, and have fun!
Solution code: Column 9 top to bottom
Comments
on 24. September 2026, 22:33 by palletpusher
What a debut! Very original and clean. I made it much harder than it needed to be by consistently forgetting the difference between weight and torque, what my annotations referred to, and that the renbans were renbans.
I loved this puzzle and my only note is that in retrospect I wish the renbans had been set in the traditional pink for forgetful people like me whose brains fill up easily with what should be fairly elementary arithmetic.
Thanks, Nicho! I look forward to your future publications.
on 22. September 2026, 17:36 by RollForHomebrew
Nice logic to get started, not too hard to spot to get off the mark. Thanks Nicho for sharing
on 22. September 2026, 16:20 by Foxmann55
What a fun and unusual puzzle! Very clean break in logic leading to harder end before it resolves nicely. I was worried I would have to do lots of combination checking, but some nice parity logic and simple higher/lower comparisons eliminates it all.
Very nice first puzzle, enjoyed it a lot, and always welcome to see a new setter!
on 22. September 2026, 16:04 by Nicho
Updated to explain that the brown line digits do not contribute to the weight.
on 22. September 2026, 16:02 by Nicho
Hi Saltensity, No the brown lines do not contribute to the weight, they are just to show where the scales are hanging from (just visual). I'll make a note in the rules for other people, thanks for feedback :)
on 22. September 2026, 15:44 by YoBuggered
This was a friendly puzzle, unique concept and I thought it was fantastic all around. It felt intuitive once i got going. Found that colouring the 1x, 2x and 3x cells differently worked best for my solving!
For anyone confused - The red cells are the only ones that can contribute to the weight.
on 22. September 2026, 15:12 by Saltensity
Hi Nicho, I was wondering if digits on the brown line also contribute to the weight of the scale attached to another one? Might be a silly question but I just need some clarification :)
