Logic Masters Deutschland e.V.

Let’s not even try to pretend like I know anything about DNA, I just thought it was a sick title. But really, if anything needs to be said in this occasion, it’s that the monster of all monsters has just been unleashed upon the site, and the puzzle on this page here, a personal setting challenge to see if I could create a Still Life puzzle using only German Whispers, is here to help fight that other one linked to above – and big thanks to its creator for testing the one below!

The provisional difficulty is relative, in that the puzzle shouldn’t be super hard, but in my opinion it is harder that the 4/5 rated Cambrian, a similar one using Renbans instead. As always, you can find here a complete list of all the Still Life puzzles, and Sktx's examples highlighting many of the common pitfalls further below.


RULES

Normal sudoku rules apply
• Each of the digits 1 to 9 must appear once in every row, column and 3x3 box.
• The color indications below are but suggestions and do not affect anything.

STILL LIFE
• Shade some cells green ("active cells") such that the – up to – eight cells neighboring each green cell contain exactly 2 or 3 other green cells and the neighbors of each 'unshaded' – or black/red/blue/etc. – cell ("inactive cells") do not contain exactly 3 green cells.
— A CIRCLED cell's digit indicates the number of cells that are in the SAME state as its own in its neighborhood, including its own cell.
— A SQUARED cell's digit indicates the number of cells that are in a DIFFERENT state from its own in its neighborhood (therefore not including its own cell).

GERMAN WHISPERS
• Digits in any two cells connected by a green line must differ by 5 or more.
• Every digit in a German Whisper clue must also be either a valid CIRCLED cell or a valid SQUARED cell, or both at once, per the Still Life rules.


==== EXAMPLES ====

In Example 1, a 3x3 box with a Game of Life pattern is shown (green for active cells, grey for inactive cells). But the cells marked with a ! are unstable : they either are inactive but with 3 active neighbors, or active but with less than 2 or more than 3 active neighbors. Therefore this pattern is not a Still Life pattern, and can not appear in a Still Life Sudoku puzzle.

In Example 2 (using the digits of a normal 9x9 sudoku grid), a 3x3 box is shown filled with digits and clues (circles and squares), the Game of Life pattern that is shown is stable, and all the clues are fulfilled. This could appear in a Still Life Sudoku puzzle.