Logic Masters Deutschland e.V.

This puzzle is the result of a killer collaboration with Loric.

If you have ever wondered why "Killer Cages" and "Little Killers" have the word "Killer" in them, you are not alone, and you may find some answers in this puzzle. Solve at your own risk ;)

Normal Rules:

Normal Sudoku: Place the digits 1 to 9 in every row, column, and 3x3 box.

Killer Cages: Digits within a cage cannot repeat, and must sum to the clue in the top left corner (if given). Killer Cages are referred to as "crime scenes" in the Special Rules.

Special Rules:

WATCH OUT! A serial killer is on the loose and is leaving crime scenes and dead digits all over Sudokutown. Luckily, Sudokutown's #1 Detective is on the case, and a few brave citizens have stepped forward to provide eye-witness accounts. But will the killer be caught in time?

Serial Killer: One of the digits is a serial killer. All instances of the serial killer digit appear on a single, 1-cell wide orthogonally connected path (Snake). The serial killer's path starts in the largest crime scene (44 Killer Cage, total of 8 cells), then moves to the next largest crime scene (7 cells), then the next largest crime scene (6 cells), and so on. Exactly two adjacent cells on the serial killer's path appear in each crime scene, with one cell containing the serial killer and the other cell containing a "dead" digit. Once a digit is "dead," that digit cannot appear in any future crime scenes. After the final digit is "dead," the serial killer escapes off the edge of the grid (caught in the sequel, perhaps?).

• Additional Details: The serial killer appears on both ends of the path. The serial killer's path may not touch itself orthogonally or diagonally. The serial killer and "dead" digit may appear within a crime scene in any order. The serial killer never re-enters a crime scene. Some instances of the serial killer digit will appear outside of crime scenes—those instances may appear anywhere along the path, as long as the serial killer travels through the crime scenes in descending order (in other words, the serial killer can "take a break" between crime scenes).

Detective: One of the digits is Sudokutown's #1 Detective. The detective digit is trying to catch the serial killer, but is always one step behind. The detective digit cannot appear in crime scenes, cannot appear on the serial killer's path, and cannot appear orthogonally adjacent to the serial killer digit. The detective digit appears in the cell with a star.

Witnesses (Little Killers): Some witnesses have spotted the serial killer's path. The Little Killer clues outside the grid show the sum of the digits on the corresponding diagonal that are on the serial killer's path (digits that are not on the serial killer's path are not counted toward the sum).

Example: Below is an example that you can solve online (CTC, F-Puzzles). We recommend solving or studying the example before diving into the main puzzle.

In the solution provided, the serial killer's path is shaded yellow, the serial killer is 1 and is flashed red, the "dead" digits are flashed green, and the detective is 6 and is shaded blue. The serial killer's path starts in the largest crime scene (15 Killer Cage) where 5 is the first "dead" digit. The serial killer then travels in order through the next largest crime scenes and kills the digits 4 and 3. After "taking a break" in Box 4, the serial killer murders the final digit (2) before escaping off the edge of the grid. Note that the Little Killer clues are the sum of the digits on the serial killer's path only.

Here is the main puzzle. Good luck!

• CTC
• F-Puzzles
• Penpa+