RAT RUN 16: Schrödinger's Rat
(Eingestellt am 27. November 2024, 01:00 Uhr von marty_sears)
- SCHRÖDINGER CELLS: Fill each row, column and box with the digits 0-9 once each. To make this possible, each row, column and box contains one Schrödinger cell, which contains two digits. The value of a Schrödinger cell is equal to the sum of its two digits.
- AIM OF EXPERIMENT: Finkz the rat must reach the cupcake by finding a path through the maze. The path must not visit any cell more than once, cross itself, or pass through any thick maze walls.
- As well as moving orthogonally, Finkz may move diagonally if there's a 2x2 space in which to do so, but may never pass diagonally through a round wall-spot on the corner of a cell.
- BLACKCURRANTS: Values connected by a blackcurrant have a 1:2 ratio.
- ONE WAY DOORS: Finkz may only pass directly through a purple arrow in the direction it is pointing. A purple arrow always points to the smaller of the two values it sits between.
- TEST CONSTRAINT: In this experiment, dotted box borders divide the correct path into segments that each contain at least 2 cells. The values of two adjacent cells within the same segment always have the same difference, and this difference is unique for every segment. Eg: if a segment has a sequence of values 1, 3, 5, 7, then its 'same difference' is 2, and so no other segment may have a 'same difference' of 2.
Lösungscode: Digits NOT on the path in column 9, reading downwards
Kommentare
am 4. Dezember 2024, 00:49 Uhr von Kriodeco
I've avoided Schrdinger cell puzzles so far, but Finkz pulled me in. Very challenging concept for me, but I got it eventually. Excellent puzzle.
am 3. Dezember 2024, 18:38 Uhr von Klausku
Brilliant, as usual. Unusually for me, it flowed straight forward. Maybe after 16 puzzles, I‘m able to switch to Fink-mode. Thanks Marty.
am 3. Dezember 2024, 02:15 Uhr von Johan111
Very nice puzzle, as the whole series.
Initially I had trouble figuring out how the S cells technically work. I.e. how do you enter two numbers in the cell. I’m surprised that no one has asked about this before. So for anyone who’s struggling with this, enter the two numbers with pencilmarks. That’s what the solution checker expects. It would be good to have this technicality explained in the rules of the puzzle.
am 1. Dezember 2024, 21:35 Uhr von kagiso
It jut keeps getting better with these. I love it!
am 30. November 2024, 03:16 Uhr von madhupt
Finkz really found it very easy to start its journey but was often intrigued by the often seemingly impossible path it had to take but was ultimately blown away by the devious genius of the maze-setter which allowed him to rack his brains a bit to spot the ridiculous differences and found that there were indeed those tiny openings for him to pass through and reach the cupcake. What a journey! But does this to a poor rat!
am 29. November 2024, 22:55 Uhr von kdkirby
This solve is astonishingly smooth. It has no right to be this nice. This must be the greatest entry in the series. Thank you!
am 29. November 2024, 00:24 Uhr von sacklunch
Genius setting. This amazing series continues to be delightful, challenging, fresh, and somehow packed with humor. Or humour, as Marty might spell it. Thanks so much for the hours of entertainment, Mr. Sears!
am 28. November 2024, 22:17 Uhr von nunc
It is just another phenomenal puzzle in an absolutely brilliant series. So many original ideas coming week after week... Thanks a lot for sharing these incredible puzzles.
am 28. November 2024, 21:07 Uhr von jmw
Hi Marty. I rarely comment on this site, but this series has given me more pleasure than anything else I've attempted since I started regularly messing about with puzzles a couple of years ago, so I don't want to leave that unsaid. There's something quite special about your ability to make even your less difficult puzzles feel so consistently rewarding and worthwhile, and there's something very special about anyone being willing to give so much of their time and energy for no greater return than the enjoyment of other people, many of them total strangers.
Thank you, and thanks to every setter on here. I hope you all know how much you're appreciated.
am 28. November 2024, 14:03 Uhr von AshBrown
This was crafty even by Marty's standards. Unbelievable puzzle. 2 hrs for me.
am 28. November 2024, 13:41 Uhr von davidz32z
Maybe the best one yet?? This was so unique, so great, and honestly I found it easier than some of the earlier puzzles! First time I've ever realized a possible error in earlier logic, still had a correct puzzle, and decided to restart anyway just to make sure I correctly followed every little morsel of deduction.
am 28. November 2024, 01:23 Uhr von DonQuichopp
Took me about 3 hours to solve, therefore I tend to 3 stars (I am not the best solver and only did 1 or 2 Schrödingers)
I felt the deductions came to me quite quickly only then to be riddled by one part of the puzzle for quite some time.
Took me the whole evening to figure out how the path could be completed :-)
Thank you for another brilliant puzzle!
am 28. November 2024, 00:53 Uhr von samuel1997
Spectacular! It has been a while for me to WOW so hard at the end because of its brillance! It literally blew my mind as other solvers did!
am 28. November 2024, 00:48 Uhr von droidstr
SCHRÖDINGER CELLS was my least favorite constraint. Until now. Vary nice puzzle, as always.
Marty: Hehe I've never been a fan either and have avoided them until now. This is my first Schrodinger puzzle, and I mainly made it so I could have an episode called Schrodinger's Rat haha
am 27. November 2024, 23:30 Uhr von Greenansatsu
The final bit of this solve, blew my mind so much I am unsure if I am alive or dead.
am 27. November 2024, 23:04 Uhr von virus_dave
Amazing and fun puzzle, thank you! Yet another excellent addition to the series.
There were at least 3 mind-boggling moments for me, two of which i saw coming (and you did not disappoint) and one that i didn't foresee at all and made me think i'd broken the puzzle before it clicked to me.
mscha: No, those would both count as 2.
am 27. November 2024, 22:16 Uhr von sujoyku
Awesome puzzle! The 4 stars for difficulty seem accurate to me. Yet, all logic was nice and well-telegraphed. Even though I am not great at S-cell puzzles, this flowed tremendously. Thank you very much for the brilliant experiment, Marty!
am 27. November 2024, 21:03 Uhr von mscha
Tough one! I haven't gotten very far yet.
One thing I'm struggling with is the unique "same difference". Is it directional, so if you have a 1,3,5,7 segment with a difference of 2, can you have an 8,6,4 segment with difference -2?
**Edit:**
Well, I assumed the difference is absolute, which turned out to be correct. (Especially for reasons I figured out halfway solving.)
Solved it in 100 minutes, but I might have to restart, since that halfway "Oh, wait, you can do _that_" moment might mean I made invalid assumptions earlier.
This was definitely the most difficult one for me so far - I certainly did "notice the added challenge". Quite a bit above my normal level. If it weren't a Rat Run, I'd probably have given up.
am 27. November 2024, 20:28 Uhr von ufdigga
What a tremendous puzzle! Thanks Marty!
am 27. November 2024, 18:28 Uhr von jakestilesowen
Absolutely stupendous puzzle. I was wondering when we would get a same-difference rat run, and the way you combined this with scrhodinger cells to make everything fresh and interesting was awesome. Thanks for the puzzle!
am 27. November 2024, 18:19 Uhr von npinguy
I was stuck at the beginning of this for longer than any Rat Run so far because I didn't notice the very first part of the clue and the set of digits involved.
Once I did, it was as if the clouds cleared and a light shone down with an orchestral choir.
This became my absolute favourite puzzle of the entire series, as I kept discovering new moments that made me go "absolute genius" and "i cannot believe you have done this".
WOW.
am 27. November 2024, 17:38 Uhr von The_Schlunz
Thank you Marty! It's always a joy solving your amazing puzzles and something to look forward to throughout my week.
I just loved everything about this and it came surprisingly easy to me and I was never stuck for to long.
Already looking forward to next week's puzzle :)
am 27. November 2024, 17:20 Uhr von thoughtbyte
Stellar puzzle, as always. I loved how well the S-cell logic played out with this test constraint. A very nice and fun consistent challenge from start to finish. Thanks!
am 27. November 2024, 15:37 Uhr von ChristopherStanlake
Wow! Marty, you have outdone yourself yet again!!! This was the most challenging one yet, it took me 2hrs 39mins to complete but Finkz got there in the end. This is my first Schrodinger puzzle and I have now seen a whole new world of logical possibility to Sudoku. Despite its difficulty, I am very pleased to say I solved it first time without breaking it! Sometimes I despaired for many minutes questioning my previous logic, but then I would see that cheeky possibility only Mr Sears could set... This was especially so when solving my last S-Cell where I think you've set your cheekiest Rat Run cell to date! Thank you for this series Marty, keep it up Finkz, and I'm looking forward to seeing Simon solve this one on Friday...
am 27. November 2024, 12:55 Uhr von Christounet
I'm in a bit of double state myself after this puzzle : stuffed to the gills by this excellent puzzle, and hungry for the next one ! Thank-S :)
am 27. November 2024, 12:50 Uhr von wuc
Amazing setting. Huge thx.
am 27. November 2024, 12:20 Uhr von Franjo
Believe me, Schrödinger: This rat CANNOT be dead! I just have spent another hour of pure pleasure watching lovely Finkz finding her way through the maze to get her sweet prize. Thank you, Marty.
am 27. November 2024, 10:40 Uhr von sorryimLate
Super fun, and quite approachable if you know your S-cells and MMMs. Thanks!
am 27. November 2024, 07:59 Uhr von alexsmart
"There is no way in hell *that* is a possibility, is it? Oh holy, it is, isn't it? God damn you Marty" - inner monologue while doing this puzzle.
The number of times the puzzle got my jaw to drop on the floor was too damn high.
am 27. November 2024, 05:33 Uhr von askaksaksask
Brilliant! Also the Finkz photo with the Schrödinger cell is so cute this week :)
am 27. November 2024, 05:01 Uhr von someguy209
It's always a treat when special cells appear in the rat run series, and this one was no different. It helped me at first to scribble how big each difference could get to, but after getting the first few boxes it stopped being important and the puzzle kept fighting. Absolutely brilliant the whole way through!
am 27. November 2024, 04:46 Uhr von Nylimb
Amazing as always! I'd rank this as the 2nd hardest so far; for me RAT RUN 8 took several days to solve.
You might consider adding the "10-in-9 (Variant)" attribute.
am 27. November 2024, 03:08 Uhr von starwarigami
Another awesome entry to the series, and on the edge of approachable as far as Schrodinger puzzles go!
So happy to see that my s-cells still have legs after all this time...
am 27. November 2024, 02:46 Uhr von ViKingPrime
You don't need to be a connoisseur of 10-in-9 puzzles to appreciate this; this is one of the finest Schrödinger puzzles out there.
am 27. November 2024, 02:24 Uhr von bboom
All the puzzles in this series have been amazing, so it's hard to come up with new superlatives, but this setting is down right brilliant.
Several places where I went "but that's impossible" only to discover the option I overlooked minutes later. But always in a clean and obvious-in-hindsight way.
am 27. November 2024, 02:21 Uhr von Scojo
I think my own inability to properly scan s-cells was responsible for most of my trouble with this puzzle! This was a lot of fun, with lots of sneaky moments!
am 27. November 2024, 01:59 Uhr von ChinStrap
Hardest one so far in this set but loads of fun as always. S Cells look intimidating but it is just careful notation and scanning. And trust me it's worth it for this one.
