Hitlines
(Published on 14. March 2025, 12:36 by marty_sears)
Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply.
Entering correct digits may clear fog somewhere in the grid. No guessing is necessary.
Digits along a beige 'hitline' do not repeat. The number on a blue circle (or two-digit pill reading downwards or from left to right) points to the first cell ('position 1') along a hitline, and indicates the total of any digits that equal their position number along that hitline.
Eg: on a 4-cell hitline, if the sequence of digits reads 1694 starting from the cell being pointed at, then the blue total would be 5 (the sum of 1 and 4) because 1 is in the 1st position and 4 is in the 4th position, and these are the only digits which match their position numbers.
Please leave a comment if you enjoy :)
Solution code: Row 9 from left to right
Comments
on 15. July 2025, 03:37 by NotSoMagnifique
I stumbled and bumbled, but by golly I made it!
on 17. April 2025, 23:04 by SHERAX
First I solved the puzzle what was not that hard. Then watched Simon struggling at the end. And I had an other solve path at the end than Simon. Anyway original and fun
on 27. March 2025, 18:41 by MCMCHammer
Enjoyed this new ruleset, and it was well structured to lead you through the logic in a sort of "tutorial" format
on 27. March 2025, 16:12 by ninjamunk
I loved that!
on 19. March 2025, 18:56 by jakestilesowen
Interesting new concept. I would love to see this tweaked and reused.
Marty: then you're in luck. Click the link to Ratfinkz at the top of this page. She's made another excellent Hitlines puzzle
on 18. March 2025, 09:55 by novato
Very nice! I missed a "digits cannot repeat on a line" and lost ten minutes backtracking but that's my fault - amazing puzzle, would love to see a 4-star version with the ruleset.
on 17. March 2025, 20:08 by rubencubed
lovely collab! thanks for the great puzzle (:
on 17. March 2025, 18:29 by mscha
That was nice. But what a tricky endgame...
on 16. March 2025, 19:55 by awwkaw
This was very nice 8-)
The dynamic fog didn't work in the app version of sodukopad.
So I was stuck on for some time before I realised I needed the website instead.
The idea of going from puzzle to puzzle was very fun.
on 16. March 2025, 12:08 by Martina
Very nice! More please.
on 16. March 2025, 07:43 by Norkas
Exellently set with a lot of varied logic. I usually don't like it as much, when puzzles don't demonstrate the expected level of difficulty somewhat early on, but with a new type of constraint and fog the difficulty curve worked for me. Thank you two for setting.
on 15. March 2025, 19:42 by ccotreau
Nice puzzle with an interesting rule set
on 15. March 2025, 15:54 by wuc
2* except the last bit 3* for me. Clever as always. Fog helps pointing at the relevant parts. Great fun as always thx.
on 15. March 2025, 12:30 by Franjo
Wonderful puzzle with a new ruleset. The break-in was quite easy, but my poor old brain nearly broke when fighting against the last line! Well, I’m sure I overlooked something obvious… Thank you very much for creating and sharing this lovely puzzle.
on 14. March 2025, 23:54 by brewring
Pardon my ignorance but I always assumed that ratfinkz was marty's alt. Anyway, what a lovely puzzle! Very smooth
on 14. March 2025, 23:41 by PancakePie
I must've gotten something muddled up! I was reading one of the blue bubbles backwards, but once I realized my mistake my momentum was crushed. I would love to see a more artful eye solve this, cause by the end I felt like I was cracking a safe with my fingernails.
on 14. March 2025, 19:26 by CitrusGremlin
Absolutely stellar job tutorializing the hit lines. Each one felt like it built on what I learned from the last, and the final one really felt like a test of understanding. Would love to see these become frequently used.
on 14. March 2025, 18:08 by eladv
Thank you, the ending is particularly lovely
on 14. March 2025, 17:45 by lootyloot
This was an amazing puzzle. The last hitline was tricky but worked out beautiful. Overall this puzzle was pretty approachable once you get the hang of it.
on 14. March 2025, 17:30 by sujoyku
Wonderful puzzle! I admit you got me fooled with this crazily gorgeous ending. Thank you very much, Ratfinkz and Marty Sears!
on 14. March 2025, 14:36 by Lorena
This collab is like a good sales pitch: before, you didn’t know that you needed it but after, you want ten of them.
on 14. March 2025, 13:55 by Flinty
I'm merrily plodding along thinking, 'well, this is a lovely 1.5/5, why is it set at 3/5?' and then you hit the difficulty curve that's so steep it's vertical - lol. Great constraint, lovely puzzle.
on 14. March 2025, 13:12 by TJ
When you check for new puzzles on a lazy Friday afternoon and find out a new Marty Sears puzzle has been posted just 2 minutes before!
Took me around 30 minutes, quite tricky finish, was glad my logic turned out to be correct. Enjoyed!
on 14. March 2025, 12:43 by ChinStrap
Had the pleasure of testing this. This dynamic duo has definitely made a hit with this one! Loved the different logic used throughout.
on 14. March 2025, 12:40 by Ratfinkz
*blush*, well-thats a lovely intro!
I so enjoyed doing this with you! Thank you for asking me to collab! So proud of this puzzle, and chuffed to have added my own MMM!
