Logic Masters Deutschland e.V.

am 14. Mai 2025, 06:27 Uhr von TheNineElements
Solve Time: 13:06

I rated this 2/5 difficulty.

This is definitely my favorite puzzle I've seen from the series, and probably my favorite @meggen033 puzzles of all time! Absolutely wonderful puzzle!

I've solved a lot of puzzles involving the ring equivalence, but this puzzle felt really unique. The even/odd rule was brilliantly executed, and it led to wonderful solve path. I'm not sure how the puzzle solves (at least with reasonable difficulty) without using the set equivalence, but the deductions/ideas that stem from the sets were very cool.

It seems like a lot of solvers found the puzzle fairly difficult, but the path that I found & used for reasonably approachable without being trivial or simple whatsoever. I think I may have gotten "lucky" during the break-in and asked the "right questions" early on - especially since my time was quite fast this time around - but each logical step that I found/used was totally fair and definitely findable. I think the difficulty in this puzzle was in figuring out how to actually begin solving and making progress (how to use the even/odd clues). I initially spent around a minute or two basically just staring at the puzzle and only making minor pencilmarks, but as soon as I asked the right question the whole puzzle seemed to open up & led me down a very enjoyable solve path.

I think the break-in difficulty was around 2*, but my first big deduction was hard to spot and I can totally understand why someone would consider that idea/step to be 3* difficulty. Once I figured out what was happening, the actual logic was totally straightforward.

The remainder of the puzzle felt somewhere around 1-2* difficulty, but the logic had several wonderful ideas and the logic flowed very smoothly.

I think a 2* rating is totally reasonable for the puzzle. The set trick & the big idea(s) for the break-in too difficult for a 1*, and I don't actually think the logic was hard enough to warrant a 3* rating.

On the whole, this sudoku was "perfect" as a 2* difficulty (fairly approachable) puzzle. There were several really great ideas that all fell into a nice "theme", and every required logical deduction was totally fair and very rewarding to find. The whole logical path felt very smooth and just overall very enjoyable to solve. This puzzle showcases how "easy"/straightforward logic can be beautiful and very engaging. I highly recommend attempting this puzzle!

Thanks @meggen033 for sharing!

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If you are struggling to make progress, I suggest taking a step back and avoid over-pencilmarking early on. There is a very straightforward idea/trick that you can utilize early on without needing any placed digits or really any pencilmarking.

This puzzle falls into a series of puzzles that utilize the Phistomefel ring equivalence. Consider which types of clues fall into the ring sets, and how there are different types of clues found on the two sets. How do they interact?

am 2. Mai 2025, 14:33 Uhr von ashbrown24
got stuck after a few hours, can see certain things going on but cant prove them

am 1. Mai 2025, 20:13 Uhr von misha
I love the symmetry of this puzzle. It took a while for me to realize that there was a much faster solve path, but it was still beautiful.

am 1. Mai 2025, 20:13 Uhr von misha
I love the symmetry of this puzzle. It took a while for me to realize that there was a much faster solve path, but it was still beautiful.

am 1. Mai 2025, 03:59 Uhr von darylkay
Very fun puzzle, only complaint is that a couple of cages weren't used. I'm curious what the "intended" path was to use them.

am 30. April 2025, 22:22 Uhr von Adrian71
Simply brilliant!

am 30. April 2025, 20:51 Uhr von ofsmul
So good! I have to agree with Smauger, "giddy" is absolutely a feeling I had solving this one. The logic just clicked in so beautifully. Thanks for setting and sharing!

am 30. April 2025, 10:18 Uhr von farodin64
Wunderful puzzle again, thx meggen. About the difficulty, 2* or 3*? The solve is not hard keeping THE RING in mind, on the other side you need to know it. Therefore, and because of the *-degration we see more and more I've choosed 3* ... 2,5* would be fair I think.

am 30. April 2025, 04:48 Uhr von Smauger
I adore all of your puzzles, meggen033, but I had to leave a note on this one because that was the most satisfying phistomofel solve I have personally gotten to complete. The beauty of one piece of logic leading to the other round and round the ring was such a joy; I found myself absolutely giddy with some of the deductions in this. Thank you for your continued contributions!