Three In The Spotlight
(Published on 17. May 2025, 11:49 by sshrpe)
Well, this one is just silly. I have no excuses.
Play
Rules
- Normal Sudoku rules apply. Fill the grid such that the digits 1-9 appear once each in every row, column and 3×3 box.
- Three in the Corner/Three in the Spotlight: Every 3×3 box must have a 3 in one of its four corners, or in its centre.
- Every Whisper: Every constraint (line, dot, or cage) must include at least one 3.
- Three’s Company: Every 3 must be horizontally adjacent (i.e. to the left or right) to at least one multiple of 3.
- I Can Three Clearly Now the Fog Has Gone: The grid is covered in fog. Placing a correct digit in any cell on the grid will clear fog from that cell. Placing a 3 correctly will also clear fog from cells elsewhere on the grid.
- Renban: Digits along a magenta line cannot repeat, and must form a set of consecutive numbers.
- German Whispers: Consecutive digits along a green line must differ by at least 5.
- Mod-3 Lines: Every set of three consecutive digits on a striped teal line contains one digit each from the sets {147}, {258}, and {369}
- Killer Cages: Digits cannot repeat within a cage, and must sum to the small number in the corner.
- Kropki Dots: Cells separated by a white dot must contain digits which are consecutive. Cells separated by a black dot must contain digits such that one is double the other.
Update: If you enjoyed this puzzle and would like something similar but a bit more challenging, please consider trying out my 'sequel': One Is The Loneliest Number
Solution code: Row 9, Left to Right
Comments
on 28. May 2025, 10:25 by sshrpe
Added some shameless self-promotion to the puzzle description text. Thanks all for the very kind words!
on 28. May 2025, 04:44 by QuiltyAsCharged
When every constraint must include a 3, the puzzle is a real three-for-all! Great fun :)
on 26. May 2025, 08:59 by SirRanch
Congratulations on the feature!!! Three cheers for sshrpe ;). This was such a fun puzzle with unique rules and the puns are quite enthreeling
on 26. May 2025, 00:40 by Dr.Julen
An amazing rulset, especially with the "Three´s Company". Get stuck after a while, and the I re-read the rules and figuerd out that Ive missed this rule. After that it was easy to finish it ^^
on 22. May 2025, 03:07 by nancearoo
So fun! I just knew where this puzzle was headed (trying not to spoil), but I held myself back from putting in the final 3s until I could figure out the logic. Such a fun puzzle and great rule set.
on 19. May 2025, 21:51 by Jrosas
I came for the puzzle’s name, laughed my way through the rule set (promptly forgot most of them) and had a blast. I love the way you used dynamic fog and tied it to the “3” theme, and how you bent all the rules to relate to 3. You should be proud of this puzzle. I would like to learn how to set dynamic fog puzzles.
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sshrpe: Well I’m honoured - this is high praise indeed from the inventor of Frog Of War :D
on 19. May 2025, 00:04 by AnebodaSlatorp
Silly in a good way!
on 18. May 2025, 22:37 by Ol-Jay
I'm a fool for silly things :) All good things come in threes!
on 18. May 2025, 10:40 by Martina
I can see clearly now the fog has gone :-) Did Bob Marley like Sudoku?
on 17. May 2025, 20:04 by Franjo
I had a very nice run from start to - well, one point where I joined the Three Blind Mice … Threed the rules, old man! I shouted to myself. Ho-three-zon-tal! What a funny puzzle! Thank you very much for creating and sharing it.
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sshrpe: Oh thank you! "Threed the rules" got an audible chuckle out of me. I hope you don't take any offence from the fact that in my head your comment read in the voice of Giles Brandreth.
on 17. May 2025, 18:56 by macintux
I’ve gotten stuck about halfway through, but regardless, this is a very clever rule set and I’ve enjoyed it so far, nice work.
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sshrpe: Oh thank you so much! Really appreciate it :) If you're stuck where a number of people seem to end up, then a very careful reading of the rules might aid you. Especially the Three's Company one.
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Thanks, I didn’t think it through clearly enough, thanks. Finally done. Terrific puzzle.
on 17. May 2025, 18:52 by Micky
Very nice. Instant earworm during the solve.
Also way easier if you read ALL the rules
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sshrpe: I'd apologise for the ear worm -but spare a thought for me, it's been days! And yes, I did adjust the wording of the rules a bit after testing, but it's still just a bit too easy to miss that one word.
on 17. May 2025, 16:59 by Virux
Such a nice concept! I'd love to see more.
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sshrpe: Thanks very much, I'm really glad you enjoyed! All I'll say is, be careful what you wish for…
on 17. May 2025, 16:05 by MartinR
Nice and punny puzzle - what you three is what you get :)
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sshrpe: Oh very good, yes! I three what you did there :D
on 17. May 2025, 14:38 by sshrpe
Incidentally, if anyone has ideas for further terrible rules puns, feel free to leave them in a comment. I'm sure there's some great ones I could have used. I considered and discarded these ones because they were a bit too awkward:
- Threenban Lines (instead of Renban)
- Threeler Cages (pronounced like 'Thriller' with a comedy accent), and
- Kropthree Dots
on 17. May 2025, 14:10 by jinkela114514
What's the origin of "I Can Three Clearly Now the Fog Has Gone"?
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sshrpe: It's a play on the lyrics of "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash, just in there to continue the string of terrible puns.
on 17. May 2025, 14:00 by xiaoji
Interesting ruleset!
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sshrpe: Thanks xiaoji!
