Decoy Snail
(Published on 19. May 2025, 23:45 by ViKingPrime)
PUZZLE:
RULES:
Chiki the Monkey has taken the forbidden bargain! He has obtained immortality and vast wealth but will forever be hunted by a snail assassin who will draw ever closer. Help keep Chiki alive while he collects his earnings and settles in for the night.
Fill the 9×9 grid so that every row, column and marked 3×3 box contains the digits 1-9 without repeats. Mangoes separate two consecutive digits, while Coconuts separate two digits where one is double the other. Not all fruit has been given.
Draw a path for Chiki through the centre of grid cells, towards the feast of fruit awaiting him. Chiki may move orthogonally or diagonally — if there is room to do so —but may not revisit or cross his own path, nor can he pass through any bright blue maze walls.
The snail that hunts him has spoiled one of the digits in the grid. This forbidden digit — the "poison digit" — must be avoided at all costs.
Chiki's path is separated by box borders into segments; each segment acts as a "thermometer" and must strictly increase numerically from where he enters (the "bulb") to where he leaves (the "tip"). Chiki must collect ALL Golden Coins, which represent an almost complete set of the digits 1-9 (excepting, of course, the poison digit). These must also be collected in numerical order, starting low and ending high.
You may think this task trivial but do not become overconfident, for there's yet one problem...
...decoy snail. Decoy snails are safe to cross, of course, but what if it isn't a decoy...?
INTRODUCTION:
If you grew up on the internet around the time that I did, you'll well know the reference; for those who didn't, feel free to read up on a snippet of internet history.
Have fun!
Solution code: The digits along the path in sequential order, first and last box only; first from Box 7 (the first box) and then from Box 3 (the final box).
Comments
on 13. June 2025, 16:22 by asoares
Super fun!
on 12. June 2025, 19:57 by Jackson Philion
Incredible puzzle, thank you so much for this!! I absolutely loved this bundle of constraints, it was so beautifully set to make every little deduction feel manageable and important while maintaining difficulty. Just awesome.
on 26. May 2025, 00:51 by BenTen
Fab puzzle VKP! The rulesets worked together beautifully and I loved the concept. Fiendish though, it took me two hours to solve and had me on edge to know what the answer was to that question! Finally, I know now!
on 25. May 2025, 17:40 by ViKingPrime
Updated solution description.
on 25. May 2025, 16:07 by Morisenseiisgod
Amazing puzzle! Thank for setting. Never heard of the meme, but I believe you can make a Sudoku out of any meme, or indeed, anything. So the more memes the better I guess?
With the solution code, you should also clarify that you only require digits on the path from box 7 and box 3, or first segment and last segment only. Not from any other boxes. Perhaps give an example such as "If the path in the first segment is 1578 and the path in the last segment is 2467, then the solution code is 15782467."
on 23. May 2025, 23:52 by mscha
Very nice! A lot trickier than the average Rat Run, but I got there eventually.
on 23. May 2025, 16:07 by jakestilesowen
Great path-building puzzle and excellent flavor/design as well! Welcome back to setting.
on 23. May 2025, 05:13 by ViKingPrime
Graphical fix; and addition of edge corners to start and end positions to remove possible ambiguity.
on 23. May 2025, 05:03 by SirJefferE
Whoops. I misunderstood the solution text and ended up entering every digit on the path. Thought it was awfully unusual to have such a long code!
on 23. May 2025, 02:57 by goldennumber
Annoyingly started this after midnight and could not put it down, there goes my productivity tomorrow!
on 22. May 2025, 23:49 by Zanno
Fabulous puzzle! I really liked how the forbidden digit ist crucial for the entire solve.
on 22. May 2025, 00:17 by ThePedallingPianist
I have a soft spot for works of art whose titles refer to a relatively small and seemingly insignificant part of the experience. I was thinking about this earlier while teaching the song "Lego House" to a student.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say, somewhat ineloquently, is that this is a beautifully crafted and smoothly flowing puzzle, and your experience won't be undermined by failing to recognise the reference to the meme, though having done my research, I can confirm that the puzzle is an excellent tribute. This is top tier ViKingPrime and I'm here for it.
on 21. May 2025, 22:53 by Calvinball
Absolutely loved it! Next time can you do it with Index Lines, I'm asking for a friend.
on 21. May 2025, 11:13 by LehanLehan
A CTC must
on 20. May 2025, 17:39 by thoughtbyte
Excellent puzzle, lots of nice logic and the difficulty/flow was really smooth. Loved it, thanks!
on 20. May 2025, 16:31 by Franjo
While I’m longing for the next Rat Run this puzzle turned out to be the best alternative I can think of. Thank you very much for creating and sharing this beauty.
on 20. May 2025, 11:54 by Exigus
What a throwback. And a cool puzzle! Thanks!
on 20. May 2025, 11:39 by IntegralHamster
Not sure what forced Viking Prime to set this puzzle. Maybe because he saw a snail. Maybe his motives were very complex. Great puzzle regardless!
on 20. May 2025, 03:11 by prismic911
Beautiful logic!
on 20. May 2025, 02:04 by CitrusGremlin
Loved the puzzle but I'm having trouble with the solution code. Are there any spaces or dashes between the sections?
EDIT: Figured it out! You might want to clarify it's the first and last box on the path not Box 1 and Box 9. I usually read that as the upper left and lower right box.
---
@CitrusGremlin - my bad! It's been updated, thank you for letting me know <3 Glad you liked it! -- VKP
on 19. May 2025, 23:55 by marty_sears
What an adventure! I didn't know the meme, but very much enjoyed the fun quirky theming and beautiful visuals nonetheless. Just look at it. It's clear how much time and love went into this. Whatsmore, the maze logic was very fun and intricate too. Love how the coins interacted with the regional constraint on the path. I for one am very happy to have ViKingPrime back from his break and setting these sort of works of art again
on 19. May 2025, 23:51 by vitaminz
A wonderful puzzle with delightful surprises. That the snail was… oh well I suppose I should let people discover that on their own.
