'Round the outside
(Published on 19. August 2025, 05:30 by NicoD)
Rules
Normal sudoku rules apply.
The sum of the digits along an arrow is equal to the digit in the connected circle.
Draw a one-cell-wide loop of orthogonally connected cells. The loop may not touch itself, not even diagonally.
The loop acts as a "german whisper" line: adjacent digits along the loop must differ by at least 5.
All arrows' circles are on the loop. Additionally, each arrow tip points towards a cell containing the digit within the arrow's circle, and the pointed-to cell is also on the loop. The digit in the arrow tip indicates the distance from the arrow tip to the pointed-to cell.
There might be other instances of the same digit between this cell and the arrow tip.
The loop contains at least 7 different digits.
Solution code: Column 2
Comments
on 31. August 2025, 15:19 by Snookerfan
Lovely puzzle! The 7 different digits rule felt like an odd way to finish the loop, but I guess another way would ruin the beautiful minimalistic setup of the puzzle. Thank you
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ND: There were multiple ways to get a unique loop, I could have give you the total sum of the loop but that would be more work for the solver!
on 19. August 2025, 13:15 by Jafacake
I agree with zeniko, if you know the tricks to this rule set it has a smooth path. Much less hunting for areas of tension.
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ND: Thank you for solving!
on 19. August 2025, 08:33 by zeniko
After the quite challenging SET series, I‘ve found this puzzle to be more approachable, with a smooth solve path all the way through. Thanks for sharing.
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ND: You are welcome!
