Eternal Recurrence
(Eingestellt am 11. Oktober 2025, 23:11 Uhr von Kafkapharnaum)
Also, once again, here is a link to all the other Still Life puzzles for those who would like to keep exploring this ruleset.
RULES
Normal sudoku rules apply: Place the digits 1 to 9 in each row, column, and 3x3 box.
STILL LIFE
Shade some cells green ("active cells") such that the – up to – eight cells neighboring each green cell contain exactly 2 or 3 other green cells and the neighbors of each 'unshaded' – or black/red/etc. – cell ("inactive cells") do not contain exactly 3 green cells.
– A CIRCLED cell's digit indicates the number of cells that are in the SAME state as its own in its neighborhood, including its own cell
– A SQUARED cell's digit indicates the number of cells that are in a DIFFERENT state from its own in its neighborhood (therefore not including its own cell)
PALINDROMES
– All lines in the grid are Palindromes, where the order of digits along a line reads the same forwards and backwards (eg, 1-4-7-4-1). The one dot is its own one digit palindrome.
– Every digit on a Palindrome Line must either be a valid CIRCLED cell or a valid SQUARED cell, or both at once, per the Still Life rules. This rule also applies to the one digit palindrome (ie, the cell with the dot).
==== EXAMPLES ====
In Example 1, a 3x3 box with a Game of Life pattern is shown (green for active cells, grey for inactive cells). But the cells marked with a ! are unstable : they either are inactive but with 3 active neighbors, or active but with less than 2 or more than 3 active neighbors. Therefore this pattern is not a Still Life pattern, and can not appear in a Still Life Sudoku puzzle.
In Example 2, a 3x3 box is shown filled with digits and clues (circles and squares), the Game of Life pattern that is shown is stable, and all the clues are fulfilled. This could appear in a Still Life Sudoku puzzle. John Conway Game of Life
Lösungscode: The 'active' cells of row 1 (left to right), followed by those of column 6 (top to bottom)
Kommentare
am 31. Juli 2026, 00:33 Uhr von chrisj50
Wow that was tough - probably should’ve re-solved some of the gentler old SL’s first but couldn’t resist when I saw this! Remarkable puzzle - another one… :)
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Another surprise! And many thanks for the kind words, but yeah, not the easiest, eh? XD It's been a little while now since the last Still Life, as it hasn't quite caught on like the Doppelganger ruleset did -- *although*, there was none other than Qodec who made one, "Ediacarium", that I don't think you have solved. Be warned though that it's even thornier than this one here!
am 13. Oktober 2025, 03:19 Uhr von earthpuzzles
Palindromes are one of my favorite rules, and the combo with Still Life makes this extra flavorful! Feel free to keep putting these out :)
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Hmm, I might try to set a 6x6, as I originally wanted to have a solvable example up with this one, and I just couldn't manage to set one, so it has become its own challenge, heh
Anyway, glad you enjoyed this one, and big thanks again for flagging the coloring uniqueness issue it originally had!
am 12. Oktober 2025, 21:48 Uhr von Qodec
Another beauty! Thanks for sharing!
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Thrilled to see you enjoying these Qodec, and happy as well to see solves starting to pile up on Ediacarium - it's a tough puzzle! (Oh, and thanks as well for checking out many of the other Still Life's too :D)
am 12. Oktober 2025, 06:16 Uhr von Kafkapharnaum
(Cosmetic change to the dot - can now appear over the coloring)
am 12. Oktober 2025, 04:11 Uhr von Kafkapharnaum
*New version with a very subtle change up, fixing a coloring uniqueness issue (Sudoku solution is unaffected).*
Thanks to earthpuzzles for finding and flagging this issue!
