Japanese Sum Whisper Loop
(Published on 29. November 2025, 01:11 by yttrio)
Rules:
Normal Sudoku rules apply.
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 Whispers line (i.e., adjacent digits on the loop must have a difference of at least 5).
Japanese Sums: Clues outside the grid give the sums of loop segments in the respective row or column, in order, where cells not on the loop separate segments. A question mark indicates any digit from 0 to 9, but no clue may have a leading zero. An asterisk denotes an arbitrary number of Japanese sum clues. This could be zero, one, or multiple.
Solution code: Digits on the loop in row 7 (left to right) followed by digits on the loop in column 5 (top to bottom)
Comments
on 8. December 2025, 22:04 by Piatato
Super smooth, thanks!
on 3. December 2025, 16:52 by LehanLehan
Very hard break-in for me because of its abstractness,but logic is crystal clear all the way,so it was unforgettable journey. Thank you very much for the puzzle, yttrio.
on 30. November 2025, 23:59 by daggerMason
Wow. I echo the post that said it didn’t look possible, but it felt - not easy, but very clear. Nice job, sir.
on 29. November 2025, 23:00 by cyddrdrd
Nice combination and smooth solution path!
on 29. November 2025, 17:59 by little_turd
Felt like scaling a mountain and then being able to paraglide off once you got past the hard part. Wheeeeeeee!
on 29. November 2025, 17:51 by Playmaker6174
cute puzzle
on 29. November 2025, 17:08 by samuel1997
This is the most interesting loop puzzle I've ever solved. It doesn't seem possible to have unique solution with such little information, and yet they all work beautifully! Amazing!
on 29. November 2025, 12:52 by Franjo
Thank you very much for creating and sharing another one of your amazing loop-puzzles! It’s always a great pleasure to solve.
on 29. November 2025, 12:49 by Snookerfan
Gorgeous puzzle! The clues worked perfectly together to make for an enjoyable solve. Thanks
on 29. November 2025, 08:47 by Chaossudokusplease
Absolutely fantastic puzzle, great flow from start to finish, I had a great time! So many moments that didn’t feel obvious but also didn’t get me stuck for too long even though I kept feeling like I didn’t know where to look for the next step.
on 29. November 2025, 07:56 by Christounet
Enjoyed this one very much. Thanks :)
on 29. November 2025, 07:24 by Elliott810
Brilliant puzzle! The Japanese-Sum-clues are beautifully set. Thank you:)
on 29. November 2025, 02:07 by Calvinball
yttrio just doesn't miss, another example of why you're one of the most consistent setters in the game. Well done mate.
on 29. November 2025, 01:55 by mathpesto
I loved this! Brilliant setting!
