RAT RUN 26: Hit and Miss
(Eingestellt am 18. Februar 2026, 01:00 Uhr von marty_sears)
- Normal sudoku rules apply.
- AIM OF EXPERIMENT: Finkz and Phinx must both reach the cupcakes by finding a path through the maze. The paths must not visit any cell more than once, cross themselves or each other, or pass through any thick maze walls. The paths may not share cells except where they meet at the cupcake cell.
- As well as moving orthogonally, they may move diagonally if there's a 2x2 space in which to do so, but may never pass diagonally through a round wall-spot on the corner of a cell.
- BLACKCURRANTS: If a blackcurrant sits between two digts then one is double the other.
- GRAPES: If two digits are separated by a grape, they have a difference of at least 5..
- TEST CONSTRAINT: In this experiment, 3x3 box borders divide both rats' paths up into segments. Not all blue hexagonal platforms need to be visited, but any blue platform that does gets stepped on becomes a 'hit counter'; its digit will indicate exactly how many digits along its path segment match their position number (the first cell visited along a segment is 'position 1'.)
Eg: If Finkz visits the digits 97325 (in that order) along a segment, then the 2 would be on the hit counter, because two digits match their position number; 3 is visited 3rd and 5 is visited 5th.
Lösungscode: Digits visited by rats in column 9, reading downwards
Kommentare
am 31. März 2026, 06:38 Uhr von Ratfinkz
Loved loved loved this one! ????
am 22. Februar 2026, 12:36 Uhr von extremelypuzzled
Had a great hour solving this wonderful puzzle. Thanks Marty! Quite invested in finding out what Elliot is up to.
am 21. Februar 2026, 12:41 Uhr von ako
Wowww, what a most beautiful struggle ... ran about five times into more or less the same contradiction ... Literally had to take it from behind (people who use "literally" wrong, may excuse the expression) and from the beginning simultaneously, so the hidden mistake could be avoided by Sudoku influence. Wonderful surprise in box 8! Thx again!
am 20. Februar 2026, 00:10 Uhr von dzamie
Kept losing count of my hit counters near the end, wound up having to redo the last three boxes at least 4 times...
Still, very interesting constraints, and I like that the break-in is pretty obvious.
am 19. Februar 2026, 23:55 Uhr von Klausku
Smooth and beautiful. Easiest puzzle in this season so far. Thanks Marty.
am 19. Februar 2026, 17:54 Uhr von psams
Enjoyed every box, every step. Thanks, Marty!
am 19. Februar 2026, 12:23 Uhr von bboom
Tough one for me, I had to backtrack on incorrect assumptions quite a few times. I had fun all the way through though so what more can I ask for?
am 19. Februar 2026, 05:50 Uhr von ghostmary
Wonderful puzzle as always! I enjoyed highlighting the rats as pink and blue then watching the cupcake square turn purple :) thanks for sharing!
am 19. Februar 2026, 05:10 Uhr von MikeMeech
Love the hit lines!
am 19. Februar 2026, 01:50 Uhr von sujoyku
Absolutely wonderful puzzle! I found it quite hard and enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you, Marty!
am 19. Februar 2026, 01:33 Uhr von Atticus837
The plot thickens!
Beautiful work as always Marty.
am 19. Februar 2026, 00:17 Uhr von Rab3aron
Fantastic puzzle!
am 18. Februar 2026, 23:35 Uhr von davidz32z
Incredible as always! I was just waiting for the hit line and it did not disappoint one bit
am 18. Februar 2026, 18:45 Uhr von Puzzlefan
Man, I was afraid Phinx had to run way more than Finkz again and eat both cupcakes before Finkz could get to it, but luckily Finkz got there fast enough today. Good job taking care of them both.
But hey, very nice puzzle again. I thought the ruleset would be quite difficult, but it turned out to be a lot easier than expected. With the nice twists and turns as always. Thanks again!
am 18. Februar 2026, 17:18 Uhr von blackjackfitz
Huzzah!
am 18. Februar 2026, 16:05 Uhr von wuc
Another masterpiece. Very nice.
am 18. Februar 2026, 13:57 Uhr von madhupt
The series just keeps getting better and better!
am 18. Februar 2026, 11:05 Uhr von Franjo
Thank you so much for creating and sharing another beautiful episode of the series. Loved the hit counters.
am 18. Februar 2026, 06:31 Uhr von mscha
Beautiful puzzle!
One of the easier ones in phase 3 - I quickly got started and never really got stuck - but no less satisfying. The ruleset works beautifully with two rats, I don't think it would have worked well in phase 1 or 2.
am 18. Februar 2026, 05:04 Uhr von antiknight
Excellent deductions throughout, from start to finish. I really enjoyed this one.
am 18. Februar 2026, 05:01 Uhr von firespire
I can't always do these puzzles but with this one progress came smoothly and with fewer mistakes from me.
So thumbs up for this puzzle from me.
I assume it was the fastest of the ones I could solve.
I think the Sudokupad links often get changed and I can't get back and check past puzzles for solve times because I don't have a record of the older address I used or maybe it's a fault my end.
am 18. Februar 2026, 04:37 Uhr von hamosphere
A bit easier for me this week! 2*. Great puzzle.
am 18. Februar 2026, 04:12 Uhr von Silverscree
Another excellent addition! This has probably bumped #24 from my top spot so far this Phase because the logic was so clearly signalled by the geometry.
am 18. Februar 2026, 02:45 Uhr von Lyouke
Phase 3 being extended? Music to my ears. I love this series
am 18. Februar 2026, 02:45 Uhr von Nairurian
Yet another great puzzle (and my first time being in the first 20 solvers). I’d say 2.5* for difficulty (I’d at least say it felt way easier than Split Ends) but a lovely ruleset that flows beautifully.
am 18. Februar 2026, 02:24 Uhr von ViKingPrime
I mean the sudoku being superb is a given at this point. What surprises and delights me is how you continue to elevate your aesthetics, even still. Love the little touches on this one.
am 18. Februar 2026, 01:53 Uhr von Euclid5040
Another truly incredible Rat Run sudoku. On top of that, it seems like the story is progressing, which I am extremely excited for. The only thing I am confused by is why this is four stars for difficulty, as I found this to be the easiest phase 3 puzzle for me so far.
Marty: Whoops! Yeah I meant to set it at 3. Have changed it. Thankyou, and glad you enjoyed it :)
