Eventide
(Published on 26. March 2026, 06:00 by PhoenixAki)
Wasn't totally sure on a difficulty rating for this one. My instinct would've said upper 1 star or maybe low 2 star, but a tester said it'd be safest to put as standard 2, so that's what I'm going with. If you're really comfortable working with white dots it might be in 1 star territory.
- Normal sudoku rules apply. Place the digits 1-9 in each row, column, and 3x3 box without repetition.
- Consecutive Pairs: Digits separated by a white dot must be consecutive.
- Killer Cages: Digits in dotted-line cages must sum to the number in the top left corner of the cage. Digits may not repeat within a cage.
To increase accessibility to my puzzles, I include hints in my LMD posts and also post solution videos on my YouTube channel. I hope these help you solve the puzzles if you are struggling :)
Hint 1: Rows 1 and 9 have 4 white dots each. What does that mean about how the even and odd digits must be placed?
Hint 2: Once you know what digits are in R6's cage, think about R4's cage. You can deduce its digits thanks to the 2 white dots it sees.
Hint 3: After a lot of classic sudoku, you can work out the cages in R3 and R7. After that, think more carefully about R9. If you consider what R9C5 is, you can say what pairs of digits must be placed onto the rest of R9's dots.
Solution code: Row 8 from left to right (9 digits)
Comments
on 26. April 2026, 17:48 by bugcat
Lovely logic, closer to a 2* for me.
on 28. March 2026, 17:58 by Zelfie
Lovely puzzle, thank you!
on 28. March 2026, 13:01 by NotSoMagnifique
Absolute elegance and class!
on 27. March 2026, 19:05 by James Moriarty
Thank you for setting the puzzle.
The interactions between dots and cages is very clever.
I didn't use the hints, but looked at them after and they are good pointers, without giving the game away.
on 27. March 2026, 16:36 by sujoyku
Lovely puzzle! Thank you, PhoenixAki!
on 27. March 2026, 03:57 by PhoenixAki
Solution video is now public on YouTube. Sorry for delay! I had it uploaded in advance but forgot to switch it to public once I posted this to LMD.
on 27. March 2026, 02:20 by CitrusGremlin
An absolutely stunning puzzle. Enjoyed the flow and the cage and kropki interactions were some of the best I've seen.
on 26. March 2026, 18:39 by dzamie
I'd say probably upper 1*, yeah
It takes a little to get to the logic with the sets of dots, but once it's there, it's not terribly complicated.
Very neat observations!
on 26. March 2026, 12:44 by MattYDdraig
Definitely 1*, but for such a simple puzzle it shows off pretty much everything a white dot has to offer, and does it elegantly and smoothly. Beautifully crafted.
on 26. March 2026, 10:56 by varbrad
Nice puzzle!
on 26. March 2026, 06:44 by SennyK
Lovely puzzle with very clever interactions, give it a try! :-)
