Ice Walk / Lohkous Permaculture
(Published on 8. April 2026, 09:00 by Agent)
Rules
- Divide the grid into two areas of orthogonally connected cells. One area is an Ice Walk, the other is a Lohkous.
- Ice Walk:
- Draw a single closed loop that travels orthogonally through the centers of some cells in the Ice Walk area. The loop may not enter the Lohkous area.
- Some icy cells must be located inside the grid. All icy cells are in the Ice Walk area.
- The loop may cross itself on icy cells, but not on non-icy cells.
- The loop may turn on non-icy cells, but not on icy cells.
- A clue in the Ice Walk area must lie on a non-icy section the loop, and the sum of the numbers in that clue indicates how many cells make up that non-icy section. Icy cells visited by the loop act as delimiters between non-icy sections.
- Lohkous:
- Divide the Lohkous area into regions of orthogonally connected cells, each containing exactly one clue. Regions may not enter the Ice Walk area.
- Each vertical and each horizontal run of cells in a region must have a length equal to one of the numbers in that region's clue.
- Each number in a Lohkous clue must be represented by at least one vertical or horizontal run of cells in that clue's region.
- A number N outside the grid indicates that there are exactly N icy cells in the corresponding row or column, and exactly N distinct Lohkous regions in the corresponding row of column.
- Each letter represents a different positive integer. A question mark may represent any positive integer, but numbers may not repeat in a given clue. For example, a "??" Lohkous clue must have 2 different lengths of runs in its region, a non-icy section of 4 cells cannot contain a "?/?/?" clue (minimum of 6) or a "B/?" clue with B=2 (the question mark would be another 2), etc.
Example Solution
Main Puzzle
Solution code: The number of non-icy cells of the Icewalk in each row, from top to bottom.
Last changed on -
Solved by FischmitFahrrad, nuzzopa, Calesch, Justalilguy, Jesper, cyddrdrd, Piatato, widjo, skuntsel, ddx02, MaizeGator, Kongfusion
Comments
on 13. April 2026, 16:28 by MaizeGator
Another work of genius. This puzzle has a great "Agent" moment near the beginning and some stunning disambiguation tricks near the end.
on 13. April 2026, 03:52 by skuntsel
This is just a sublime puzzle from one of the best constructors. A perfect blend of styles with many unexpected and counterintuitive discoveries along the way. Props to you, Agent!
on 9. April 2026, 22:38 by Piatato
Very nice combination, thanks!
on 9. April 2026, 20:36 by cyddrdrd
Cool and smooth!
on 9. April 2026, 18:22 by Jesper
Fun puzzle, compelling solution path :)