In or Out 2
(Published on 27. May 2026, 02:49 by Md88keys)
by Md88keys
Play in Sudokupad
Hey everyone! This puzzle uses the same rule set as my previous In or Out puzzle. It took weeks to work out a combination of regions and cages that resolved to a single solution without guessing. I hope that you give it a try.
These puzzles are a little cluttered, and require a logical approach that includes a dual cage and irregular solving process. Again I included space outside the grid to fill with possible combinations of digits that are in or out. The puzzle regions are also left uncolored so you can choose your palette. Below the puzzle rules I have included a diagram to indicate how boxes and cages correspond.
Rules:
Place the digits 1-9 in every row, column, and irregular region.
Digits in a cage do not repeat and sum to the number given. Each cage corresponds to a regular 3x3 box and contains every unique digit in that box.
Space is given outside the grid for pencil marks.
Diagram 1 shows a normal sudoku box region with every digit. A cage that includes every unique digit would have nine cells and total 45.
Diagram 2 shows a 3x3 box in irregular region sudoku. Since there could be repeated digits in this 3x3, this diagram shows one possible option. This cage includes every unique digit, has six cells, and a total of 32. Any cells out of the cage hold a duplicate digit. 3x3 boxes in this puzzle are similar to this example.
Solution code: Row 5
Comments
on 4. June 2026, 19:02 by Da Letter El
a bit confused on exactly what is meant by unique/duplicate. given the 6 cell 22 cage in this puzzle -- given no other constraints -- would it be legal for r2c2 and r3c3 to both be a 9?
--What you are asking is, can there be two cells outside a cage that are the same digit. The answer is yes, but there would also be a third cell with that same digit inside the cage (that would be two same digits in a region or column, so actually not possible in this 3x3)
In this puzzle, it would be helpful to determine if there are any 3x3 boxes with triple identical digits.
In other unpublished versions I have created, there are 3x3 box triples, and it will affect the overall logic if that is true for this puzzle.
--maybe i didnt phrase my question perfectly, but this answers what i was confused over, but indirectly lol. so "unique" means "all of the digits that appear," not "all of the digits which do not have a duplicate." my confusion was over if you could have digits which had duplicates that did NOT appear in the cage since a 9 can never appear in the aforementioned 22 cage, and it seems the answer to that is no
--that makes sense
For clarification of the rule: if a digit appears once in the 3x3 box, it must be in the cage. If it appears twice, it must be once in the cage and once outside the cage. If it appears three times, then once in the cage and twice outside the cage. All re-appearances of a digit must follow the row, column, and region rules.
on 30. May 2026, 17:25 by Bubbalubba
Amazing puzzle! Everything came together very nicely at the end for me. A beautiful puzzle deserving the 5*. Took me about and hour.
Love the settings/puzzles you make!
on 28. May 2026, 12:39 by Exigus
Amazing. Every digit felt well earned. Thanks!
on 28. May 2026, 06:16 by bansalsaab
Phew. That was hard nut. Thanks for the example. I did not attempt part 1 earlier as i didn't understand the rule but i should go back to that.
--I'm glad the example clarified the rule. I think the first puzzle has a harder opening but an easier irregular solve.
on 27. May 2026, 14:19 by Mr.Anderson
Took me a bit more than an hour. Very nice puzzle! There were some really satisfying realizations hidden in the logic of the "outs"
