*** TODAY’S PUZZLE ***
We thought we’d hint at the author of today’s sudoku with the video title! Aad van de Wetering has created many of the most popular puzzles we’ve ever tried to solve on the channel and it’ll be fascinating to see what you all make of this one. It’s called PalinPhisto and we can reveal that it defeated several of our testers. How much sudoku theory did you need to solve it?!
Play the puzzle at the link below:
https://sudokupad.app/1eo6o1zoq2
Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply. Cells separated by a single knight’s move (in chess) cannot contain the same digit. The grey line in the grid is a palindrome (ie the string of digits along the line must read the same forwards and backwards.)
*** OUR RECENT “THANK GOODNESS YOU’RE HERE” STREAM ***
We had a blast playing this very original and Monty Python-esque game. You can watch here:
Please be aware that this game does involve a couple of swear words so please don’t watch if it may offend you.
*** STRATFORD LITERARY FESTIVAL: LIVE CRACKING THE CRYPTIC ***
If you’re interested in watching a live episode of Cracking The Cryptic and meeting us in real life then there is a link to the live show we’re doing on 27 October at 10am at the Stratford Literary Festival below. We aren’t sure how many tickets are available so please do book early if you are keen to go.
https://www.stratfordliteraryfestival.co.uk/events/simon-anthony-and-mark-goodliffe
*** NEW SUDOKU HUNT JUST RELEASED ***
We’ve launched a brand new competition – a sudoku hunt based on Hollywood sandwiches! Check it out for as little as $2/month here:
https://www.patreon.com/crackingthecryptic
There’s also a new solve of Jay Dyer’s brutal sudoku: Repeat Prescription
Other treats on Patreon include:
– The Lord Of The Rings Sudoku Hunt by Blobz (and Simon’s solve videos)
– Simon’s solve of Sky-Skyscraper by Phistomefel has just been uploaded for our patrons.
– Mark’s latest solve of The Times Club Monthly cryptic crossword
– Mark’s latest series of solves of Connections, the daily New York Times puzzle based on the Only Connect wall game.
*** THANK GOODNESS YOU’RE HERE STREAM ***
We’re going to be trying this game on Sunday night at 10pm UK time! Please be aware the game may not be suitable for work (we’re not sure.) You can watch the stream at this link:
▶ SUDOKU PAD – Use Our Software For Your Puzzles ◀
You can input classic sudoku puzzles into our software and help support Sven, the programmer responsible for the wonderful user interface we all use to play these puzzles everyday. The app also comes with 12 handmade puzzles from us:
iOS:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/svens-sudokupad/id1570622073
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1706870/Svens_SudokuPad/
Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.svencodes.sudokupad
ALSO on Amazon: Search for “SudokuPad”
▶ Contents Of This Video ◀
0:00 Intro music and puzzle intro
1:50 Simon’s Electricity
4:57 We’re going to the Stratford-Upon-Avon Literary Festival
3:24 Our next stream
2:56 Join Us On Patreon
5:51 Happy Birthdays
6:59 Rules
8:12 Start of Solve: Let’s Get Cracking
▶ Contact Us ◀
Twitter: @Cracking The Cryptic
email: crackingthecryptic@gmail.com
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Simon Anthony & Mark Goodliffe
Box 102
56 Gloucester Road
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Imo….a little easier to use letters instead of blue/green. Easier to see they are NOT 8, 9 or 3, and do normal eliminations as well as placing them around the grid.
In general:
If a marker is needed for an unknown SINGLE digit: use a letter.
If a marker is needed for a group of digits: use colours. (e.g. "Blue is 12, Green is 'the other' of 12")
I would like to kindly congratulate you on yet another excellent solve and video. I was indeed talking to the screen regarding the knight's move from the 6 on c6r6 at the end, but you resolved it in short order!
17:00 so many things shouted so far, I will say this though, the uh 268R all have a 2×2 box within box 1, because of the same rule as what you just did with 89GU. (U for Blue because I'm a magic player).
30:00 You can keep going with placing orange in row 6 column 8 of box 6, knights move eliminates orange's.
43:30 I'm expecting a brilliant finish! Your great at this Simon!
Is "SIMON! the (# of choice) is right ThErE, in the box! SIMON!!" a new drinking game? Asking for a friend.
Puzzle doesn’t convert to SudokuPad
I gave this one a shot and got an utterly horrid time on it. I did use both facts about the infamous ring to get a few digits early on, but I got very stuck each time I forgot to account for which digits could possibly go into the corners. Getting the 3 in box one was the very first thing I did since the given 3 ruled it out of all but one gap in the ring as well as the center of the grid.
But after I got all the 9s and most of the 2s and 3s, I got brickwalled. Simon's logic using the wing cells that could not go in the two constrained corners saved my solve from a complete disaster.
You didn't necessarily need to "prove" Phistomifel after a point, because general Sudoku was applicable. (The 2/6/8/Red on the palindrome pinning it within Box 1). But I'm sure playing with Phisto set-theory would have helped with some stuff.
Wow this took me right about 3 hours, and I only forgot about the knights move for the first 20 minutes! Incredible setting, can't imagine how something like this comes together, but despite being an absolute brain twister, it was also a ton of fun!
Suddenly, after looking at the finished grid, I desire a roll of lifesavers.
I'm impressed with Simon's restraint in not proving Phistomefel from the start since it seemed so likely to be necessary. The fact it wasn't necessary to solve the puzzle is a nice fake out from from Aad 🙂
A Sudoku needs at least 17 digits, but this is variant Sudoku.
Aad's puzzles have that perfect balance of straightforward rules and set up, a beautiful break-in, and extremely wonderful logic. Whenever there is an Aad puzzle on this channel I prioritize it. Thanks, Simon, wonderful solve and video!
The 2 found in the 42nd minute my daughter in share boredom managed to guess correctly in the 25 minute mark. As you'd say 'there for ages.'
Me: "Orange is either green or four."
Wife: Are you having a stroke?
Me: "DARK GREEN IS BLUE!"
Wife: I'm calling the doctor.
checks notes 2 does in fact equal 2
to answer simon's question, I tried to potato head's theorem but for most of the solve, it was hard to show that there was a missing digit, let alone which digit it was. in the video, the phisto ring can still have every digit until around 36:00 where you know that orange is missing.
32:53 for me and solver #1121.
I’m so anxious every time Simon screams starting from 21:58 when he could found out 9 is not on r2c6😂
102:21 for me
Without the blue, it is a very citrus color scheme today
hmm. i think that probably is possible.
Simon and his Amazing (bonkers!) Technicolor Sudoku Grid. “That’s either one, or green, or red…..”
27:43 for me
Visually, I must say off the rip if this isn’t a Phistomefel ring based solved.. I will be let down.
Great puzzle! Crazy story…I literally just sent in a puzzle a few days ago that also had the Phisto palindrome line! Great minds think alike, they say
Thank you, Simon for another in a long string of thoroughly enjoyable videos.
Is Red Green?
Any Canadian would just say… yes.
What's this I see? The given digits are a 1,2 3 and 4, and a 6,7,8,and 9? That's obviously 5 in the middle then! Andrew's Law wins again!
Great puzzle
Just under 2 hours of total joy
got really stuck for what seems like forever 135:08
15:07 So i've studied the grid some while you go on talking about stuff.
I want to start off with the fact that 5 is the only digit that isn't given at the start. Which is at least suspicious.
And we know that 1 and 7 will be in the phistomephel ring.
But for all we know, they could go in R3C3 and R7C7 and be quite useless.
The eights in R7C3 and R3C7 will go in their respective 2×2 corners of box 1 and box 9.
But that is obvious by sudoku of all things.
And the two 8's you we are given are the ONLY 8's that will appear in any corner and around the phistomephel ring.
R5C5 is from the digits 14578.
It sees 2 or 3 other digits from 1457. Red, blue and green respectively. Where red could actually be green.
Red is not a 4, and is therefore from 157 only.
9 is in one of three places in box 4 and box 7. And out of interest, 9 does not appear in R3C1 because of knights logic.
2 in box 8 exists in row 9.
2 is in one of two places in box 7, but it's not useful.
There is a 2 in the 2×2 corner of box 1. You need one more 2 in another 2×2 corner of the grid. But every option exists, just worth having in the back of the head.
Those are all the bits you haven't documented/mentioned so far.
Nope -it's got 12 …which seems to be the same number I can fill in 🤔
This is quite beautiful, it's a shame Simon didn't see it. Given only one digit maximum cannot be on the ring in a knight's move Sudoku, and if that digit is not on the ring it must go in the centre cell. You can see that 3 cannot be red, green, blue or the centre cell, nor is it 6, 2, 8 and 9. It also sees r6c7, so it must go on the ring (because it sees the central cell) in exactly r3c3.
55:48 for me. This was quite a hard one.
I wish Simon would be better at cleaning up the coloring when they're no longer needed for disambiguation. Like, when you know know yellow is 1 coloring is not needed to say they are the same, the 1 will do that. Towards the end he colored two digits he had already gotten and used 3-4 colors for for two different digits which made it very difficult to follow