Mark was so convinced Simon would be blown away by tonight's sudoku that he asked him to open it live on camera. It's a Kaktuslav puzzle called Forcing but it's also mad. Despite being a "chaos construction" (ie a sudoku whose 9-cell regions can be any shape and need to be discovered rather than given as 3x3 boxes), the ruleset is just a single paragraph long. This has been hewn out of nature itself and is surely one of the most remarkable constructions we've ever showcased.
Rules:
Divide the grid into nine non-overlapping regions, each consisting of nine orthogonally connected cells. Place the digits 1–9 once each in every row, column, and region. In each region, place a circle in the leftmost cell of its topmost row. Every circled digit counts how many cells of its own region (including itself) are visible in its column (region borders block the view). The nine circled cells together form an extra region, i.e. they are orthogonally connected and contain the digits 1–9 once each.
Cracking the Cryptid never misses when the title is like that. I don't follow the channel religiously but it's always chicken soup for the soul when I do find myself wandering back into it again....
Cracking the Cryptid never misses when the title is like that. I don't follow the channel religiously but it's always chicken soup for the soul when I do find myself wandering back into it again.
I was absolutely floored that this puzzle had a unique solution. I expected symmetry/repetition given the circumstances, which we do see, but the fact that an empty grid can be given enough rules to lead to a single solution is just so brilliant.
Bravo to all the puzzle makers who come up with this stuff.
Yeah, when other channels use titles like that for their videos, it's usually just pure clickbait... but with Cracking the Cryptic it's always a sign that a puzzle is going to be legitimately...
Yeah, when other channels use titles like that for their videos, it's usually just pure clickbait... but with Cracking the Cryptic it's always a sign that a puzzle is going to be legitimately incredible, and the video worth watching. :P
From the video description:
Cracking the Cryptid never misses when the title is like that. I don't follow the channel religiously but it's always chicken soup for the soul when I do find myself wandering back into it again.
I was absolutely floored that this puzzle had a unique solution. I expected symmetry/repetition given the circumstances, which we do see, but the fact that an empty grid can be given enough rules to lead to a single solution is just so brilliant.
Bravo to all the puzzle makers who come up with this stuff.
Yeah, when other channels use titles like that for their videos, it's usually just pure clickbait... but with Cracking the Cryptic it's always a sign that a puzzle is going to be legitimately incredible, and the video worth watching. :P