A New Miracle Sudoku

You can try Aad van de Wetering's new puzzle (his response to Mitchell Lee's miracle sudoku) here:
cracking-the-c...
Kurt Hugo Schneider's "Nightmare" Partial Irregular 6x6 Sudoku X can be found free at this link:
/ 37223311
Mark's new cryptic crossword video and our video solve of the Patreon Reward puzzle for May are available to our patrons here:
/ crackingthecryptic
Wei-Hwa Huang and Bram Cohen's Thermo Miracle Sudoku can be played here [We have not solved this and it may be extremely hard]:
cracking-the-c...
▶ NEW CRACKING THE CRYPTIC MERCHANDISE◀
teespring.com/...
▶ THE FIRST SUDOKU PUZZLE HUNT BY BEN NEEDHAM◀
/ 36694746
▶ OUR CHESS SUDOKU APP IS NOW OUT!◀
AppStore: apps.apple.com...
Steam: store.steampow...
Android: play.google.co...
▶TRY OUR CLASSIC SUDOKU APP◀
AppStore: apps.apple.com...
Steam: store.steampow...
Android: play.google.co...
▶TRY OUR SANDWICH SUDOKU APP◀
AppStore: apps.apple.com...
Steam: store.steampow...
Android: play.google.co...
▶SEND US PUZZLES TO SOLVE/CONTACT US◀
[e-mail]
▶FOLLOW US◀
Twitter: #crypticcracking
@crypticcracking
Instagram (for how to solve daily clues from The Times): www.instagram....
▶SOFTWARE◀
Play the puzzle in the video by clicking the link under the video (above). We are building a website which will allow you to enter your own sudoku puzzles into the software and this is coming soon!
▶Logo Design◀
Melvyn Mainini
▶ABOUT US◀
Hi! We're Simon Anthony and Mark Goodliffe, two of the UK's most enthusiastic puzzle solvers. We have both represented the UK at the World Sudoku Championships and the World Puzzle Championships. We're also "cryptic crossword" aficionados. Mark is the twelve-time winner of The Times championship and Simon is the former record holder for most consecutive correct solutions to The Listener crossword. We hope we can help your puzzle solving while also introducing you to some of the world's best puzzles.
Thank you for watching!
Simon and Mark

[@thijsvanwamel7590]

I love how happy he sounds when he solves allot in a row

[@samexell7242]

You're clearly not smart enough to be watching sudoku videos if you think a lot is one word.

[@dalaube]

@@samexell7242 In your sentence "a lot" should be either in quotations and spelled in same manner as the person you're referencing, or italicized with the correct spelling. "Allot" is actually a word though, so it's likely an autocorrect failure. Keep up the good work.

[@samexell7242]

Hi @@dalaube , I am sorry to hear that you are from America; I have deduced this from the use of the letter 'Z' in a word which should be spelt with an 's'. I respect that you've made an effort to reply but unfortunately you have done qhite the opposite. You completely ignored my point, given that allot is still a word; however, not used in this context and neither a Apple nor Samsung keyboard would correct to this. It's nice you've tried, but sadly you have come out of this looking silly. Kind Regards, Sam

[@hawkfrost541]

@@samexell7242 quite*

[@dalaube]

@@samexell7242 If you have a phone that has never corrected the right usage of a word to the wrong one, I would love to know what that is. You also completely missed the irony of the situation, and why I pointed it out. Theres much better things to be doing, so please go on and keep insulting peoples intelligence for making grammatical mistakes while doing the same.

[@shachardahan1081]

I was screaming at the screen when you highlighted two squares that you thought could be 2 even though they were connected to a 3

[@foxer4217]

16:15 this?

[@levirusso7064]

i saw it too but he’s still way smarter than me

[@chrissolnordal9421]

me too!

[@smoresgobbo]

Same and then he keeps clicking on the one on the right side and I am so angry he hasn't noticed it despite having his cursor there over and over!!!

[@necieau2700]

ORTHOGONALS

[@littleschnitzel8226]

We absolutely have to see the blank puzzle with only two little thermometers in a live solve!

[@swappingparts]

I’m having trouble believing it’s actually possible

[@xyzzyx7812]

@@swappingparts I worked on it and you get some interesting patterns. but the disambiguation is a bit tricky, and might require brute-forcing it

[@swappingparts]

Xyzzyx I actually solved it in the time since, but had to study the patterns of the first two miracle sudokus for a good bit to figure it out. Once I did that, it was just a matter of plugging all the numbers in.

[@jonathanleung4315]

Mark Broesamle wow good job I don’t think I’d ever be able to do that

[@jamesmeadows5742]

I was able to find the solution by simply taking this same pattern, shifting some rows, and rotating it, these shift it to fit the constraints, basically take the 1st and 2nd row from this solve and move them to the 8th and 9th rows, shifting every other row up, then you take what is now row 4 and move it to row 6, shifting rows 5 & 6 up to rows 4 & 5. take this new grid and turn it clockwise once, that is the solution. Doing it with logic rather than previous knowledge of these patterns is beyond me however.

[@GuyXVIII]

Me a week ago: "wAT iS SudoKU" Me today going along with the video: "So THAT can't be a 5!"

[@rewrose2838]

Mathematical skeletons of games are quite addicting

[@mel_7773]

same

[@phillt.coiler8769]

Dilon and Kody are bots dont fall for it

[@doctorsuave]

@@phillt.coiler8769 I get a lot of joy out of reporting bots.

[@wrath6007]

It didn't take a week to get thet level :D

[@rozj880]

I stumbled across you guys just a week ago and I’m already addicted. I love your videos and they bring me so much happinesses

[@jonasjoko294]

The Same happened to me yesterday :)

[@rozj880]

Jonas nuranders every single video is just lovely

[@danielh1989]

Most of us came here that way - I’m here for two month maybe and pretty addicted both to the videos from both of you guys and also to sudoku, although I’m still at mediocre level and most of the puzzles here on the channel are not solvable for me, but very very enjoyable to watch.

[@joshuabradford8372]

I just got here a few days ago

[@katemorganlawson6829]

I’m the same! :)

[@Faux_Fox]

4 hours ago I thought "I'm not watching a 30 min long video on sudoku" That was 8 sudoku videos ago now.

[@millennialmullet6390]

Same dude same

[@tximinoman]

This is the purest form of KZbin. Really old school. It's just one person doing something they enjoy, and an audience becoming invested, not because they may care about the topic at hand (some of you sure do but I think many of us didn't really care about Sudoku solving before this two "Miracle Sudoku" videos) but because you can see how passionate that person is about it. To me, KZbin doesn't get any better than this.

[@rubenheymans1988]

what about our sponsor shadow raid legends though?

[@steveopenshaw1219]

Me: "Haha! This guy thinks I'm gonna watch him play sudoku for the best part of half an hour!" Me after 28 minutes: 👀

[@colindaviddick]

I think I've watched about 4-5 hours of these now. I don't understand how I keep falling into them. I've never in my life decided to watch half an hour of someone else do Sudoku...

[@doge8825]

@@colindaviddick I don’t even like Sudoku and yet I keep falling in this hole too. I think it’s Simon’s charisma at play here. It’s just so nice to watch him solve and go through a puzzle like this

[@moregirl4585]

Anyway I sped up video

[@misanthrophex]

This is very deceptive. It seems like it should be boring, but it just hooks me and doesn't let go. Especially if you start seeing a move that the master doesn't see yet.

[@chavem]

I always thought watching strangers solve puzzles would be the epitome of boredom. Because it would be! But here I am, watching an artist mastering his art with admiration and humility. And that certainly is one of the best things I've ever been able to see on KZbin! Please NEVER stop doing these ☺️

[@grahamhall9397]

Couldn't agree with you more, it's memorising!

[@Pluveus]

That's the thing about spectator sport. Watching someone about as good as you do anything is boring, but watching someone do something demonstrably better than you is fascinating. That's why E-Sports in general are a growing industry, and as games literacy goes up, you'll see E-sports fly ahead in leaps and bounds.

[@JiffyJames85]

I love how infectious his enthusiasm is. I never get as excited by a puzzle as a do watching him.

[@dylanlenn7836]

when Simon keeps clicking on the one that could never be a 2

[@CB-lh4ph]

It drives me mad how he sees such intricate pieces of logic and then misses things as blatant as normal sudoku rules. And I notice it all the time because I can't see the advanced logic yet so all I do is look for the aforementioned easier restrictions.

[@KaitharVideo]

that was so frustrating, those 2 errors would have made the 2s much easier for him

[@exgreg]

Simon doesn't even need to fix his errors. He still solves it anyway via other means!

[@jamestaylor961]

I think it's just the way his brain works- like he has to finish off one piece of logic to its conclusion before he can look at anything else. And also I think he likes to get the difficult bits done because he knows he can fill the givens in easily afterwards.

[@zsofiniedermayer9925]

I was literaly shouting inside :D

[@raquelmiceli-keele3290]

every time you see something before he does but also knowing you could never finish the puzzle

[@stevieinselby]

A couple of people below have noticed that each row is just a translation (sideways shift) of the first row. That was true for the other miracle sudoku as well. I think it is a necessary result given the king and knight moves ... maybe? OK, start with the cell 6 in a block - the number that is in each of those cells must have its corresponding position in cell 3 or 9 in the next block to the right. Now consider cell 4 in a block - that number must be in position 1 or 7 in the next block to the left. Similarly, whatever is in cell 8 in a block must be in cell 7 or 9 below, and whatever is in cell 2 must be in cell 1 or 3 above. I think if you work through the logic, that will force enough cells into position that you will end up with either this pattern *or* the same pattern but with horizontal and vertical swapped (because there are no constraints that apply in one direction but not the other): ▶ every row of 3 cells will be repeated in anagram form in the other two blocks in that row, and each of the 3 rows will have the same transformation applied. ▶ every column of 3 cells will be repeated in anagram form in the other two blocks in that column, and each of the 3 columns will have the same transformation applied. ▶ this forces _either_ the rows _or_ the columns to have a 'zero' transformation applied, meaning that in one direction the group is just shifted and not shuffled. ▶ this in turn means that either the complete rows or complete columns become simple translations of each other, and within each block that means it has to be translated by 3 (ie a whole block). I have a truly marvellous proof of this, which this margin is too narrow to contain 😜.

[@tiramisu_1th]

Ah yes, we’ll probably wait for 300 years before someone else can provide the proof then

[@Scented_Shadow]

I really like this guy, and especially how he explains his thought process. I watch these videos at 2x speed because then I can watch twice as much in the same amount of time, and still I can follow along with his logic, even though it gets quite advanced and I am far from a sudoku expert. He simply explains it so clearly and concisely that I can easily follow his thought process, even sped up.

[@jessebaker4245]

Ikr I can’t even do a medium sudoku he explains it’s so good

[@all1078]

me staring at column 2 row 6 screaming internally about how it can’t be a 2

[@borkursig24]

I was screaming the same thing at column 7 row 6

[@frogstereighteeng5499]

@@borkursig24 same for both. Ever since he penciled them in, lmao. (Granted he does other things so much quicker than I ever could :p)

[@evah4431]

I like comments like this because they let me brace for it, otherwise it would bug me the whole way through :D I'm compulsive with my pencil marks, I find such great joy in setting them and tidying them up, especially in Anti Knight puzzles, so Simon sometimes being a "sloppy" pencil marker makes me shake my head (adoringly though!) In any case, shouting at the screen is half the fun 😁

[@anabrox]

i wouldnt be able to contain my internal screaming without being able to commiserate in the comments

[@rensbrand5176]

Same for column 3 row 1 :D

[@gemstealers8282]

The problem with miracle sudoku is that each row is in the exact same order. Once you place a number in one row, you know it's relation to every single number. Let's say you place a 6 two spaces after a 3. The 6 will ALWAYS be two spaces after a 3, in every single row.

[@Non-disjunction]

Yeah I noticed this too. Its a pity really

[@justscrobbler1897]

Yeah this is actually the exact same puzzle as the first miracle sudoku except column one has been shifted to column nine with col 2 becoming col 1, 3 becoming 2 etc.

[@MrJefflub]

Noticed this as well. Pattern of number are all the same on every row a variation of 948374615 horizontal then vertically first number from each block then second number then third then that pattern repeats vertically.

[@thedude110]

that's a great strategy to solve it very quickly then

[@julias.3835]

I’m going to try to forget this…😂

[@ericfox7021]

You could make as many puzzles with these constraint as you want by giving just about any two different nearby digits. That's just the nature of how these constraints work, since antiking + antiknight together require that all rows or columns be translations of one another.

[@Wecoc1]

I don't think a puzzle without full symmetry (all digits have a pairing in the counterpart, except the one in the middle, which has itself) would be possible with this constrain and this amount of givens either. With more digits maybe you could get a semi-symmetrical (all digits have themselves or their pairing in the counterpart), but I believe you need at least one repeated given to force the semi-symmetrical solution against the full symmetrical one.

[@ericfox7021]

Wecoc1 you only need a repeated given to prove that a puzzle does *not* have full symmetry since uniqueness would otherwise prove it must (assuming there is indeed one solution). A rotationally symmetrical puzzle with these constraints is not impossible. For example, the “miracle” sudoku is one itself.

[@robingarrettmusic]

You're right. It's just the same sequence of numbers shifted 3 cells to the left for each row (plus another cell when it reaches a new box). Talk about ruining the magic! ;-) Do the givens have to be consecutive for it to work or could you start with any two numbers?

[@Wecoc1]

What I was wondering is if it's really possible one *without* full symmetry and still with only one valid solution... I'll try it on JSudoku.

[@fargofz1]

Agree, this is a style of puzzle you can only do once. After you know the translation constraint, there is no work/fun other than the first set of digits.

[@Ramzuiv]

It's like Oprah: "You can't be a two! And you can't be a two! And you can't be a two! You all can't be a two!"

[@MrBrockarock]

Each of these types of puzzles is a sequence of fixed integer sequence shifted. Once you find one of the numbers in the sequence, you can ancher the rest. Notice how the 3 is always two to the right of 4 with wraparound. This is the same as the previous puzzle. Each digit has a fixed "shift" using the previous rows. So example at 20:42 once the 2 has been found you can go through and place all other 2's two boxes shifted to the right of 3. You only need to find a single new digit through logically and the rest all fall into place.

[@CB-lh4ph]

Does that have to be the case, or does is just happen to be the case for the two Sudokus featured on this channel?

[@bobleonheart9600]

948372615 once you have one digit just fill in the rest of the sequence.

[@crazydaddy4934]

@@CB-lh4ph Has to be the case in all antiknight&no-touch Sudokus. Another fellow "detuned" put it like this: "With no given digits, and no non-consecutive constraint, the combination of anti-knight and no touch constraints gives a unique solution (up to relabelling of digits and symmetries of the square) ". So all the two given digits and the non-consecutive restraint do is fix the rotation and labeling of numbers.

[@alexharkler]

@@bobleonheart9600 948372615 or 162738495

[@bobleonheart9600]

@@alexharkler I'd say maybe the latter if you read right to left like the Japanese but here in the west we tend to read left to right so I'd opt for the former. The reason I say only "maybe the latter" is because although the Japanese do read from right to left they don't read from bottom to top. I don't think anyone does... you do you though.

[@abu1146]

For someone who learned Sudoku by himself, I REALLY APPRECIATE how you solve this and how your mind works on so many things at the same time. Watching you solving it gives me excitement and goosebumps especially when you find multiple numbers on a row. As for the ones who created it, NO COMMENT is able to give enough RESPECT & ADMIRATION of how they came up with these puzzles and others👏 I just came across your channel and watched two videos (this is the third one). I decided to try solving this one before I watch you solving it. Tbh, I double checked with your video a few times just to make sure I’m on the right track, I had an early mistake in four cells only, 4s & 1s. Other than that, it was all completed by myself. I completed it in 1:14:54 , to me, it’s a good record since this is this first time I solve a non conventional Sudoku puzzle. It gave me a feeling similar to the first time I solved a Sudoku puzzle. I rarely comment, but here I wanna share my story with Sudoku: The first time I came across Sudoku was in 2009 when I saw it at a local neighbourhood newspaper with a prize for the first person to solve it. I read the rules and thought it was easy to solve. I’ve started by writing random figures then to find out there was an error. I’ve tried to solve it for couple hours but since I didn’t know the methods and the ways of how it’s solved I just got fed up with it and threw the newspaper. The Second time, a few years later, I saw a guy playing Sudoku from a newspaper on the train and it was the first time I saw someone is solving it, then I got triggered and I made a promise to myself that I have to learn and to solve one at least. That time, I had a Nokia phone (no judging😝) which had the game installed, I started playing and checking if my answers were correct. The moment I finished the first Sudoku I felt so relieved and fulfilled, as if I had believed this could never happened, (even though it was an easy level 😅) Since then I became addicted to the game and whenever I buy a new phone it’s the first game I download 😇 My only source of learning is through mobile phones. I came to know by myself different ways of solving the puzzles without searching or looking how to solve them, I just gave it time and follow trends of the ones I solved. Ever since, I encourage everyone around me to play it and sharpen their minds and I appreciate anyone who does play it. I usually play it the moment I open my eyes before I get out of bed😅 Thank you for the videos and making me re-live my old memories Simon. And Thank you ,to whomever read my comment, for reading all the way here 🙏 😊 Peace & Love to u all ✌️❤️

[@antonioliles5027]

Watching him leave the square by the 3 highlighted as a 2 nearly broke my brain LOL

[@Xeridanus]

Which one? There's two.

[@antonioliles5027]

@@Xeridanus Center right box specifically.

[@Xeridanus]

@@antonioliles5027 The other one was in center left.

[@antonioliles5027]

@@Xeridanus LOL I completely missed seeing that he did not deselect that one as well.

[@xZeZo95x]

i was screaming the whole time trying to get his attention XD it almost feels like he can't hear me lol

[@totalcoward]

“I feel like I’m missing something here...” *staring at the naked single 4 in column 6* indeed

[@jtribble6912]

Thank you! Those can't be 3's in column 5 because the 4 is locked there.

[@jamescanney1835]

Once you have the 3 and 4's placed, look at the offset of each row, starting at the top and working down. Makes it pretty easy to add each number once you have one of them. Feels like the restrictions force this pattern offset.

[@williamstrasburg8152]

Yeah, that's what I instantly noticed with the first one. This one still took me 22 minutes, but finding the first few digits was fairly enjoyable. I'll be going after this nightmare next.

[@Kamilot1000]

If the pattern if forced for rows, why isn't it forced for columns. And how to tell for which column or row it is fixed

[@andrewzmorris]

Doesn't hold for the columns, though. I think that pattern just happened to occur for this sudoku.

[@hellsatern]

@@andrewzmorris in the other "miracle sudoku" video he did a week ago, it was pretty much the same (an offset pattern on the rows).

[@hellsatern]

With the numbers beeing in the exact same order, but a different offset.

[@waimariemclean2759]

I'm nowhere near his level of genius but have been doing sudoku since I was a child. I'm so, so proud of myself for solving this in 36 minutes!! The feeling of elation when I figured our where a number that's not on the grid yet goes was immense! Can't wait to keep practicing my sudoku skills thanks to this channel

[@jeffreywienecke1262]

Found this channel last night and watched till 5:00 in the morning. I’m addicted to my lack of knowledge.

[@chrisbodum3621]

Treat it as a refresher and watch over two or three sessions and you will soon realise you don't have a lack of knowledge. You simply need an opportunity to flex your mental muscles now and again.

[@MrTheepictrio]

Love this puzzle, the fact that all the rows are the same, just offset, and the rotational symmetry adding to 10. A work of art

[@owenhansel7153]

I was just about to sleep but here i am.. *solving sudoku on my bed at 3 am*

[@Novas12390]

same for me but 10:30 pm

[@svnhddbst8968]

to be honest, staying up to puzzle isn't the worst reason to lose a bit of sleep. as long as it doesn't become a habit.

[@everythingcoffee8901]

and then there's me who can never fall asleep easily and so sometimes I just end up playing sudoku until I end up like passing out at like 5 am it's fun uwu

[@TheRrandomm]

5am at the moment and I started watching this, here we go again

[@torsteinpeder505]

same but at 6am

[@HailG3]

I swear if Mitchel Lee now makes one with a 5 and a 6 I'm gonna laugh myself to death lol

[@vincentd.9171]

You know you’re becoming a real fan of the the channel when you get excited for an Aad van de Wetering puzzle

[@BarotzEU]

I like the fact that there is a hidden restriction being "the middle digit of each square can not repeat". Love your videos!

[@hexeddecimals]

Theres more than that! Each digit is only in a certain position relative to the sub squares exactly once! For example, a 4 can only be in the gop right corner of 1 square. This is a property of all sudoku actually, not just the miracles!

[@Pendragon_Gaming]

I genuinely love how excited and passionate Simon gets about solving puzzles! Watching him get excited about a solve gets me so pumped

[@mmmcounts]

And 5 goes next to the 1, next to the 1, next to the 1, 6 goes next to the 2, next to the 2, next to the 2 7 goes next to the 3, next to the 3, next to the 3 I was waiting for him to notice. The repeating pattern by row (you could do it by column I suppose) is an interesting outcome of these rules for the game. It could make for an extremely fast solve if the pattern is fully understood and anticipated right from the start.

[@scfreiburgundgenialdaneben474]

Finally, the first time I needed less time than Simon (ok, more like the time the video lasts) . And although it was just 12 seconds and I'm aware that he takes his time to explain the rules in the beginning and every step while solving I'm happy. Have a nice sunday and stay safe :)

[@ifatreefalse]

had that happen for the first time on the spiral galaxy one the other day for the first time. all my time practicing spirals finally paid off!

[@Liggliluff]

(23:00) I thought dominos did secure even more squares. All around as you marked. But then also two extra steps away from the long edge. So in the example domino with 1s you showed. It should secure all squares two steps up and two steps down, as those squares are captured by normal sudoku rules and the knights rule. What you get is this shape: [ ][X][X][ ] [X][X][X][X] [X][dom][X] [X][X][X][X] [ ][X][X][ ] Where "dom" is the domino. Rotate the shape for a rotated domino.

[@hannahday3336]

Yup makes sense to me

[@FranK-bp1do]

This is the first puzzle you've done that I was actually able to solve completely on my own!

[@DavidVanmeterDutch]

I have never played a single sudoku puzzle, but love how he figures these out.

[@aboudasf4148]

I like how he says "cracking the cryptic" One the most British sentences I've ever heard.

[@Max-cw5rt]

Cracking the enigma

[@LanzaNation]

Never in a million years did I think I'd be watching a sudoku puzzle being solved while shouting at the screen where numbers go getting excited that the puzzle is revealing itself. 😂this was brilliant!

[@andjelacvetanovic2806]

25:40 “Hopefully I haven’t made a boo boo” I’m- 🥺 so cute

[@FloydRinehart]

I gave a try on this puzzle and managed to do it without any assistance... took me about 90 mins... and feeling pretty accomplished! Really enjoying your material and looking forward to improving my logic.

[@Goryus]

This is the same sudoku as Mitchell Lee's, just relabeled and with a different choice of starting digits. If you compare the ending states you'll see that everywhere a 9 appears in this puzzle, a 4 appears in his. And everywhere a 3 appears in this puzzle, a 7 appears in his. Etc.

[@Tsevion.7]

As far as I can tell the Miracle constraints mean every box is the same arrangement with a different offset... which also means they all are the same solution (up to mirror/rotation/relabeling) I solved it using that method and it went quite quick.

[@Tsevion.7]

And yeah... just did the thermometer one by figuring out the mapping (It's a 90 CCW rotation and subtracting 2 from all digits of this one)

[@theplayfulbot8447]

Matthew Karr That's a very interesting observation, however in order to use it you should proof why it is true..., imo

[@divided_eye]

Not only that, but whenever a number appears the surrounding numbers are always the same. Though at the edges they may wrap.

[@Nuvendil]

In truth, just one filled in box with these rules creates a unique solution because the constraints are what results in the symmetry. It would just make the start more of a headache.

[@antonigarithebestv2]

First ever special Sudoku I've solved without watching the video. Really happy with the solve. I realised you have to solve them yourself to appreciate the beauty of the construction.

[@nishanthn4927]

I love how they get exponentially easy! This is the fastest puzzle I’ve solved! In 22 mins...

[@ryangallagher7183]

Started watching your videos a week ago. This is the first one I've been able to solve on my own without getting any hints from the video, and managed in about 40 minutes! Thank you for the very entertaining videos! You do a great job explaining the logic behind your moves.

[@Coyotek4]

14:59 Another incredible puzzle, but since the idea has been done, it made the solve that much easier.

[@TallMist]

I watched a lot of videos on your channel, despite not knowing how in the world to solve a sudoku. I watched a previous miracle sudoku puzzle and thought "Wow, that actually looked kind of easy, I wish I had done it" and saw you'd done this one and thought I'd give it a shot myself before watching your video. This is the first time I've ever managed to solve a sudoku. I only had to consult your video about 2 or 3 times, and only for a little nudge in the right direction. Otherwise, it was almost entirely on my own. I've never even managed to do a standard sudoku where almost all the numbers are given to you. I'm not sure I'm going to take a dive into solving more complicated or other kinds of sudoku puzzles, but I think miracle sudoku like this is more my speed. Thank you!

[@GertzikCzC]

Similarly to the previous one, this one is also symmetrical, however opposites do not add up to 9 but 10

there is always a space between the numbers. f.e. is always 2 spaces to the right of 1. It just goes over to the border. I wonderd early on, why he didnt notice, because once you realize that the puzzle ist just on autosolve

[@adrianhead6272]

It's exactly the same, only the individual numbers have switched.

[@pema22]

Simon's always like a 10 year old opening his christmas presents when he finally cracks a puzzle.

[@shaun138]

"Work of Aad" should be on a t-shirt 🤣🤣

[@petercurran8145]

Just wanted to say I've been watching your videos for the past 6 weeks or so (not sure how I got here in the first place. thanks YT algorithm!) But i finally had a go at solving one of these on my own, before watching you do anything. Took me quite a while but so satisfying to finish it without any clues or help! Thanks Simon!

[@BuilderNr1]

16:06 Well, that's just the 3's pattern from the first puzzle rotated by 180°. It's basically the same Sudoku.

[@jimmoskowitz]

Lots of lovely patterns in the finished grid! The central box is a magic square. The central squares of each of the nine boxes, form a magic square. Every box has each of its symmetric pairs of squares (i.e., upperleft -- lowerright, uppercenter -- lowercenter, etc, within that box) add up to the same number modulo 9: for the bottom center box they add up to 0, for the middle box they add up to 1, top center is 2, bottom left 3, middle left 4, upper left 5, bottom right 6, middle right 7, and upper right 8.

[@CaesarsSalad]

When I tried to solve this puzzle on my own, I made a mistake with the sixes. But something amazing happened. With the incorrect sixes, it seemed like there was no way to place the sevens in a contradictory way so I was struggling to make progress. That is until I realized that I needed to place the sevens in such a way that the left over squares do not touch each other, since that would lead to consecutive eights and nines. I thought it was a surprisingly neat ending that got more difficult at the end. I was a bit sad that it was not part of the real puzzle.

[@benjamilindqvist912]

It seems like he is not concious of the part of the brain that is solving the problems for him. That is a huge talent and that is at the same time probably the reason why he loves these puzzles so much. I on the other hand am not able to concentrare for even a minute on a regular sudoku and I find it mentally very heavy and anxious. However, I enjoy watching these videos very much because it seems to be a huge passion for him. Whenever I can look at a person who is doing exactly what he wants to be doing, I get the same kind of feeling he gets when realizing where the numbers go.

[@LimLamOfficial]

It's a work of Art. *AND A WORK OF AAD.*

[@DanielGonzalezL]

So nice to see you read that commenter's comment and fixed Aad's name by putting caps only where they're supposed to go :)

[@timvermeulen4024]

16:03 Pretty easy after having solved the previous one!

[@amongus2816]

Getting better! My last solve of one of these was 1:21:46, but now I solved this with only 43:29 with only checking the video once!

[@Guthix744]

11:58 speedsolve... In my opinion this is a one off - once you know the trick, it's not satisfying anymore.

[@TheTrueBrawler]

Yeah, 26:09 on my end. I remembered the last time this happened and knew what needed to be done.

[@user-vb3jg1zc9g]

The trick being the repeating digits or closer to the way he solved it? I tried to solve it using logic like he does, but it took me twice as long as you. Maybe I'm just slow.

[@Guthix744]

Imo one way to possibly make it more interesting is to have starting numbers 1 apart (like 1 and 3) and having to work out all three numbers we would have info about (so 1s, 2s and 3s in this case) at the same time. The initial logic to fill in the two starting digits is fun but once you know that, the puzzle is basically over ^^

[@Artaresto]

I think it's satisfying up to the point where no major logic acrobatics are longer needed. For me it's when 3 digits are filled completely. (21:30)

[@Guthix744]

@@user-vb3jg1zc9g no it's literally the matter of being thorough, I've not used ANY logic Simon didn't mention in the previous video. Thing is, Simon is unbelievably good at spotting mad logic patterns but he is I'd say pretty avreage (at least for a puzzle fan) at spotting what's already there. There were multiple instances in that video (seen it after my solve) where Simon finds great logic... that's just not needed because he didn't squeeze out 100% out of that 4 he just put in :)

[@sanasarus1721]

From 13:15 you can already see some symmetry in the middle 3 boxes. The 3s are exactly 2 cells right of 4s Even the row2 column8 4 cell loops around the edge and keeps a distance of 2 cells. Absolutely love this content!

[@planetrinaaa]

his thinking process in solving these is faster than mine during panic attacks

[@francis7336]

I've never thought it would be that fascinating to watch someone solve a Sudoku for half an hour

[@ngchorhong3174]

25:35 that's a five (Stares at R8C7) "Oh no, I don't want to put a five there" Simon looks like he accidentally angered the sudoku gods looking down from above XD

[@Nikonguy73]

I also stumbled across your channel a few days ago and just bought your classic and knights app, I’ve loved sudoku for many years but since watching you I can now complete most classic in about 30 minutes 😀🤪😜

[@davidbeaumier4953]

The more i watch this channel, the more i feel like i have the intelligence of a potato... Still enjoy it immensely :)

[@MichaelScott-es5gy]

His enjoyment and candid attitude when discovering what number goes where is so contagious

[@isabelbogdan4202]

Imagine doing this sudoku, being at 5 and noticing, that you made a mistake... yep, that's me✋🏻 Edit: Omg I made it

[@iremaday7163]

Litterally me

[@chickenhunter4694]

Same🥲

[@alipareedanse12]

I solved it in 2 hours and 23 minutes, around 2 hours in I made a mistake and briefly thought I would have to restart the whole thing but thank goodness I realised where I messed up and could easily fix it

[@isabelbogdan4202]

@@alipareedanse12 That's good that you noticed where you made the mistake! It would have been sad if you had to do the whole thing again just because a little mistake 😬

[@rickrice8660]

I had already made a mistake at 2s so started over

[@Fliteska]

I found one of these videos a few days ago and thought why did I watch this for 25 minutes... I think I've watched so many hours now and it just makes me happy when you realise how to get it done

[@raetekusu1]

Last time I was this fast I was still doing easy Sudoku just starting out.

[@joepatrick9162]

It is a pleasure to listen to you approach a puzzle and watch it collapse so effortlessly! Thank you for sharing your gift.

[@leewei0369]

phew, the beginning was extremely annoying, it took me around an hour and a half to clear this. I already watched him clear the last miracle one, but still didn't expect to take 1 hour and 30 minutes to clear it XD.

[@danielnagy8419]

Simon, here's a tip. I'm not sure if u haven't noticed it, but just like with the previous miracle sudoku, the numbers mirror each other. 1-9, 2-8, 3-7, etc. Following that logic, whenever you have a number, you can place it's mirrored one. I hope you understand what I'm saying. I'm also sure this makes solving these puzzles fairly easier. Just thought I'd mention it! And now for my review: I found this channel almost a month ago and I'm in love. I eagerly wait every video you guys upload because they are soooo much fun, and your enthusiasm makes it even better!!!

[@G-tix]

I don't really like this puzzle to be honest. It's exactly the same as the other one, just labeled differently. The 5's have become 1's in this one, the 6's have become 2's, the 7's have become 3's and so on..

[@IdleAtre]

Yeah, as much as i loved the first one because of how ingenious it was, but now it feels identical and not as fun.

[@ghosty918]

Its the ruleset, you can get all possible valid solution by moving the board down, left, or rotating it. The constraints are too restrictive to make anything else. Thats why the first one was a miracle, it was a miracle that it ended up that way and it can't be repeated.

[@Sumbreon]

this is the 3rd video ive watched in as many days, ive never been so riveted by sudoku. youre delightful to watch :)

[@TheThomasites]

2s would have been faster if you didn't mark the cells next to the threes.

[@bluechromemina]

Following the solve of the first miracle sudoku helps with solving this by myself. It’s amazing, especially when placing 8 and 9 in the grid; it’s like... your pen is just dancing across the puzzle!

[@nikitashaitan9984]

Well not that hard Took me 40 minutes But i’m dying to have more of those

[@bookivoska9325]

Yesh! My first time doing one of your featured puzzles under one hour and no peeking at the video! Keep doing these awesome videos!

[@deleetiusproductions3497]

Looks quite similar.

[@livedandletdie]

It's basically the same Sudoku as the Mitchell Lee version but all numbers are staggered one step to the right. I'm more amazed over how it's still solvable though from this position.

[@kylevail6630]

This just popped up in my recommend feed, never done a single Sudoku before but I decided to try this after hearing the instructions, it took me an hour of mostly process of elimination but at the end it's so rewarding, definitely going be doing more but rn I need to go to bed

[@kingofbaconreal]

who came from hazem code

[@splendidyeti7790]

Same

[@OmegaSean]

Me

[@ChronicalsCore]

Me lol

[@trynn_fromrobloc]

Bro they fr giving puzzles that requires 999 iq. Were literal 15 year olds bro 💀 Dude thinks were big brained

[@josah2897]

Me

[@ItsArabella]

This is the first of your puzzles I've been able to solve without watching the video first! Took me an hour and ten minutes... but I did it! So proud.

[@callumritchie3847]

you made a fair few mistakes when calculating where the 2 could go

[@gm5240]

I've just noticed something. If you look at the finished sudoku, you can observe a pattern with the collumns. In the three first boxes, the collumn on the left always contains the numbers 3 6 and 9. In the next three boxes, the column on the right always contains the numbers 3 6 and 9 as well! And by sudoku, the last 3 boxes always contains the numbers 3 6 and 9 in the middle collumn. The same applies with 147 and 258. And for the rows, it also works! But more locally as it is not the same triplet for the whole puzzle.

[@hazelnutsheep7863]

This is the first puzzle featured on your channel which I managed to complete without needing help, the most satisfying thing ever, all thanks to the techniques I learned due to watching your channel, sudoku isn't often find on 17 year old's hobby list, but definitely it's starting to be on mine, love your videos, keep up the good work!

[@simpledude9539]

I paused, I studied it, I used what you've taught me (over the past couple weeks) and I finally solved one without having to see you do it! Thanks for teaching us how to Crack the Cryptic!

[@VGJustice]

Saw the video, waited for the rules to be sure it was the same, paused and solved. Little over half an hour but I managed it! You're right, these are really nice to solve. You just have a huge hurdle at the beginning and then it's all smooth sailing.

[@oliverflock1393]

god, i've spent last 1.5 hours trying to solve it and i keep making mistakes, and now im watching you do it so effortlessly. there is much to learn for me. thank you for your amazing channel

[@bseduarda]

I AM ADDICTED TO THESE VIDEOS!!! The energy it gives from seeing everything falling in place!!! Amazing!!

[@brenkrasmer]

Very happy with myself... I clicked on the puzzle, and went for a solve myself... and only took twice as long as you did to nail it. Thank you for showing me how to get some of these done.Now... my brain needs a nap.

[@nicksteele5613]

After watching the last miracle sudoku, I went to solve this one before watching the video and it took me nearly an hour and a half because I kept messing up the 3s and 4s but realizing too late and just having to completely restart. These insane sudokus are absolutely enchanting to me!

[@lightyugami13]

I have been painting the solutions lately using a different color for each number and they are very pleasing. I really enjoy mathematics in art.

[@ksportz66]

Once you get to 12:09 you can easly see that 3 is two squares and one down to the 4 otherwise after four night moves the pattern would bring together again hence you can deduce the horizontal sequence MUST be the same . Then it is easy. Amazing to fathom the first number but easy afterwards.

[@0NBalfa0]

I stumbled upon this channel through the first starcraft themed sudoku you had done here, eventually this channel got me to get the chess sudoku app on android and I really liked it. Now I got to work this puzzle and it's really funny how it solves itself when starting with only two givens. Goes to show how strong all these conditions are!

[@what-uc]

Simplest way to make one. Fill every other square in top row 1-2-3-4-5, fill the spaces with 6-7-8-9. From 9 step back one column and start the next row with 1 there. Copy the sequence from row 1. When you reach 9 at a block boundary step back TWO columns (wrapping round if necessary) to determine the position of the 1 on the next row.

[@uzimaker]

Love the miracle sudoku. It's such a fun solve, and I love listening to you help guide me through when I get stuck. It's a great soothing and relaxing way to end my night.

[@xyz.ijk.]

Astounding logics, gently delivered. Even an occasional missed decision which leaves room for us to discover items along the way. Well done.

[@tron1852]

I love it when I spot something a few steps ahead of where you are at because 99% of the time I'm about 10 steps behind and just dumbfounded. Makes me feel smart for just a second hahaha

[@MichaelJPartyka]

This is another one of those where I finally got it through much struggle, but now I have to watch the video to see how Simon solves it in sublime haste.

[@MichaelJPartyka]

I guess the reason I had such a hard time is that I went with 5's instead of 2's after the 3's and 4's were pretty much settled. Still, it looks like Simon nevertheless had to pry away one cell at a time with the 2's, just like I did with the 5's, so I don't feel so bad.

[@thomasscharnhorst2381]

Back in May I saw this Sudoku. It was shortly after I started following your channel. I was like "nah, never will I be able to solve a puzzle like that". Today I stumbled across it again and gave it a try. It took me a little more than an hour but I made it. Thanks Mark and Simon for being such good teachers and good companions during this year! Wish you all the best for Christmas!