A Sudoku And A Thank You

[@zegres]

Thanks for the kind words at the beginning, Ren-day was very special and I am so grateful to Simon and Mark for embracing it and to my co-authors: Sandra and Raumplaner. I highly recommend watching Simon's reaction to Hi Ren if you haven't yet and reading the comments! (link is in the description) also, have a go at the pack! I am glad this puzzle got a feature, I was going to send it in but kept not getting around to it. I have been setting a lot more "normal" puzzles lately focusing on single constraints and I really liked this one. There is one bit of logic that Simon missed - that would have helped make the solve smoother. (it is very similar to the initial break in logic, but few solvers see it - so Simon is in good company) You can see it clearly @23:37 but it is available earlier - the digits in R23C3 are the same as the digits in R4C12, similarly R23C7 are the same as R4C89. This helps resolve the middle and top very efficiently using similar logic to the break in. Anyway, great solve! Thanks for the feature!

[@Paolo_De_Leva]

Thanks a lot for explaining your elegant intended logic. I am one of those who could not see it. 🤦‍♂ I really admire the thematic consistency of your solving path. 👏👏👏👏👏

[@longwaytotipperary]

Enjoyed watching Simon solve your puzzle.

[@davidrattner9]

Constant adore your puzzles being featured and you sharing insight into them!! Love how you set!!

[@davidrattner9]

​@longwaytotipperary makes 2 of us my friend!! 💜🩵

[@bobh6728]

So does Castle Keep have any significant meaning?

[@KrisCadwell]

I like how Simon went through most of the puzzle assuming that the blue line at the bottom was unnecessary. Like the constructor just put it there for no reason. His confusion when he couldn't just solve the puzzle with normal sudoku at that point made me smile.

[@emilywilliams3237]

Watching this a couple of days late due to holiday festivities - this was very nice, a nice video and a nice puzzle. I decided to try to solve it by myself, but fairly quickly decided that I would let you lead me, Simon, as I solved a bit, then watched for a little while, then applied what I had learned. Thanks for this video, and for all you (and Mark) do to keep us full of two sudoku videos per day despite holidays and travel. So appreciated and so fun!

[@chameleon_yura]

Simon, Mark, and the whole CTC team, thank you too! Your videos have the same exact effect for me, and probably for many other people worldwide. I watched some of them dozens of times all over again - it's such a source of not only clever puzzles, but also just something that brings a smile to the face and makes a dark day a little bit brighter :)

[@patrickgass787]

That pun at the end *chef's kiss* - great puzzle by a great setter!

[@zegres]

P.S. glad you liked the joke at the end, I have been putting little one liners as success messages for the last few of my puzzles. I did not come up with it, just something a friend of mine says too often.

[@longwaytotipperary]

Too often, huh???😄

[@davidrattner9]

Absolutely adored the joke at the end and what is your definition of "too often" 😄

[@frankjiang1857]

Finished in 27:32. Great use of same sum lines to limit possibilities for the break-in, and I particularly liked the usage to finish the solve with the line going through the bottom 3 boxes forcing the digits to specifically be different on the outer most boxes even though the sum must be the same. That logic was a wonderful recognition. Great puzzle!

[@Sandra_and_Nala]

Beautiful ZegreS puzzle. Beautiful reminder of how special CTC Ren Day was. Good memories 😊

[@penningmeestercgkdelft9159]

If there ever would come a day that Simon would grow fed up with Ren's music, would he inaugurate a Ren Ban Day instead...? ;-)

[@Sandra_and_Nala]

@@penningmeestercgkdelft9159 another beautiful ZegreS puzzle 😄

[@irrotational]

I always love Simon's solves 👍 I was really enjoying the proof that 6 was on the line at 36 minutes...when there was a 6 right next door, highlighted in green, that was forcing it on there anyway 😊 love every video, keep it up!👍❤

[@iambicpentakill]

LOL, I'm like, "Well, he's going to prove this the hard way."

[@anaayoung9142]

This was a really good puzzle, I was able to do with a little help at the middle to the end. Thanks for the solving! 🤗

[@bertbergers9171]

pohh that was though, needed some hints where to look a few times from Simon. finished in 101:14 Nice puzzle but too hard for late tired evenings :P Underestimated thisone a lot. Thank you Zegres and Simon for puzzle and video!

[@SomethingWellesian]

I fell down a rabbit hole on the etymology of flat a few years ago. It comes from the Old Norse word flatr, which meant floor (and is the root of the word floor). That’s why apartments are called flats. Old French also adopted the word into the verb “flater”, which meant to stroke with the flat of your hand. That’s where we get the word flatter. So ZegreS’ pun is more accurate than he might have known. (Plainly.)

[@zegres]

Lol very cool

[@poppyholly1759]

Not watched the solve yet, had to go and re-watch (and re-live) your reaction to Hi Ren.

[@chocolateboy300]

I finished in 69:00 minutes exactly. The geometry of this puzzle was really fun. The break-in involving both two cell regions in column 1 and 9 at the top was fantastic. It really tested my ability to scan and I think I did well. Great Puzzle!

[@inspiringsand123]

Rules: 03:58 Let's Get Cracking: 06:15 What about this video's Top Tier Simarkisms?! Bobbins: 6x (16:26, 19:40, 19:40, 19:40, 19:45, 28:42) Three In the Corner: 4x (22:38, 22:41, 25:03, 28:39) Knowledge Bomb: 1x (05:17) Chocolate Teapot: 1x (38:30) And how about this video's Simarkisms?! Ah: 9x (12:49, 13:21, 18:05, 26:51, 29:54, 29:54, 31:28, 37:30, 38:30) Weird: 9x (11:55, 11:55, 22:31, 23:54, 25:21, 31:37, 31:44, 36:47, 37:00) Hang On: 6x (12:08, 12:34, 21:16, 25:10, 31:37, 34:50) Clever: 4x (13:25, 31:46, 39:22, 39:26) Lovely: 4x (10:44, 10:45, 39:52, 40:02) By Sudoku: 4x (16:14, 17:13, 23:42, 30:20) Obviously: 4x (01:58, 24:46, 25:40, 32:35) Beautiful: 3x (00:57, 13:21, 16:01) Gorgeous: 3x (22:31, 22:33, 24:36) In Fact: 3x (23:12, 33:52, 37:40) Sorry: 2x (18:32, 25:40) Stuck: 2x (17:32, 17:46) Brilliant: 2x (38:51, 38:54) Come on Simon: 2x (17:39, 37:14) Internal Logic: 2x (27:53, 28:13) What Does This Mean?: 2x (14:46, 22:50) Uniqueness: 2x (27:43, 29:16) What on Earth: 1x (13:49) Useless: 1x (35:32) Naked Single: 1x (33:30) Missing Something: 1x (20:10) Bingo: 1x (13:21) Box Thingy: 1x (30:57) Progress: 1x (33:20) Pencil Mark/mark: 1x (31:11) Symmetry: 1x (19:19) Triangular Number: 1x (07:16) Most popular number(>9), digit and colour this video: Ten (15 mentions) One (69 mentions) Green (12 mentions) Antithesis Battles: High (5) - Low (1) Even (4) - Odd (0) Highest (4) - Lowest (0) Row (12) - Column (7) FAQ: Q1: You missed something! A1: That could very well be the case! Human speech can be hard to understand for computers like me! Point out the ones that I missed and maybe I'll learn! Q2: Can you do this for another channel? A2: I've been thinking about that and wrote some code to make that possible. Let me know which channel you think would be a good fit!

[@ankitbajpai5088]

Which software you use to generate this info?

[@damarisparker7348]

I think the Keep is the two sets of symmetrical lines/snakes/ribbons, as a cut away section from the side of a keep, rather than looking down on a map/plan.

[@Swisswavey]

Lovely puzzle. So elegant 😊. Thanks for sharing it

[@MaierFlorian]

You know Simon is going to miss an awful lot of simple stuff when he starts pencil marking all cells with 5 options 😅

[@alanclarke4646]

No, no: it mean Mark is wearing a Simon mask 😂😂😂

[@penningmeestercgkdelft9159]

😂

[@brucejones533]

That’s our favorite part!

[@philipmetcalfe4736]

Probablly been mentioned Simon...rough outline of a castle / Keep and the river in front of it

[@boman987]

“No puzzle we have published has more than one solution.” I don’t know what you mean. I frequently get a different grid. I just don’t click the check button.

[@ericpraline1302]

A very refined puzzle, thanks.

[@kobe11111]

lol Simon going through a process of elimination on why the 11 line needed a 6 when there were 2 6s looking at box 8, forcing a 6 onto the line

[@flavia4657]

I'm having my driving exam on Thursday. I got to be honest I'm a bit nervous. At least I got sudoku to chill with. It's so nice listening to Mark's voice

[@thespanishinquisition4078]

Don't worry mate if you keep calm you can do it, I believe in you!

[@flavia4657]

I did it , I have a driving licence now

[@thespanishinquisition4078]

@@flavia4657 Great job! I knew you could!

[@jaega4247]

Great puzzle, and a beautiful solve by Simon as always! As per usual, I got stuck on forgetting that one little rule/clue; this time being the single white dot in the grid, which kept working on line-math for way longer than needed. Don't forget about the dots, even if there's only one!

[@MattYDdraig]

41:11 Excellently twisty turny mindbendy puzzle!

[@piarittersporn]

Wonderful puzzle.

[@biegeldog]

Despite Simon’s best efforts, they did actually publish a video with a puzzle that had two solutions. Can’t remember how long ago it was but I remember that the finished puzzle had cells that had two options and setting the value in any one of them would give a valid sudoku grid.

[@leporid257]

i also remember a sudoku that was supposed to be unfinished!

[@RichSmith77]

I also remember a puzzle, I think called Hydra, where there was a unique way to fill in the digits but one of the snakes could have taken two paths. Since drawing the snakes was part of the puzzle, that had two solutions. This one kzbin.info/www/bejne/rn6yaZKNg5ypa8ksi=tYWQ8suNTljURL2d

[@chris5619]

Additionally, I sort of feel like "for what reason is this a 3 other than uniqueness?" is sort of using uniqueness to solve. Simon didn't actually go down that path, but if you go down a path "because" of uniqueness, you could definitely argue you were using it to help the solve. At the same time, I also feel like that's a good strategy to "find" the path, sort of like fog of war puzzles hint at the path.

[@westofley]

@@chris5619 i'm a bit confused as to why he didn't use that as valid logic. The uniqueness rule is a normal Sudoku rule, so doesn't it apply?

[@cinemaker321]

​@@westofleyuniqueness is an assumption and by logically solving the sudoku without using it you prove uniqueness. More importantly using it would skip some of the constructed logic that they are trying to show off.

[@BozoTheBear]

Wow, loved this! Pretty tricky, but managed it without hints. There were enough clever ideas that I'll probably watch the solution as well.

[@nakorbluerider]

This was a really great puzzle, but man it kicked my butt in so many ways. My final time was 2:49:16 lol. I was stumped for so long on that bottom line, it *completely* escaped me that it had that property of identical ends having to also land in the middle for the longest time. Entirely on me, the upper half of the puzzle couldn't have been crafted to teach the concept more thoroughly. It's almost embarrassing watching Simon zoom through it so quickly after. That said, every step really felt interesting and discoverable, I was 30 minutes in without digits (apparently I'm not very good at region sum lines... yet) but thoroughly enjoying myself the whole way despite the long finish time.

[@zegres]

Thanks for sticking with it! As a setter I worry about > 2 hour solve times and feel my name being cursed through the ether. Very happy you found it rewarding in the end. As you noticed I tried to teach the pattern as part of the puzzle, but even Simon missed the version on the 2-2 region sun lines in box 5 - the fact that R23C3 was the same as R4C12, plus same with opposite side. Thanks for detailing your experience and for solving!

[@HunterJE]

There's some interesting syzygy-style arrow logic that gives one extra bit of pencil marking out the gate in row 1, though not sure how much it would have added to the solve. Specifically, the five cells on blue lines in box 2 must have the same sum as r1c3 + r1c7; since the minimum for five different digits is 15 those two must sum to at least 15, so both of those cells must be from 6789.

[@stevesebzda570]

I guessed 45 mins today. "40" Close. Maybe I'll give it a shot. (Maybe some roping glancing at that one line - but maybe not). You've taught me a lot. Thanks Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Years to yas. ❤😂🎉(

[@tudorcardas7462]

I interpreted Zeg's final message as plateau being the moments we get really stuck on a puzzle, and reaching that state can be a form of flattery for setters. I might be wrong though, would love to hear other opinions too!

[@zegres]

Robert Frost once said that he wrote a poem about two paths in the wood that he encountered while hiking, but he takes credit for anything people see in his poem. Which is to say, I like silly puns, but I’ll gladly pretend I put in the meaning you see there.

[@amyl9864]

the two of you should do more reaction videos!

[@alienrenders]

21:56 for me. That last line was quite clever. Almost missed the logic there. Nice one.

[@theashen]

Took me quite some time to get the break in, but that was very nice

[@holliambria9870]

I always feel so validated when Simon gets stuck in the same place I did! 😂

[@wanderlustwarrior]

30:18 for me. A little slower than I thought, but still pretty good, if I mesa so.

[@nathandts3401]

The monologue at the end of that song is pretty much CBT in a much more understandable way. It doesn't surprise me how much of a positive it is to people's mental health.

[@bertbergers9171]

I would suggest to check out wikipedia's main list of options for CBT and then next time you probably wirte out cognitive behavioral therapy :P Especially because it also could remind the weary tired reader of CBD (which association was my original reason to google search for multiple abbreviated terms)

[@nathandts3401]

@@bertbergers9171 Was wondering what the issue was until I got to the last section of the Wikipedia article. Point taken.

[@Raven-Creations]

Your solve was nothing like mine. I first noted that both of the 5-cell segments and the line cells in box 2 had to include 123, and the other cells in the box had to include 89, so 8 and 9 were in R4 in box 5. Neither of the line dominos in boxes 1 & 3 could be 17, because the alignment of the 8s and 9s would mean the other would be at most 6 & 7. This pushed 4 onto both 5-cell segments and 7 into the white 2x2s, making R4 in box 5 a 789 triple. Because of the 89s in box 2, only one of the dominos in boxes 1 & 3 could include 9, and the other had to include 8, and both had to include 7. This pushed 7 onto the 2-cell segment in box 2, making those lines sum to 17, with the single cells in boxes 1 & 3 being an 89 pair. As noted in your initial observation, the extra domino on the left hand line meant it had to be 15, with 78 in box 1, and 69 in box 7, and the right had to be 16, with 79 in box 3. R1C3=9 with 234 on its segment in box 2, and R1C7=8 with 17 on its 2-cell segment. The segments of the 4-cell lines in box 5 could be at most 10, because of the alignment of the 5689s in box 2 preventing either segment in boxes 1 & 3 being 56. The 2-cell segments of the long line at the bottom couldn't contain the same digits, or they'd both appear on the 3-cell segment with an extra digit. Armed with this, and some sudoku to limit the options, everything resolved nicely. @ 19:45 - "Bobbins, bobbins, bobbins, bobbins" - The vertical domino in box 3 cannot be 56, so the line sum is 8, 9, or 10, limiting R5C6 to 123, giving a 1234 quad in R5. You can eliminate 12 from the vertical domino in box 1, because it has to sum to at least 8 and has to include 5, so 1 & 2 are in C3 in box 4 and can be removed from R4C1/2. If R4C3 is 3, 4, or 5, this puts a 12 pair in R5/6C3, which is not possible - it would make R5C6=3, R4C6=7, R5C7=4, and you can't make R2/3C7 sum to the required 10. Therefore R4C3 must be 2, R3C3=3, R2C3=5, R4C4=7, R5C4=1, R6C3=1, R5C3=4, and it all starts to unravel. @ 28:30 - "No puzzle that we have ever published on CtC has ever had more than one solution" - Not true. There was one which specifically had two solutions in the rules. @ 36:05 - "So let's imagine it doesn't have a 6 on it" - Why? By sudoku there is a 6 on it. A very nice puzzle, and a joy to solve. I also enjoyed the congratulatory message at the end.

[@zegres]

Wow, thanks for the detailed comment, Simons solve was pretty close to the intended solve path, but you figured out the Box-5 lines logic closer to the intended way. I always find it useful to update my model of the solver as it helps improve setting, so these type of comments are very useful. Thanks!

[@fakeaccount6694]

What a beautiful proof that 6 can only on the only 3 cells where 6 can be.

[@RichSmith77]

That was such a Simon move. Why use straightforward sudoku when there's a more complicated way to reach the same conclusion? 😂

[@Ardalambdion]

Thank you for talking about mental health and other social issues.

[@Paolo_De_Leva]

I enjoied solving this, but I believe I have already solved a very similar puzzle... I can't remember how long ago and where, however 🤔 This was published about two months ago on LMG, and inspired by *Forgiven,* by James Sinclair.

[@zegres]

I love Forgiven by James, that puzzle is awesome and had a lot to do with the break-in here. I also tried to imitate the flow of a James Sinclair puzzle, but that is very hard to do.

[@Paolo_De_Leva]

@@zegres You aroused my curiosity. I'll solve that ASAP. Thanks for sharing.

[@RichSmith77]

It looks like Simon recorded this one around two months ago. The success pop-up at the end of the video gives the number of solves in 20 days. It's now giving the number of solves in 84 days. (Probably also explains why no Santa hat today.)

[@Paolo_De_Leva]

​@@zegres You are right. *Forgiven* is awesome. Your puzzle is even better because you did not need (odd/even) disambiguators. You managed to "double" Sinclair's logic trick (by using lines with 2-5-2 long segments rather than 1-3-1) and that's doubly fascinating. This makes your puzzle more challenging, and hence more interesting to me. Moreover, you made it *even more* fascinating by sharing your insights here and in your separate comment above.

[@Orenotter]

It has been a while, don't you know? My sleigh job keeps me on the go. But I can make time For a region sum line That ends up in a flat'ring plateau. (Eats whatever treats you may have left out for the reindeer and leaves iced brownies with the correct ratio of brownie to frosting)

[@zegres]

Very nice! Or maybe I’ve just plateaued, usually I have more to say.

[@adipy8912]

28:22 Chameleon: Am I a joke to you?

[@snilefisk]

First time seeing 3 in the corner: hehehe Second time: hehe 6th time: heh 12th time: *sigh* 50th time: 💀💀💀 And even when there isn’t one, we have to talk about there potentially being one 😢

[@RichSmith77]

Those times he comes out with "No 3 in the corner today, I'm afraid". He really thinks we care. I'm sure most of us don't.

[@michaelawilliams]

Oh! I made the assumption that numbers on a line could not go on the same line in another box which was correct nearly every time in the puzzle, but which is a fallacious fact and is in fact wrong at least once.

[@biaberg3448]

I was waiting for this 😊

[@EmonEconomist]

52:29. A bit of a toughie for me, but the logic wasn't too complex (I think my brain was just a bit tired!)

[@srwapo]

75:21, undid a lot of my work because I somehow read that the blue lines could not add to the same sums, but it wasn't bad the second time. I did spin my wheels a lot with the bottom of the grid, somehow messing it up multiple times.

[@brettduffin8412]

You are starting to evolve up to Goodlif style pencil marks!

[@santisis]

At 35, Simon discussing how to not put a 6 on box 8 row 8, where there's no other place to put it in :).

[@eddieharwood7788]

That was hard. I got al the logic until I failed to realise that the bottom blue line couldn't have 13 segments because of the 5 and 8 needing to repeat in a 3 cell 13 segment. That step took me longer than the rest of the puzzle put together.

[@chipsounder4633]

Oooh this looks cool 🎉

[@bait6652]

Why the 1st two openings were starightforward even if complex but the one halfway to finish the puzzle wow manage to struggle through after finally realizing what was happening

[@Gonzalo_Garcia_]

14:46 for me. Great puzzle!!

[@chipsounder4633]

There is an episode of fringe ( season 3 episode 3) called 'the plateau' Plot.. a man with a severe cognitive disability has an experimental treatment to boost intellect. Some people unfortunately get hit by buses and pass. The fringe team find out that there is a cause and effect like chain so someone is behind it. They trace him to the clinic where they see a video of the man with a 66 IQ after 1 treatment recite pi to a thousand decimal places and they gave him 5. It is a great episode dont want to fully spoil it if you want to watch. Just curious if the plateau is about the hierarchy of knowledge and intelligence. Leading you up the floors of logical thinking till you reach the top ( the plateau) Just a thought.

[@awilliams1701]

you actually did have a puzzle with multiple solutions once. It was the whole point of the puzzle. I wasn't 100% convinced you had the right answer though and there either was no solution programmed in or solutions weren't supported yet.

[@fulltimeslackerii8229]

It took me 101 minutes but damn it I pushed through and solved it. I had to have had the wrong idea. I just marked high and low cells after getting the 9 x wing deduction in columns 2/3

[@six_5000]

I did not keep a tally of how many times my brain forgot how to do basic addition. but if I did, I am sure that number would exceed the secret... 167:50

[@michaelmatter1222]

Wonderful puz!

[@phteven4782]

Is there a link to the “hi ren” reaction?

[@strangest_cacti]

It's in the description!

[@Rach881101]

33:30 for me. Nice puzzle!

[@tremkl]

For the years I’ve been following this channel, I’ve always felt the chocolate teapot triple gets a bad rap. Definitionally it’s more useful than a regular triple. I’ve always liked to believe it’s name is because a chocolate teapot would surely be useless, but it would also come apart completely with a slight disruption.

[@longwaytotipperary]

I think a chocolate tea pot would be useful with warm milk, making it hot chocolate!

[@kathyjohnson2043]

Isn't uniqueness a result of logic? If so, wouldn't that be something a solve could require? I want to see a puzzle called "Uniquely done "

[@zegres]

There have been a few meta puzzles like that. Perhaps the best of them was a Freid Knot puzzle that was featured on this channel. Puzzles that require uniqueness to solve as a rule specify that in the rules, like: this puzzle has a unique solution.

[@ShaunGuth]

I want a reaction video for Harry Mack Omegle Bars now!

[@AleksandrYgA]

20:08 for me, not a difficult one but very nice indeed

[@林老師-i5d]

50:24 for me nice puzzle

[@lahoosascoots]

The puzzles won't open on IOS 12.5 anymore! Guess I need a new iPad!

[@francoisduez601]

36:46 Nice puzzle 😊

[@westofley]

i'm a little confused as to why the uniqueness rule can't be used here? It's a Normal Sudoku rule, no?

[@zegres]

It’s not really a rule. Using uniqueness relies on the assumption that the puzzle has a unique solution. That assumption is very safe on all puzzles you see on CTC not so much on a newspaper sudoku. In either case it is an assumption and not a rule, so it is sort of considered bad manners on a hand set sudoku to use uniqueness unless the setter specifically mentions it.

[@F1r1at]

I hate puzzles with lots of pencilmarks, it's so hard to spot anything in that mess! Took me 73 minutes to solve it.

[@volandsharikov6379]

Why 2 blue lines have a 8 total?

[@zegres]

There is nothing in the rules that says the sums have to be unique. Perhaps you are confused by “blue lines MAY have different totals to one another”. But that is MAY not MUST

[@volandsharikov6379]

@@zegres oh, thanks

[@robertcousins2274]

31:05 for me

[@awilliams1701]

at the 27 mark......really simon? I swear you're doing that on purpose just to make our blood preassures go up as you ignore sudoku. (you could have gotten R5C3 like 5 minutes sooner)

[@LednacekZ]

34:02 today. i started and stopped a lot during the solve. should have been faster.

[@nathanmays7926]

Is it acceptable to use the logic "if this cell is X, that would create a deadly pattern" to rule out a digit?

[@creativename3256]

If you’re testing a sudoku: no. If you’re solving an already well tested sudoku: yes

[@nathanmays7926]

@@creativename3256 Makes sense!

[@stevieinselby]

If you are in a competition where you need to solve the puzzle as quickly as possible, use any tool at your disposal. If you are solving for pleasure and leisure, it is considered bad form to use uniqueness, as you are then _assuming_ there is one unique solution rather than _proving_ it. The obvious exception to this is when you are instructed to do so! There was a fantastic puzzle by AFrayedKnot on 27 June 2021 that required the solver to assume uniqueness in solving it (and if you haven't seen that puzzle, I would wholeheartedly recommend you give it a go).

[@robertogonzalezdacosta1836]

Hmmm…at one point in the bottom blue line. Wouldn’t be possible to have 4,7-7,3,1-7,4 all adding to 11? Simon dismissed putting a 7 in the middle section…can’t see why?

[@AndrewMooreMar]

If both ends of the line are 4-7, then you're also forced to place 4 on the line in box 8, so those can never have the same digits.

[@zegres]

I noticed this very neat pattern and liked it for the last section of the puzzle. As Simon discovers, you can’t have any shared digits on the Box 7,9 parts of the line. Because it means the same two digits like 7,4 are forced onto the line in Box 8 by sudoku and that breaks the RSL.

[@stevieinselby]

Where are you putting the 4 in box 8? If the outer segments of the line (in b7 and b9) share one digit then they have to share both digits, but by sudoku that puts _both_ digits on the line in b8 _along with a third digit_ ... and as that third digit can't be 0 then the segment won't add to the right total.

[@robertogonzalezdacosta1836]

@@AndrewMooreMar yep, missed that completely

[@RoderickEtheria]

A plateau is an imitation?

[@creativename3256]

35:19 for me 😊

[@erichvereen1988]

‘No puzzle on Cracking the Cryptic has more than one solution’ Hm…. Any Schroedinger Cell puzzle has two distinct solutions. I seem to recall the Inception puzzle having multiple solutions, as well as some other puzzles of their ilk like the advent calendar puzzle recently done (technically they are multiple puzzles, worked in succession, but still…), and I distinctly remember one puzzle that had a different solution based on whether you were solving for even numbers or odd numbers in the marked squares that Mark completed. So, on technicalities, there are some multiple solution puzzles, but we understand the meaning, Simon 😀 I hope you and your family, Mark and his family as well as everyone in the sudoku world has a wonderful and merry Christmas.

[@theredstoneengineer6934]

23:44 for me

[@TurquoizeGoldscraper]

37:06 for me.

[@bruceh8043]

30:10 for me and solver #3041.

[@awilliams1701]

wow simon! You really hate sudoku. Why aren't you using the 3 in R3C3? You keep ignoring it!!!

[@zegres]

There really should be a name for the bias you are exhibiting, a very common one in CTC comments. I would call it a “Mote in the eye” bias… When you solve sudokus you probably miss dozens of things that would be glaringly obvious to someone watching you solve, however that person isn’t there to tell you that, so you are blind to your omissions. When you watch Simon you do see these obvious things sitting there and point them out. Like he should have seen them. Also when watching a video you have less to keep track of then the solver and your mind is more free to catch simple logic. Having said that, how could Simon not have seen that six??

[@awilliams1701]

@@zegres I sometimes am guilty of missing things, but I wouldn't have missed that. If I put in a digit I'm fully aware of what that digit affects. I make sure I do everything before moving on. The only time it's an issue is when it compounds, but that didn't happen in this case.

[@michaelandersen-kk4fc]

69 everywhere. that is a good day 🙂

[@animeshsharma5666]

This was so painful to watch