Ace Your SATs With The Sudoku Teacher!

▶ KICKSTARTER LAUNCH LINK◀
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***************************************
Today we feature the latest puzzle from RockyRoer, the American maths teacher and it's another humdinger. You can play it here:
app.crackingth...
Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply. In cages digits must sum to the small clue in the top left corner of the cage. Digits cannot repeat in a cage. In addition, every cage contains kropki dots that must be located by the solver. A black dot between two cells means that one of the digits in the cells is exactly double the other. A white dot between two cells means that the two digits in the cells must be consecutive. The exact number of dots of each type are the digits in the cage sum total. For example, a 21 means there are either 2 black dots and 1 white dot or 2 white dots and 1 black dot. Within a cage, all possible kropki dots would have to be given. Dots between a 1 and 2 could count for either black or white.
**************************************************************
Huge kudos to Peter C Hayward and David Stephenson for their work on our ARG. It was solved last night and the big reveal can be seen here:
rebrand.ly/greathits
and TOMORROW we will launch our Kickstarter campaign to make this book a reality! Watch this space.
**************************************************************
Our Patreon page has lots of extra content including Scott Strosahl's Puzzle Hunt and Phistomefel's latest sudoku!
/ crackingthecryptic
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▶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

[@paulcook2961]

This little diagram might be useful. It summarises ALL the possible kropki relationships (regardless of dot colour). 1-----------2------3 | / \ | / \ 4-------5------6 | | | | 9-----------8---------------7 Hint: specially useful for the 33 cage! Hint: fairly useful for the 22 cage too.

[@NoodleKeeper]

That's pretty cool

[@paulcook2961]

Finished in 31 minutes (that's including the time to draw this diagram into a text file while thinking about it AND paste it into a comment here before going back to finish it!). Came back to watch the video. Really this diagram simplifies a lot of the logic Simon spends ages talking about. The cages Simon tackled LAST, I tackled first. Just look at the 22 cage and my diagram. Clearly 4 must go in the middle - it's the only 4-way junction. Just look at the 33 cage and my diagram - it's instantly clear that you can't be missing 57 or 48. Hence my path to solution was totally different from Simon's. Great fun puzzle. Simon says "there could be a slew of these" but I don't think so. That 22-trick and the 33-trick and the various other simpler tricks can only be done once. There can't be many other nice tricks like that within the ruleset. I doubt another puzzle with the same ruleset could be substantially different enough to be new and interesting. Certainly not a slew of others. However, as a one-off, it's brilliant.

[@BozoTheBear]

Yes, I usually work with a little graph like this (with black/white edges).

[@davidmonnerat8598]

@@paulcook2961 i had the same thought. Brilliant Puzzle and fun to solve, but i doubt there are many new tricks to be shown, sadly

[@RuneLar]

That was one of the best puzzles I've seen on the channel. I hope it makes it in the Kickstarter book.

[@MeriaDuck]

One could test that by analysing all possible permutations of one through nine and see if any of them can exist without any dots. 1 5 2 7 4 6 8 3 9 is one example, and because 1 and 9 are not in a kropki relation so do all rotations of that. Find a few more examples, and try to construct a sudoku... Then, IF that is possible,you may need a sprinkle of givens to make it a uniquely solvable sudoku. I wouldn't know how to specify givens or add other rules to make it an actual sudoku, nor can I estimate the difficulty of the resulting puzzle, but maybe someone can.

[@Playmaker6174]

Couldn’t agree more. The design of this puzzle still makes me wow so much :D

For me, as a native polish, it seems funny when you say 'kropki dots' as kropki literally means dots :D

[@YunisRajab]

Dots dots

[@NoodleKeeper]

As an American, I hear people do that all time. PIN number, for instance.

[@atriyakoller136]

And as a native Russian speaker I find the word "kropki" very cute, but the closest Russian word is "knopki" which means buttons 😊

[@atriyakoller136]

@@NoodleKeeper in Russian there's a popular saying "VIP person", and I always think "I wish they knew" when I hear it.

[@LBulletDodger]

@@atriyakoller136 in israel everyone always calls the russian nesting dolls "babushka" (grandmother) for some reason. drives me crazy. its called "matryoshka" for the none russian speakers.

[@jamesm7417]

This was one of my favorites. Not the most difficult, but enjoyable and clever. The kropki constraints were a lot of fun. Well done, Rocky!

[@marino1805]

Same, it was just the right difficulty so i didnt spend too long on it

[@prahas777]

This was so wonderful. I think I've seen all of Rocky Roer's puzzles on the channel, and each grid is more interesting than the next. Simply terrific!

[@danieltaber4924]

Added to the phrasebook: "That ain't gonna get your parsnips buttered"

[@nekogod]

Reminds me of a Joe Lycett line. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYSVZ2SVdqx0pa8 from 3:30 to 3:45

[@ryang4335]

Just backed the kickstarter - can't wait! I'm excited to give a couple books away as gifts. Love your channel. My wife and I watch both episodes every evening. Good luck with the book!

[@mattfunnysocks]

"don't forget sudoku when you're doing these puzzles" that's all I know how to do...

[@brendabalzan1994]

Feels

[@Radmud]

When you asked what puzzles we would like to see in the book, The Miracle sudoku by Mitchell Lee was the first puzzle that popped into my head, because the solution path is so original. Glad to see it in the Kickstarter video - it definitely deserves to be in the book!

[@jinbe-san]

It was also the milestone puzzle that caused this channel to blow up on youtube. They’ve gotten so much attention because of that solve. I also found this channel because of that video. It’s super important!

[@jdyerjdyer]

Amazing puzzle! For the 10 cage, you noted that the 2 has a relationship with every other digit and used this to put the 2 on one of the ends, but you missed the other implication that this means the only kropki in the cage must be on the 2, so the 3 and 4 can never be together. This means the 1 can never be opposite the 2 in the outer cells, but must be in one of the marked 134 cells. Whichever it is it can't also be next to the 2 because that would put the 34 together in the remaining cells again. That means the 2 must pair with a 3 or a 4 with the 1 two cells away from the 2 and the other 3 or 4 in the other end cell. This gives you 234 in the outer cells and 134 in the inner cells. From here, once you know that the 11 cage must be 245 with the 4 in the middle (there's a 6789 quad in the row, so the only digits remaining are 12345 and only 245 add to 11, and you need one relationship of each kind and the 2 in this case only has one relationship, the 5 only one, and the 4 two, so it has to be in the middle) and the 22 cage also requiring a 4 in the middle (the 4 digit is the only digit with 4 possible relationships and you need all four to make the ruleset work), then the 4 for the 10 cage is locked into R6C1 or R6C3. If the 2 is in R6C3, that would force the 4 into R6C1, the 3 in between them would then create 2 consecutive chains, breaking the ruleset. (We already said a 1 next to the two would as well.) That means the 2 is in R5C1, the 1 in R6C2 and the other two forming a 34 pair (separated by the 1). That was how I opened the puzzle. You way was more elegant though. You didn't need that more complicated logic as the top 3 boxes helped place the 1 in the 10 cage forcing the same relationship.

[@melimelon5368]

I'm attempting my first hard sudoku today and the only reason I'm even considering it is because I learned how to organize my information and find alternative ways to solve cells from these guys.

[@notthatseanbean]

I’ve backed the book! Now I need an add-on “Bobbins” enamel pin!

[@chuck3175]

I can’t wait to get paid this week so I can support this book. This video’s only been up for less than 2 hours and it’s already up to more than 1/4 of the first goal!

[@zkhydro4985]

This certainly needs to be in the book, seeings as it may be the start of a new type of puzzle. I dub thee "killer kropky"

[@Raven-Creations]

That was an incredible construction. I would imagine this was a fun one to construct. Having the idea that the cages could be arranged so the kropki dots matched the totals was genius. Finding cages that work, then getting them to fit into a valid sudoku must have been quite a challenge. There have been a few puzzles on here where a novel idea was used, but it was obvious that the setter couldn't avoid a deadly pattern, so chucked in a tiny thermo, or a sandwich. Thankfully, this puzzle was pure, and all the better for it. My solve went from ooh this is fun, to oh no, it's broken. Eventually, I realised there are two ways to arrange the upper 30 cage, and muggins here found the wrong one. If I'd left the top row as a 129 triple, and waited until after examining the 33 cage, I wouldn't have made the mistake. Sometimes, it's better not to try being smart too early, and just let the puzzle show the way. Also, it's amazing how far you can get sometimes before revealing the breakage; I'd got to about 70%, and my mistake was at about 20%.

[@chesshead]

I think it sounds like Simon is doing this on a typewriter, especially when he inputs the wrong number somewhere (surprisingly often?) and has to attack several keys in order to change it. Great solving, and a fun creation. When I saw it was kropki, I wondered where the dots were and presumed there were no dots because it was entirely built on the negative constraint. I wonder if a kropki sudoku could be constructed with no dots anywhere?

[@SimonSideburns]

If he has an older style IBM or Cherry full size keyboard on his computer (and I'm pretty sure it's not a laptop) then the keys will sound like an old typewriter as he hits them. I am a touch typist and I have a couple of these keyboards, and it's really helpful to be able to hear the keys being pressed so that you don't have to keep looking at the screen to make sure what you've typed is correct. They're pretty reliable like that. In stark contrast to that is the awful laptop keyboard I'm typing this on, which causes characters to repeat, skip and or end up out of order, so I constantly have to keep watching what I type and read back through it to make sure it's accurate, which is not great when touch typing.

[@chesshead]

@@SimonSideburns But do you know why he has to write a novel every time he needs to change one number?

[@SimonSideburns]

@@chesshead Yes, I can say for certain that he is repeatedly pressing the spacebar to select the correct mode. The space key switches between the large numbers, corner marks, centre marks, and colours modes. At the minimum it'd be one press, and at the maximum (assuming he doesn't miss it and have to go around again) it'd be three presses of the spacebar. If he misses it adds three more to the tally.

[@chesshead]

@@SimonSideburns Ah, thanks man. Mystery solved. I don't use the keyboard for these puzzles.

[@Varksterable]

Some mechanical gaming keyboards can sound like that, especially if the mic isn't decoupled from the desk it's on. And sudoku _is_ a game.. Re. the number of keystrokes; his mouse rarely (if ever) leaves the grid. So operations like changing drawing mode (digit, corner pen, center pen, colouring) need keypresses too. I've not used the web interface recently, but iirc these modes 'cycle'. So changing from one to another may need multiple key presses. As for the almost ubiquitous off-by-one initial entry.. I have no idea at all. The weird thing is, he usually corrects it almost faster than mere reactions could. It's like he _knows_ it's incorrect even as it's typed. But if that's the case then why ... Very puzzling indeed. Maybe someone could construct a sudoku where all the final digits have be exactly one numeric keypad key away from where the sudoku clues say the value should be. It'd halve Simon's keystrokes at least. (And be utterly, utterly incomprehensible to boot!) Not complaining, though; I find part of the quirky charm of this channel, really. 😁🤪

[@NoodleKeeper]

I will definitely be pledging enough to get a book. Your videos have helped me deal with lots of boredom during slow times at work.

[@matthewender3473]

That was a lot of fun! Nice inventive rule, I enjoyed it. Took me 39:15 to wend my way through the logic, as usual being pretty good at seeing where to attack early on, but slowing down midgame.

[@HunterJE]

I get that it's by reference to usual kropki rules where a given dot would have to be be drawn one way or the other, but would be interesting to see a different version of this ruleset where "12" relations count towards both totals instead of one or the other...

[@olegpovkh5581]

That's by far my favorite puzzle, it's insane.

[@dustysparks]

I just love how logical and (basically) linear this is despite having no givens. Really wonderful. If Rocky, Phistomefel, THS, JCL, Eric Fox, Aad VW, and a few others don't get their own chapters (or dare I say volumes!), I'd be very surprised.

[@grahamcase]

Phenomenal puzzle. Happy enough with my 46:30 time. Thanks for another great one!

[@sampathkumar-ej7xl]

The clarity in Simon's thought process I find remarkable. I did solve this puzzle but using and eliminating lots of number combinations but Mark looks at a cage and translates what is given into a simple statement that cuts through unnecessary work. For example the 33 cage he put the digit 8 in the middle with his lucid explanation. One day I hope I will be able to do the same.

[@phantomofthelpac]

First time managing to finish on my own before the video ended! (Obviously Simon spent more time explaining the logic during the solve than me, but still, it's something)

[@fattyredbeard9806]

This is an amazing piece of puzzle setting. Very enjoyable.

[@jeanbarque9918]

Around 17:45 you can do the + in the center. It needs 2 of each dots so the center cell needs to half/double and 2 is not avaible so it's 4 with 35 and 28

[@WillyBotson]

I just backed the Kickstarter! Good luck, guys! I hope to see the book soon.

[@thejeqff]

I tackled the 33 cage pretty early in my solve, and I think there's a much easier way to think about it. Since there have to be three ratios and three consecutive, it's clear that 1248 have to be the three ratios, and 1 or 8 would have to be on the ends. You can't make the consecutive digits with 123 because it would repeat the 2, so it must be 567 coming off of the 8. It puts 8 in the middle of the cage, and based on the 30 cage above, it makes it very easy to resolve the cage.

[@sonalita_]

$50 pledged. I WANT THIS BOOK!!!

[@madcapprof]

For the central 22 cross, the deduction of the central cell being '4' is quite straightforward. The central cell is in a Kropki relation with all the other cells. So, if the central cell is x, the other cells are x-1,x+1,2*x,x/2; giving a total of the 5 cells as x+x-1+x+1+2*x+x/2=(5+1/2)*x=22, implying x=4.

[@ryanoswald8013]

I did it in a way that didn't require as much algebra by noticing, like you did, that the surrounding cells have to be +1,-1,*2,/2. From there, I checked what the total would be for 2 and 4, the only digits with a valid *2 and /2. (well really I only checked 2 and determined 4 was the only possibility without actually checking it).

[@ryanoswald8013]

And now that I think about it more, 2 wouldn't even work as the -1 and /2 would both be 1, and we can't have 2 of those.

[@HalfBakedLunatic]

Agree, brilliant puzzle - such fun!

[@Dysiode]

Just gorgeous! I hope they're not hard to construct because this is the sort of kicker variant I would feel more confident trying. Would love to see an addition to the software to have kropki toggles if more get made!

[@Coyotek4]

21:21 Best time I've had solving a 'Simon' puzzle in quite some time. All the nicer that I did it on a 'mathy' puzzle. Nice puzzle!

[@jaunusender6166]

I felt pretty good figuring out the order of the 10 box pretty quickly and the layout the second Simon narrowed down the 11.

[@LTDextel]

Wonderful setting. Love unique rules

[@carstenkruse8527]

what a genius sort of puzzle...great idea

[@josephdlist]

Can I get a recipe for buttered parsnips with magic in the sauce please? Throw it in the book, I’ll buy a second one. :)

[@alarictaqiarentza9451]

51:25 solved for me. This puzzle is approachable and very fun to solved! Brilliant construction puzzle!

[@OjingeoChaemuchim]

I could not figure out the center cross toll the end. Now I realized I should've found it from the beginning!

[@andrewnelson2525]

I did the boxes in a slightly different order and was delighted at the way the 33 box at the bottom and the 30 box at the top right bounced off each other. They disambiguated whether the 30 box was missing the 69 or 78 without using the 40 box at all. Not terribly difficult but since the logic was all new, particularly fun. Especially since it kept looking like there wasn't nearly enough information in the grid, but the hidden dots kept producing results.

[@maverickstclare3756]

I'm not sure I enjoy anything as half as much as Simon does ! Maybe a quarter, sometimes even a third.

[@jaeusa160]

@19:45 The center of the 22 cage also can't be a 2 by logic. Because you'd need to repeat 1 in the cage AND the cage would only add up to 11 with a 123 and 124 set in each direction.

[@majedal-baghl4917]

The SAT is a standardised test that Americans take before applying to university around age 17. It tests reading comprehension, mathematics, and writing. It is most like a UK A level without the specificity of subject. A maximum score is 2400, with 800 in maths, reading, and writing.

[@payprplayn]

@Vitor Carvalho Two, even

[@dvd4tube]

@James DeDonato Correct. The old scoring system had a maximum score of 1600. Then they changed it and the maximum score was 2400. Then they changed it again, and the maximum score is back to the original 1600.

[@majedal-baghl4917]

@James DeDonato Thanks! You're right. They changed it again. You now get a separate writing score with a maximum of 2-8.

[@majedal-baghl4917]

@Vitor Carvalho If I were writing in Spanish or Portuguese, I might write estadounidense, but there isn't really an equivalent of that in English--unless you expect me to write the unwieldy circumlocution "citizens of the United States of America . . . "

[@RichSmith77]

@Vitor Carvalho True. But it's still true to say Americans come from the United States of America. Canadians come from Canada, Mexicans come from Mexico, Brazilians come from Brazil, and so on. Americans come from the USA.

[@jeanbarque9918]

At the beginnig in the 10 box 1 has to go in the center because if you don t 34 would be in the center.

[@EmonEconomist]

43:01. I quite enjoyed this! Very cool and novel concept.

[@jameswiebe8956]

This was a fun puzzle! I had the center 22 cage limited to the 5 numbers it could be (with the 4 in the middle) almost right away, but then tried to work from there and got bogged down badly. I suspect that the way Simon did it, by starting with the 40 cage and out from there (or possibly starting with the 33 cage - it looks like it would have a logic path that you can follow too) is the proper way to go on this one. Either way, a really fun puzzle.

[@troqu]

This was my longest solve yet because I lost power a few minutes in and had to put my computer to sleep for a few hours. When I came back I completely forgot about the Kropki dots and was just trying to solve it with the cages for literal hours before I decided to recheck the rules... I also must have messed up somewhere because I got a deadly pattern at the end after all of the cages were completed but the check function told me it was good. Final timer was 5:03:25 Watched the video now: I'm ashamed that for almost all of the logic I did the same things as Simon except when I placed the 3 in the 40 cage for some reason I forgot that I wanted it to be in a black dot with a 6 and so i swapped the 6 and 9 which led to the deadly pattern I saw.

[@RSTeve2521]

Hey Simon, thank you very much for your content, i had not play Sudoku for years til now. I watched some of your videos and bought the chess sudoku in the Steam market. I really like it alot. Kind regards from Germany, have a good time, love your content. In times of corona you have something to do with your brain :D

[@nubzors]

How difficult will the puzzles in the book be? I am really new to the channel but have some experience with regular sudoku and logic puzzles, so would someone like myself be able to get some value out of the book, or is it mostly going to be super difficult puzzles for expert solvers like yourself?

[@eclectichoosier5474]

Go back to the "Miracle Sudoku" and start watching from there. I think that was the one that started the variant craze and the explosion of puzzles with no given digits. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3zJapSLft2XmJY All of the videos are catalogued here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rVqAjm-l_Urjd3TNmIc3SmTmz_OlgSoBuhY7RPgiuRg/edit#gid=0

[@euanmcdougall1917]

He said it will feature the best puzzles on the channel, so likely a lot of the difficult ones, but also some of the more elegant and approachable ones too!

[@thomasburriss405]

I loved this puzzle because it was sophisticated and clever but not too difficult for me to do. Great puzzle for a lover of sudoku who isn’t very good at them.

[@richardglover314]

I really enjoyed that even though I lead myself astray and gave up with so much right.

[@julkip]

Some day I will set a sudoku where there are no fives, but every row, column and box has two sevens… just so simon can't explain the rules of the 45 :D

[@DavidNayer]

Love this idea. I setting to work now

[@mohamedabdelgafar6180]

15:15 Once you knew where the 9 goes in the box, you can immediately place a 3 to avoid a white dot (6,7). Anyway, I think Simon did it more elegantly.

[@alibabapirce9782]

19:50 it can be only 4 ( i know your thinking that 2 has 2 white and 2 black dots but it actualy has only 3 because one of them is both black and white at same time)

[@wombatbreath]

Brilliant construction

[@Tintenklexs]

I'm at the point where I can successfully solve a lot of the puzzles they present but I still need them desperately for explaining the rules to me.

[@martincoates96]

That one was really fun.

[@RuneLar]

I would love to see a puzzle that used one clue of each variant type with no given digits. Like have one killer box, one thermometer, one skyscraper, one sandwich, one number uses knight's move restriction, one little killer clue, one arrow clue, one place that uses kropki, ect.

[@eclectichoosier5474]

Try this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Znuwnoaund6Zf9E It has 14 different rule sets

[@gordonglenn2089]

2 nice do-able puzzles on the same day! Though I kept messing up on this one, by being careless.

[@francoisduez601]

22:58, indeed quite approchable, and very nice puzzle ( as usual on CTC 🙃 )

[@donkeyface4452]

Simon could solve world hunger and forget to eat dinner

[@KumaKaori]

24:40, I found that differently b/c I hadn't acknowledged the Kropki rules yet. The remaining 5 digits in those two boxes have to sum to 36 (likely with one repeat) and still requires a 9 to do that.

[@steviedmrbk5179]

What a stunning puzzle!! Btw would a 1 and a 2 have a black or white dot?🤔😳

[@Da-mD]

39:35 - just WOW!! Totally enjoyed it

[@mbakenemdusink9757]

Really beautiful concept!

[@nishanthn4927]

There’s an easy way to determine digits in 11 cage, as there can be no 5 in any other cell in that box.

[@arjunsadananda9012]

The three corners (1,6,9) not possible in 33 box... It's so impressive and exciting to see you think through that all in your mind! I took out a pen and paper to reach that conclusion! :P

[@PauxloE]

To get more difficult variants, you could have encaged kropkis with unlabeled cages.

[@rockyroerNPC]

Have you seen willy wonka's puzzle? It indirectly inspired this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWq4cpmYot1goqM

[@MeriaDuck]

2:57 That's not just a ruleset, that is worthy of being fine print for solicitors.

[@toddbiesel4288]

The center cage equals x+2x+(x÷2)+(x+1)+(x-1), so you can figure out what x (in the middle cell) is.

[@stevesebzda570]

@13:58 (or abouts): Is it me, or can't a 3 go next to that 4 in the grid here?[[ because a "dot" is not shown]] Putting it in the top row (row 1 in box 1) That would put the 3 along row 2 of box three here. Simon will probably deduce it either goes inside that 30 cage or outside of it in row 2 of box 3 or something) but am I correct the 3 has to go in the top of box one here ? I don't see much with all of these cage total puzzles too often but I think I'm right here. Am I mistaken ? Lol Rules: "All of the dots are shown." Does that mean only in any given cage, or entirely in the grid ? Ah, [I re-read it] "Within a cage, all possible kropki dots would have to be given." It probably isn't talking about the entire grid then. I am mistaken probably. Confusing though. @15:09 That 78-78 pair in box 2 sorts out that entire box 1 then. That'll work (that 3 wasn't next to that 4 after all just like I thought) lol. ;) 😂

[@pfeffer1729]

This is one for the book!

[@nekogod]

1:24:42, really liked this one!

[@danielrhymer1762]

24:42. Such an interesting concept and very enjoyable 😃

[@jonathanbost8427]

I certainly need that for my college applications.

[@rach6088]

rockyroer is officially my favourite setter that was 🔥

[@LednacekZ]

it amazes me how he does all this processes without using pen and paper. I cant do all the thinking in my head only.

[@thesundancekid123]

Now that you're Reverend Green, would you play us "Walking in Memphis"?

[@RHINOunderscore15]

@crackingthecryptic Will the setters featured in your book be getting any compensation for the monetized use of their puzzles?

[@marino1805]

Uff that one was fun and easy, took me about an hour.

[@Kinada]

I'm an idiot and kept undercounting the relationships and it messed a few things up even after getting it right at the start of the puzzle and thinking I was going to have it easy. I restarted the puzzle to re-think the ones I miscounted and got it done in 42 minutes, never mind the hour or more I spent thinking I couldn't do it because I has 2 relationships where 3 should go.

[@dvdspndl]

Outstanding!

[@robb1267]

Any guesses on how fast we'll meet the Kickstarter target? I didn't see when the link was originally posted, but it's now It's 7:45pm USA Eastern time on Monday October 12th and the ticker is at 370 pledges to $9,318. My guess is less than 24 hours! I pledged $21: an extra dollar each for Mark and Simon. :)

[@BryanLeeWilliams]

I think I've made a wrong assumption about the 40 cage, the 30 cage or both. With my logic, I can't fill the two cells in box 2 that belong to the 30.

[@nimbletim]

i am frustrated. started over twice, got confused both times with 6789 thinking that i only need 3 consecutive numbers there instead of all 4. (considered the 3 in 30 to mean that 3 squares are consecutive instead of 3 white dots on the lines between the squares)

[@bucherrabemittendrin9344]

The video is 8 minutes online, 30 likes, 7 comments and... 1 dislike. Take your time, buddy. The like button is just a breath away to the left.

[@rohanchen1yearago705]

XD

[@atriyakoller136]

I know right? Before I started watching this channel I saw a video in my recommended and thought "what's the point in watching someone solve a sudoku instead of solving it on your own? This video must be boring" but I clicked anyway because the sudoku was not a classic one (I think it definitely had a knight rule) and I got gripped from the first minute. Like the logic of the puzzles is always so stunning and seeing something before Simon or Mark is also a bit gratifying. And their accents! I'm an English as a foreign language teacher, not a native speaker myself, but I'm a sucker for British accents 😂 I watch them a lot now

[@MisterNohbdy]

Why are you okay with 30 people liking it before watching it and not with 1 person disliking it before watching it?

[@bucherrabemittendrin9344]

A like or dislike imho can mean feedback to the content OR to the people of the channel. Mark and Simon helped me A LOT during the Lockdown. I wasn't allowed to work for 5 months and it was such a relief to listen to people who can be so positively excited about such simple things in life like puzzles. Who showed respect to so many people around them. Without knowing it, Mark and Simon helped me so much to stay positive during this dark time. To like their videos is one and the easiest way to support them back. As I often forget to like them after I watched, I started to like the vids right from the beginning. On the other hand I cannot understand a dislike without having seen the video. You cannot dislike the content because you don't know it. So is it the people who are disliked? But if you already know that you don't like the people of the channel, why on earth did you come back to this channel? For your own mental health, stay away and search for something else that is more to your taste. That's why I am okay with liking a video without having seen it and why I cannot understand such early dislikes. I am no native speaker. Thank you if you have read until here and if you could understand what I tried to say. :)

[@atriyakoller136]

@@bucherrabemittendrin9344 not a native speaker myself, but as an English teacher I'd be happy to have a student who can formulate sentences in English like you :) and yes, I absolutely agree. Even though my lockdown was the opposite and more like "work nonstop and overwork to the point of depression" :D

[@BozoTheBear]

Beautiful!!

[@stevesebzda570]

Watching on this one (after seeing that involved beginning and 33 minute video solve). I have a feeling it's going to be really cool though, lol. ;) 😂

[@Mephistahpheles]

Curiously, for the 10 cage: I didn't see the 2's restriction. I DID see the 1's restriction. (1 is works opposite to the 2....it can't go at the end.)

[@pink_water_melon]

You technically arrived at the correct conclusion incorrectly around 12:33. You assume it must be black dots, but it could be white dots. Until you realize that, not because 3 needs to be next to a 6, but rather, because of 2/4, if three is there, it creates a combination of white and black dots (324) in the cage which is impossible since it must be 4 white OR 4 black dots.

[@christhecyclist5998]

46 minutes in I thought that I had cracked it. But I missed that I had put a vertical 2/4 kropke in box 3.

[@brucestuart466]

I also got a correct solution, but my solution was different. In my 10 cage I had 2-3-1-4, whereas you had 2-4-1-3. Which gave me different box layouts in boxes 4, 7, 8, 9. I now notice , on close inspection, that my 21 cage is incorrect, in that I have the 6&5 around the wrong way, giving 2 white and 2 black dots - oops.

[@RoderickEtheria]

The 4 is the only number that could ever go in the center of a plus sign in one box with two of each Kropki. If it were 2, you would have 1, 3, and 4, but you wouldn't have a fourth number.

[@paulcook2961]

In fact, the 4 is the only digit with 4 relationships of any kind.

[@RoderickEtheria]

@@paulcook2961 That was my point. Although 2 has 2 of each, the fact that the 1 is used in two different Kropki relationships only leaves it with 3 numbers it has relationships with. All others have 1, 2, or 3 Kropki relationships except for 4 which is connected to 2, 3, 5, and 8.

[@NijiRanger]

not to distract from the kickstarter. but you talked some time ago (might be quite a long time, since i'm working my way though the backlog) about some specific setter making a sudoku book, and i can't remember who it was, or where i heard about it! does anyone have an idea?

[@GirGir183]

The 30 cage, most of which is in row 1 has 2 and 1 next to each other. Doesn't that count as a black dot AND a white dot?

[@JamesHerold]

the rules specifically account for this edge case, actually. It is either, but not both

[@jinbe-san]

Is there a negative constraint where there isn’t a dot between digits that don’t share a killer cage?

[@jinbe-san]

I guess there is not

[@Marius5]

Will the book also be for purchase after the kickstarter? You need a credit card to back the kickstarter unfortunately.

[@alexandrathayer1305]

M v. Boekel go to Target or Walmart and buy a visa gift card with cash then use that to pledge on Kickstarter

[@Marius5]

@@alexandrathayer1305 Thanks for your help, but I don't believe we have them here in the Netherlands

[@jimhester1205]

Could this be labeled a "Krop Killer"?

[@peterli100]

that one problem bothers me is that if the 1 and 2 pair can only act as one kropki relationship i.e. a black dot(1x2 =2) or a white dot (1+1 =2) or it acts as both?

[@stevieinselby]

It is one or the other, but you can choose whichever dot you need to make it work each time.

[@mattfunnysocks]

I think this type of puzzle should be called "Invisible Kropki Killer Sudoku"... new app?