Calibrate Your Sudoku Ability!

[@James_Sinclair]

Thanks so much for the feature, and for the nice comments about the newsletter! This is a very nice surprise on what is also a very cold day here in Florida (I realize a lot of folks will roll their eyes at that, but compared to what I'm used to it's absolutely frigid 🥶). Good luck in the tournament!

[@ajdvecjemput]

This construction was so much fun, thank you! The way the logic flowed, made if one of the nicest solves in a long time for me.

[@martysears]

Another amazing one James. If I hadn't seen who it was by, I think I would have been able to guess this was a James Sinclair puzzle. Such a lovely core abstract idea, and the flow was so smooth.

[@leickrobinson5186]

Thank you! This was an absolutely beautiful puzzle! Not easy, but very satisfying to solve!! 😄

[@davidrattner9]

Your setting is so clean and exceptional James!! Joy to see one of your artisenals featured!!

[@tornadre]

It’s 18 degrees F here in Ohio! You’ll live 😂

[@katiekawaii]

I've noticed James Sinclair constructs puzzles in a way that subtly guides your attention to the right places the way fog does, but without the fog-just really thoughtful construction.

[@Thomas_Bobbins]

Awesome puzzle. I can't believe I am able to solve these puzzles after following the channel for 6 months totally on my own. Shows what great teachers you are, Simon and Mark. Thank you very much!

[@katiekawaii]

I know, right? Same.

[@Yttria]

Great puzzle. After trying fruitlessly to crack into the puzzle for 30+ minutes I started watching Simon's solve. As soon as he started talking about the 10 I understood what the break in would be and finished it without a hitch. That initial question was definitely a hard one for me to recognize.

[@adamheywood113]

I'm getting really good at staring at the screen until I give up ;);)

[@PassionPopsicle]

I've become so much better at that too, since watching ctc! 😂

[@adamheywood113]

@PassionPopsicle I ought to say I'm getting quicker and quicker

[@A_CC_K]

Same here.

[@constanza1648]

Keep going. In no time you would be better at screaming at the screen for a number in box 9!

[@Sinisest1121]

It is always interesting to see that Simon manages to see so difficult things and same time fail to notice something obvious like only one cell remaining to pencil marked as 3 or 13 pair is watching to 34 pair.

[@JamesDundon]

So true. I almost feel guilty yelling at him about the simple things he misses when I know I struggle to see complex break-ins on my own. Almost. 😅

[@A_CC_K]

A James Sinclair puzzle, amazing. Best way to spend an evening, watching CtC. Good luck with the Golf competition!

[@emmareymen5334]

ooh!! A James Sinclair, this is going to be good!

[@hzl1776]

Solved in 38:30!! Love James's puzzles so much this one was so fun :))

[@kobs_0]

playing golf in the winter is certainly quite bold, good luck if the competition goes forth!

[@robsreality]

Something I picked up early - If 9 is in box 3 column 9, then 9 must be on the pink line in box 7. If 9 is NOT on box 3 column 9, then it must be on the pink line in box 3. Either way, 9 is on the line, and not 1.

[@ericpraline1302]

James always seem to hit the sweet spot. I admit to sometimes finding easier puzzles less than satisfying due to the lack of challenge but this straddles the line very comfortably, requiring some thought at the start after which it flows beautifully.

[@blobz-1]

Re: The Hobbit Puzzle Hunt -- yes, there is one puzzle for every chapter in the book. And each puzzle's theme/mechanics/aesthetics draws from the events in the corresponding chapter.

[@emilywilliams3237]

I just solved Lake Town - they have all been great, and they fit the events of each chapter so wonderfully!

[@Stratelier]

This was an impressive break-in to the first few digits. After that, smooth solving!

[@FireTruckFuel]

19:07 Paused it, worked out what Simon was getting at, solved the puzzle. I was stuck on that break in for two days!

[@Rubrickety]

This felt nostalgic! Lovely puzzle, with traditional rules and intriguing but non-obvious geometry. Took me quite a long time to find the break-in (as is my wont).

[@frankophetveld]

I couldn't crack this one from James. Beautiful break-in, gorgeous logic and a very solid solve!

[@wordclover]

Me neither, but a little helping hand from Simon (green is smaller than brown) broke it completely open. 63:00 after staring at it for (what feels like) an hour over a couple of days, and only getting a couple of minor pencil marks. Geometry really is my nemesis!

[@elric58]

It never ceases to amaze me how Simon seems to find the most obscure ways to determine digits that seem to me to be much simpler. One example at around the 30-minute mark is figuring out R1C2 is a 1 or 2. Right there in C2 is a 34-pair that immediately gives you that. I do love these videos and it is always awesome to see how his brain works, but sometimes... LOL

[@Paolo_De_Leva]

Magnificent geometry. *Cosmic-class* magic, as usual for a puzzle signed by James Sinclair.

[@nickapple3788]

I’m a simple man. I see Simon I like it then watch

[@nickapple3788]

Btw I bought all your apps and dlc on AppStore ❤️🫶🏻

[@biaberg3448]

So do I

[@Sinpip]

"weird, wonderful, and (once you see it) Beautiful." -Simon, Talking about the puzzle, yet also how the world describes Simon. ❤

[@srishti81388]

Absolutely loved the logic in this one! 26:23 for me with a little help from Simon

[@chocolateboy300]

I finished in 34:23 minutes. This was a very nice clean puzzle. I really liked the way the high digits were restricted around the edges of the grid each pointing towards the fork arrows in boxes 3 and 7. That was a cool break-in and a nice work of geometry. I think my favorite part was seeing that a 37 pair was always in the x clue. I know that it is a simple deduction and not that useful, but I always enjoy it when digits are forced into certain cells through multiple variations. The rest was was a nice walk through a park. I love puzzles like these that utilize a geometry in a cool way. Great Puzzle!

[@Coyotek4]

43:05 ... I'm glad I persevered on this one Nice puzzle!

[@lAmTheFish]

Long time watcher but have recently been trying my hand at them. This is the first puzzle I didn't get stuck and had to check what Simon was doing 😅. Thanks for showing me the ropes Simon, could have done it without your guidance 😁

[@praematura]

Yet another amazing puzzle from James! (And I will vouch that his Artisanal Sudoku is amazing as well!) I will admit I had to have a bit of help with the break-in (up to the point Simon said r2c6 had to be smaller than r6c2), but after that the rest went smoothly, finishing in 19:21 (conflict checker off), but add around probably another 10 minutes for me to have figured out what Simon did. 😅 Many thanks to James for the puzzle, loved it!

[@jacob9692]

I solved in 28 min :) I love how the 2 Purple Lines contrast Each other so very Well :)

[@grimsqueaker5333]

Thanks for a great puzzle and solve, and good luck with the golf competition.

[@VecheslavNovikov]

The logic at 18:55 is quite pretty. Sure wish I'd've noticed it when I was solving this. On the plus side, guess that proves you can solve it without that bit of info...

[@grahamania]

00:22:15 for me. Wonderful puzzle. Loved how the renban and arrows worked together! Kind comment.

[@inspiringsand123]

Rules: 06:33 Let's Get Cracking: 08:30 Simon's time: 30m46s Puzzle Solved: 39:16 What about this video's Top Tier Simarkisms?! Maverick: 4x (06:16, 06:21, 17:32, 17:36) The Secret: 4x (11:55, 12:06, 12:22, 12:29) Three In the Corner: 1x (32:09) And how about this video's Simarkisms?! Beautiful: 6x (17:53, 18:12, 31:24, 39:32, 40:09, 40:11) In Fact: 5x (01:24, 18:37, 18:42, 18:42, 33:05) Sorry: 4x (26:47, 28:24, 31:02, 35:54) Brilliant: 4x (04:19, 36:37, 39:13, 40:09) Obviously: 4x (11:38, 13:04, 13:46, 22:54) Pencil Mark/mark: 4x (25:09, 26:32, 32:53, 37:06) By Sudoku: 3x (33:39, 36:52, 37:25) Shouting: 3x (01:26, 04:53, 05:09) Ah: 3x (16:42, 17:46, 17:46) The Answer is: 2x (25:17, 27:07) Clever: 2x (17:56, 18:01) Hypothecate: 2x (09:54, 29:31) Hang On: 2x (14:01, 31:10) Fabulous: 2x (03:23, 03:25) Cake!: 2x (04:00, 06:16) Weird: 2x (18:04, 24:49) What on Earth: 1x (01:00) Bother: 1x (33:30) Lovely: 1x (39:49) Deadly Pattern: 1x (39:03) Gorgeous: 1x (02:09) Bonkers: 1x (20:18) Wow: 1x (24:00) Most popular number(>9), digit and colour this video: Thirty Seven (6 mentions) One (71 mentions) Orange (9 mentions) Antithesis Battles: Low (4) - High (1) Even (18) - Odd (4) Row (8) - Column (8) 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!

[@ugol_k]

I noticed that in earlier videos you would also mention the most popular box, why have you stopped? no big deal, just curious

[@ayakoa2096]

13:05 for me beautiful combination of renban and arrow logic

[@kobs_0]

I love a James Sinclair puzzle - I checked out artisanal sudoku pretty recently and found some absolute stunners as well. Nice change of pace from focusing on the Hobbit pack all week - got this one done quite quickly, love how the boxes 3 & 7 interact with just a couple renbans.

[@salicus]

Amazing! While I was watching the video, the thumbs-up-counter raised from 144 to 239:) How you proved the 8 in r8c2 was brilliant.

[@TheTastefirst]

With puzzles like these, I like to guess what the primary pressure will be and what some of the digits in key cells will be. I believe I have a gut sense of how the design will force some of the outcomes. As is usually the case, I was totally wrong. I guessed something would force all four circles to be different digits from 6789 (wrong), the 9 would be forced into the corner arrow (wrong), and it would also be forced off the other renban making it a 1-8 line (wrong). But I'm gonna keep believing and keep guessing. And I'll probably keep being wrong.

[@n0bl3hunt3r]

A very nice set of patterns. Also some good opportunities to yell at Simon and feel clever

[@Gonzalo_Garcia_]

8:56 for me. Fantastic puzzle, really enjoyed it!!

[@TomLis-u3o]

how did you manage it so fast?

[@ronjohnson6916]

Nice. Tricky but not hard if that makes sense. Best kind of puzzle for me. Makes me feel clever without breaking my brain.

[@San-vt9xv]

found an 8 at box 9 at 26 min, 10 min before Simon. my personal record of finding a digit before Simon.

[@longwaytotipperary]

Good luck for golfing tomorrow, Simon! Stay warm!!

[@michaelmatter1222]

It feels like James knows the whole solve path before placing a single clue in the grid. One wonders how this mystical power is obtained. Perhaps via some sort of ring of knowledge.

[@piarittersporn]

Very exciting puzzle.

[@tomaswinnerholt4731]

Good luck with the golf competition! Swing easy!

[@AndreiFierbinteanu]

I think I missed something, why couldn't have r1c9 been a 6 there. Simon just says it's because the 2 is on the arrow, but it could still have been a 6 with 15 and 24 on the arrows, couldn't it? In fact he says "it's always 4" even after saying one of the arrows would be 24

[@kimbyd24]

I have the same question.

[@mattconco]

6 in Box 9

[@AndreiFierbinteanu]

​@@mattconcothank you, completely missed that, hiding in the corner like that :)

[@mattconco]

@ that's six in the corner, that's six out of the spotlight

[@peterkirkpatrick6284]

He was considering 2 in box 3 at that point. He deduced that 2 had to be on an arrow whether the circle was 6 or 7. 4 is the only even number left, because 8 in box 3 and 6 in box 9 both point to r1c9. (What he could have done then, but came back to, was that 4 in the corner rules out 6 in the circle.

[@emilywilliams3237]

Wonderful video and solve, Simon. I love what a commenter said just below (@katiekawaii) that James Sinclair puzzles are like fog puzzles without the fog - excellent description, because one is able to see where to look next, and what must be the next bit of thinking to be done. Thanks for this video!

[@Zilvaras2]

I often get amazed how fast Simon counts which digits are missing and how quickly puts them into the grid, but then I remember that I'm watching at 1.7 speed and that's why I'm slower in thinking 😅

[@RichSmith77]

33:02 "That is not 3" he says, as he removes one of only two 3 corner pencilmarks, leaving just one. I don't know why Simon still bothers entering corner pencilmarks. They're so often ignored, even when being tidied up.

[@cesarwitha_t]

I think it has more to do with THOSE corner pencilmarks (the ones that are not box constrained, but line constrained) that are hard to see.

[@badgerfool1980]

408 finished the hunt now :) that was incredible. Highly recommend.

[@yadiracamacho499]

Good luck with the golf competition, Simon!

[@josephbentley1300]

29:49 for me, thanks for the puzzle, as always!

[@ewenfraser883]

Simon you seemed to have forgotten that the 67 had to appear in column 9 ( as coloured) so as soon as you found the 6 in box 9 that forced the positions of the 6 and 7 on Renban. However your unusual brain makes it more interesting to watch when there’s more than one way to solve it.

[@duder_bricks6577]

I wonder if it could have helped the logic quicker: noticing that the 4 cells on the ends of the (length 9) purple line are the same numbers as the 4 cells off the line in box 9.

[@Adramelek14]

Good luck with the weather/golf. It’s been a bit chilly here in Yorkshire tonight.

[@Essemify]

It took me so long to see the connection between the circles in boxes 2 and 4 together with the arrows in boxes 3 and 7 (your orange and greens) 😅

[@scollyb]

Just because I know you will enjoy the logic which you didn't use. Right at the start what happens to the 8 cell renban if you put 9 in r9c9

[@evanbasnaw]

The shape of the renban and the arrow circles does remind me of the CMM (coordinate measurement machine) volumetic calibration bar with 2 balls on the end of a rod with a known length.

[@daanperelachaise]

21:51 for me. Quite happy with that calibration!

[@penningmeestercgkdelft9159]

Good luck with the golf competition, Simon! It might well be that the freezing weather reduces the ground's friction, which may turn the golf course into a curling field... Hopefully that will work to your advantage ;-)

[@myfyrmadocjones]

First time on this channel that i see a puzzle I have done already - took under 16 minutes with invalid digits highlighted on the app. EDIT: My version had a white kropki dot between the last 2 digits of the renban in column 2.

[@MarkWiseTechno]

01:19:18 That was a bit of a doozy, but I liked it!

[@LednacekZ]

22:19 for me. the logic had to be in the arrow circles. i stuck with it and i got it right.

[@ekscorels4286]

23 min for me.. almost gave.. then I made the breakthrough!

[@srwapo]

28:58*, putting and asterisk on this cause on my phone (Android, Firefox), the game hasn't been showing the pause button the last week or so and I've been hitting the check button to "pause" and like three times it said "something is wrong" when I did that and I saw some big mistakes. Mostly, I was struggling with where to place 9 and I was ruling out r2c7 and I messed up restricting where r2c6 and r6c2 could be on the purple line in the bottom left of the grid. But I enjoyed how the different clues affected each other around the grid.

[@nicocost33]

47.36 for me. Great one.

[@BrianOsman]

Around 16:30, Simon appears convinced that if the X is a 1-9 pair, then the arrows have to sum to 8? How did he discount them still summing to 9? That seems entirely possible.

[@HunterJE]

Got real fixated watching this on the 123 triple along the bottom of box 8 caused by those digits’ possible positions in boxes 7 and 9

[@RoderickEtheria]

My first thought was the possibility of having to find SET. I am pleased I was wrong. My time was 18:47, but that's a bit unfair, because that's my time after throwing out SET.

[@The_ElegyOfSins]

I'm confused. at around 29:00 he populates the arrows in box 3 with the possibilities: if the sum is 6 the arrows are 1+5 and 2+4 (therefore placing a 6 in the top right corner), and if it's 7, the arrows would be 5+2 and 6+1, putting a 4 in the corner. but why is it "always" a 4 in the corner?

[@RichSmith77]

There's a 6 in box 9 stopping 6 in r1c9. What he should have spotted was 6 in the circle was broken, since there would be no even number left for r1c9. What he saw was both 6 and 7 rules out 2, and 6 and 8 were already ruled out, so "had to always be 4".

[@geoff544]

Don't understand the logic at 16:00 that if the X is 1/9 then the circle has to be 8 - in isolation it could be 9 surely? (Actually it can't if you follow the logic around the other renban, which would force a 9 on to the bottom of the diagonal renban) - but I'm not sure the statement stands as it is stated.

[@penningmeestercgkdelft9159]

Indeed there are 19 chapters within the hobbit, and the list of puzzle names follows the same over-all scheme as the actual chapter names, but not all names are identical (some of them are).

[@matxx5398]

29:21 "that is always 4" I could not understand that logical step. As you said, putting 6 in r2c6 puts 2/4 and 1/5 on its arrow, so it pushes 6 into the corner (r1c9), not 4 ! I could not find an explanation in the comments, so here it is : The thing to realise is that, when you got the 6 in r9c9, it pushes 6 onto an arrow of box 3, so r2c6 can not be 6 anymore ! its 7 we cannot use 3/4 in its arrows, so its arrows are 6/1 and 2/5 and pushes 4 to the corner

[@flyboyb29]

I noticed that when he was putting 4 in the corner of box 3 he gave two sets of number 6 would be 1,5 and 2,4 and 7 would be 1,6 and 2,5 claiming that the corner will always be four. But, that is not part of the logic that he went through.

[@eefaaf]

Yeah, I heard the same. It was around 29:20 in the video, and would have made the 6 in the circle impossible. Edit: Well, apparently the four did have to go there, but as I didn't solve the puzzle myself, I don't know how it would have been forced. 2nd Edit: I missed the 6 in the bottom right corner, indirectly forced by the 9 in box 3, so the 6 couldn't go in the top right, where the copy of the 8 in the circle would go, making the circle a 7, and leaving the 4 to go in the corner after the arrows were filled.

[@readersrock101]

29:00 why couldn't R1C9 be a 6? it wouldn't work if the arrow clue was a 7, but if the arrow clue was a 6 it would work

[@wanderlustwarrior]

13:09 for me, but with a bunch of entry errors.

[@debrawilden1971]

Sorry if this has been mentioned. I'm watching at 30 min in. Simon has not yet indicated a helpful piece of information. (No complaints in the least, just an observation. I could not do these puzzles without him or Mark) They always ask questions. My question-- Looking at box 9 and the renban going thru it--Where to the digits on the renban that are outside of box 9 go in box 9? (ie digits R5C9, R6C9 and R9C5, R9C6) I think that would have opened up some of the puzzle.

[@trooperdog61]

Enjoy your golfing, I will have kind thoughts for you while I'm shoveling snow at minus 24C wind chill 😎😅

[@CptRyaffio]

Took me 29:18. I think I'm getting better at these :D

[@thomasmarsden1870]

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR GOLF!!! Don’t shiver your timbers

[@nikitashaitan9984]

38:09 Dang, got me 2 tries

[@warbraid]

at 33:50 in the video i started yelling

[@5t757]

18:49 for me this time!

[@TurquoizeGoldscraper]

29:35 for me.

[@tabularasa0606]

Something is wrogn, the video is under an hour long.

[@RoderickEtheria]

If amything was Wrogn, it would be over 2 hours.

[@Badamikar]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqPSco18ltaGoNksi=bPIaqwA_cNmuxl46 It'd be an awesome series to just keep cracking this one