Let's Play Sudoku Hangman!!!

** TODAY'S PUZZLE **
A wonderful idea and execution (geddit!!) today from ThePedallingPianist and his Granddad in the form of Hangman - an absolutely brilliant representation of Hangman in sudoku form!! This is very clever, very original and definitely worth having a go at.
Also linked below is ‪@KurtHugoSchneider‬ 's new 6x6 sudoku called x. Simon's solve will be posted on Patreon today.
Play the puzzles at the links below:
Hangman by ThePedallingPianist and his Granddad
app.crackingthecryptic.com/su...
Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply. The letters A, G, H, M and N all represent different numbers (not necessarily from 1-9). Digits along an arrow sum to the digit in the attached circle. Digits in a cage sum to the given total in the top left corner. Along the blue line, each line segment within a different 3x3 box must sum to the same total. Clues outside the grid show the sum of the digits sandwiched between the 1 and 9 in that row. Digits along a thermometer increase from the bulb end.
Kurt's 6x6:
app.crackingthecryptic.com/su...
Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply. Along a long diagonal (marked in blue) digits may not repeat. Clues outside the grid give the sum of the digits along the indicated diagonal. The cage clue gives the sum of its cage. x is a number that must be determined.
** NEW SUDOKU HUNT JUST OUT **
Join us on Patreon (for as little as $2) for a brand new sudoku hunt (called Lines & Shapes) - it was released on 1 Septmber. Closing date 20th September :)
/ crackingthecryptic
** NEW GAS PACK: VOLUME 2 IS OUT **
The new GAS (Genuinely Approachable Sudoku) pack is out on all platforms here:
play.google.com/store/apps/de...
store.steampowered.com/app/23...
apps.apple.com/us/app/crackin...
60 original puzzles by Clover, Bill Murphy and Philip Newman!! Earn party hats and dinosaurs with these brand new puzzles!
▶ SUDOKU PAD - Use Our Software For Your Puzzles ◀
You can input classic sudoku puzzles into our software and help support Sven, the programmer responsible for the wonderful user interface we all use to play these puzzles everyday. The app also comes with 12 handmade puzzles from us:
iOS:
apps.apple.com/us/app/svens-s...
Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/17...
Android:
play.google.com/store/apps/de...
ALSO on Amazon: Search for “SudokuPad”
▶ Contents Of This Video ◀
0:00 Theme music & introduction
1:08 Simon Solves Kurt Hugo Schneider's 6x6 on Patreon
1:37 September's competition closing soon
2:06 Happy Birthdays
3:31 Rules
6:47 Start of Solve - Let's Get Cracking!
▶ Contact Us ◀
Twitter: @Cracking The Cryptic
email: [e-mail]
Our PO Box address:
Simon Anthony & Mark Goodliffe
Box 102
56 Gloucester Road
London
SW7 4UB
(Please note to use our real names rather than 'Cracking The Cryptic'.)
▶ SUDOKU PAD - Use Our Software For Your Puzzles ◀
You can input classic sudoku puzzles into our software and help support Sven, the programmer responsible for the wonderful user interface we all use to play these puzzles everyday. The app also comes with 12 handmade puzzles from us:
iOS:
apps.apple.com/us/app/svens-s...
Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/17...
Android:
play.google.com/store/apps/de...
ALSO on Amazon: Search for “SudokuPad”
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[@ThePedallingPianist]

Thank you for the feature! And belated happy birthday/thanks for the inspiration & help to my granddad (I've never been sure how many Ds to include in that word...)! Really pleased with how this puzzle turned out. It's not always obvious where to look next, but you showcased the solution path very elegantly - in some cases, your deductions worked more smoothly than I'd envisaged, so extra thanks for that 😁

[@AllenBaranov]

Congratulations. Also thank you for supplying a suduko that produced this gem: Simon: "the groin of the hung man is going to be a bit restricted"

[@bryanroland9402]

I'm sure there's a joke about being well hung in there somewhere. Curious but irrelevant point: hanged is the recommended past tense of to hang when it refers to execution. @@AllenBaranov

[@AllenMS828]

Fun puzzle! I loved that the boxes with the gallows involved roping. 🤣

[@KevinSheedy-rt1db]

What a fantastic puzzle. Thank you.

[@StevenHibbs]

“I imagine the groin of the hung man is a bit restricted” is never a phrase I thought I would hear on CtC.

[@rohitraghunathan]

Somebody needs to make a CtC out of context compilation

[@ericpraline1302]

I know. You'd think Simon would know it should be "hanged man".

[@joostvanrens]

​@@ericpraline1302he knows, I'm sure he knows

[@Umbra451]

Specifically, the groin of the hung man can’t be bigger than 6, otherwise it puts on too much pressure

[@brianj959]

@@joostvanrensand how magnificently he kept a straight face saying it too!

[@LegBruise]

Simon's absolute disgust when he has to actually do sudoku while doing a sudoku makes me laugh every time 😂

[@bobh6728]

It would save him some time if he would use sudoku when he puts in a digit, double, or triple.

[@SVNBob]

I think it was highly appropriate that there was roping (vertical nonetheless) in a hangman-based puzzle.

[@ThePedallingPianist]

Honestly didn't even plan that one, love it!

[@13vatra]

​@@ThePedallingPianistif only the roping had been around the arrow/rope! 😜

[@tinakerr8163]

@@ThePedallingPianist It made me chuckle too.

[@boman987]

“I believe the groin of the hung man will be a bit restrictive.”

[@timdorr]

This is a very hard puzzle.

[@henrycrun42]

Thank you very much Simon for your kind words and a lovely solve.......Grandad

[@rachelplummer8955]

I don't know how many times I've heard Simon share the secret, but it makes me feel special every time!

[@pema22]

most people: Cage G can't contain a 2-5 pair because both 2 and 5 already appear in row 9 simon: Cage G can't contain 2-5 because it would make r7c8+9 a 3-4 which breaks r7c2

[@billystevenson9042]

Surely he is the "hanged man" (hanged being the past tense of hang as a capital punishment)? A hung man is something else entirely 😉 Great solve!

[@melaniehall5885]

I was thinking the same thing, the Hung Man is probably a naked single

[@RichSmith77]

There was a possibility for the thermo to have been extended down column 5. I'll say no more.

[@zanxstitch]

That was my thinking all the way through 😂

[@mdwalsh333]

07:05 an example of when the difference between hanged and hung actually matters

[@messerita]

A three in the corner almost every day this week?! What more could we ask for? Brilliant puzzle, solving and singing 🎉

[@jadecrusher1066]

I was screaming "1! 1! 1!!! 1 in the head!" As soon as the 6 was put in

[@XxCrazZyNo0oBxX]

I love how long it took Simon to fill in the 1 in the Arrow :'D

[@AlexandreRibeiroXRV7]

It's the coloring, it always breaks their ability to see some of the constraints :/

[@saphirelynn2000]

Makes me laugh every time

[@CuriousChameleon]

You guys are just on another level. I doubled the time of the video AND needed a bit of help (3 times). I like to feel I am in the smart part of YT when I come here. But you guys are just wow. Touched by an angel on the noggin'. Cheers! Great puzzle!

[@LarkyLuna]

Hanged is used for people being killed by hanging Language is malleable, but the use of hung man can have unintended consequences in modern settings

[@emilywilliams3237]

Language is malleable, but "hung" to refer to death by hanging is also an old usage, though not as "hanged" is in current times. The other usage is more recent, I think, and is considered slang and (often) vulgar.

[@jounik]

There's a marked difference between well hanged man and a well hung one, agreed.

[@martinbull-gundersen8878]

In Norwegian, we would have said "We hanged the man", but "the man hung in the tree" (obviously translated into English). But if it is an active action, we use a weak verb, if it is a passive action (just hanging there), we use a strong verb. Might be that the English difference is a remainder of that (we are both Germanic languages after all).

[@13vatra]

​@@jounikwhat about a well hung hanged man?

[@jounik]

@@13vatra Less of a difference there, I'd say.

[@bryanroland9402]

Yet another surprisingly original puzzle. Such creativity from the constructors, always seeking a new twist. I used to imagine that the scope for variation in sudoku was limited. Now I think the number of possibilities must be a huge exponential one.

[@riluna3695]

With all the 3/4 pairs in this puzzle, my time of 34:34 seems delightfully appropriate :D Tricky in a few spots, but I got there in the end.

[@zardozspeakshs1111]

i can't be the only guy staring at the 89 dangling from the hangmans "midriff"

[@patrickgass787]

I'm so, so happy to see this puzzle featured. It got a bit of an unfair rating on Logic Masters; it's a brilliantly executed bit of logic.

[@BremSterPuzzles]

Logic Masters ratings have been almost useless for well over a year now. People don’t rate puzzles based on how good they are, but on personal opinions of setters, or on their opinion of style or trends. Also you can get two star puzzles that take a solver like Simon or Mark an hour to solve, which feels like the difficulty ratings are also worthless. Look for setters and comments from people you have come to respect, and ignore the ratings. It’s a real shame the setters difficulty rating is hidden once it’s community rated, because it means their opinion can be overridden.

[@S_Black]

It almost seemed like sandwich Sudoku had died out with all these fancy new rule sets these days

[@Bonehead777]

That was an excellently constructed puzzle. Cool. 🙂

[@stevesebzda570]

Nice one . (After a start from Simon til 16:47 ) I falsely assumed there couldn't be a 0 clue with a letter (and made a couple false assumptions on where the 9s couldn't touch the 1s ) and got a conflict with this thinking. That's when I backed up and did some other stuff. Nice one Kudos (I have no idea how yas do these) Excellent 👍🏻😂☕️☕️

[@stevesebzda570]

Oh, 45 minutes or something (I was out in the dismal weather in the middle-- finished it standing in the doorway out back). Nice one again . 👍🏻😂

[@ServantOfSatania]

39:14 for me, I absolutely love seeing how people can take something recognisable and turn it into variety sudoku

[@rizka7945]

Now that's an amazing sudoku puzzle! Visually pleasing and littered with interesting logic. Best of recent months.

[@terracottapie]

"Mark would be in clover here with the length of this thermo!!!" (Proceeds to fill in all the options in each thermo cell exactly as Mark would)

[@raysouth1952]

Loved watching that one. A beautiful puzzle beautifully solved!

[@HalfBakedLunatic]

Beautiful layout for the grid, really appreciated this one 😊

[@willfancher9775]

7:02 "I imagine the groin of the hung man is going to be a bit restricted." Oh no, Simon...

[@Orenotter]

A corpse from the gallows is dangling. An arrow the thermo is strangling. And a cage that's a killer Makes harder this thriller. So creepy! My nerves are a-jangling!

[@jujunorman4695]

Well hung and well played

[@AFT3RDAY5]

When I discovered that the blue line couldn’t be 15 by the secret I was just waiting for that special moment when Simon explains it 😄👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@michaelmatter1222]

You've got to feel bad for a man who is both hung AND sandwiched

[@highpath4776]

mum likes her sandwiches quartered, so he was drawn hung and quartered

[@Jodawo]

Simon left the last square to celebrate a hanging. This channel has turned dark... LOL

[@ericpraline1302]

Nice puzzle, thanks. Got stuck a bit towards the end because I forgot the sandwich sums couldn't repeat. Always clever I think when a graphical theme is incorporated into a puzzle.

[@ericolsen8926]

Surprising amount of discussion about the "hung man's groin" today lol

[@piarittersporn]

Brilliant puzzle. It took me quite a long time because of my problem with N. Finally I recognized that I was absolutely wrong with G and so the problem with N disappeared. After that I was lucky with my solution.

[@giladooshlon]

This was an interesting puzzle. I kept trying the sandwich part too early only to realize there were still more deductions to be had just using the thermo and sum-line. Finished in 45 minutes eventually.

[@pedrosaraiva1411]

Very nice puzzle, I only needed help in the beginning because I didnt see the smaller part of the region sums couldnt be 15, but after that I could finnish without trouble

[@emilywilliams3237]

Very nice use of the elements of the puzzle to draw the picture, and an entertaining solve, Simon. Thank you!

[@sillvvasensei]

If the hangman's groin is too restricted, feel free to loosen it

[@Stereomoo]

Took me a while cause the starting logic wasn't that obvious to me, but once I got going, really neat puzzle. Ended up with 89 min solve. The thing I had to notice was that column 1 plus 2 cells in row 1 is 3x the blue line sum, so has to be either 16 or 17. For a while I was using the 5 cells in box 1 = 15+ limitation, which isn't tight enough to start the legs working.

[@moby4177]

Hanged man. If he were a hung man, there’d be something in column five row 7 and possibly rows 8 or even 9 as welll.

[@KyleBaran90]

Gave this one a shot a week or two ago. I figured out a bit about the region sums line but couldn't break in. Let's see how it goes

[@jpatrick1967]

Simon should have expected roping in a hangman puzzle

[@markp7262]

30:42 finish. This was such a fun puzzle, great logic!

[@Mantuamaker]

When Simon said the whichever leg had the 7 had to be an 89 below, I thought it couldn’t be the line side because that would make it impossible because The sets of 178, and 259 would’ve both been canceled out. Glad to see I was right, though as usual he found that out another way that I didn’t see.

[@PauxloE]

Another hard one ... I needed Simon's hint at 12:50 (where is the torso of the hangman in box 8) to continue after I got stuck. Total 175:23 (spread over two evenings), solve counter 3650.

[@DanStadler]

Heh, "the groin of the hung man is going to be a bit restricted too"

[@johnh2052]

At 15:50, the 178 combo won't work in box 7. The easy way to see it is via the 7 atop the hanged man. That 7 forces one of the man's thighs to be a 7, which means one of the legs is a 789. Putting 178 in box 7 makes that leg 569, which disallows the required 789 leg.

[@dylanbreglio]

I think this is the third day in a row that Simon has refused to tend his pencil marks and still solved the puzzle through a more complicated method, as seen at 38:52. If he just reduced the 259 pencil mark to a 59, he would have immediately had a total of 25 that has to fit in 3 boxes in row 8

[@RogueAPBT]

I love how many setters put 3 in the corner now.

[@goldcakes]

Simon, we both finished on the 3 although I didn't realise until putting it in. I love these puzzles, like the monopoly sudoku as well. My time is 01:38:55

[@crazypantaloons]

Given the placement of 89 in column 5, this was both a hangman puzzle and a hungman puzzle. ;)

[@natsoph1924]

I feel like it would’ve been really cool if the letters of hangman were used in 2 places each instead of just the G, but still is an awesome puzzle

[@karlmortenlunna2417]

28:33 for me today. Not happy with that time, but I loved the puzzle.

[@frankjiang1857]

Finished in 46:38. Well designed puzzle!

[@DanielAydarArantes]

I think Simon should start any sudoku sent him with 3itc pencil marks, because that seems to be a RULE for setters/testers to assign him something for a long time.

[@prahas777]

Did Simon say how old ThePedallingPianist is? :-) // I really liked how the clues bounced back and forth. Well done. :-)

[@Tepalus]

06:13 How can Simon do my boy Hangman like this.🥲

[@six_5000]

74:20 for me, almost didn't even notice the 3itc 🎉

[@leefisher6366]

23:33 - Does that matter? And even if it matters, does it matter that it matters?

[@srwapo]

39:20, made a bad mistake with the G and had to look at the video to see (assumed it had to be a big sum, not 8). Also, not super happy that H = 0.

[@markjreed]

The rope's an arrow, Simon... :)=

[@natalieclaro1056]

If Simon was stuck in a SAW movie and had to solve a puzzle he would escape no doubt in my mind

[@ilmgard1762]

Maybe CtC will make a spoof SAW with sudoku in the future.

[@Gonzalo_Garcia_]

15:06 for me. Nice puzzle!!

[@Tomwithnonumbers]

You solved the Sudoku before you got Hangman!

[@Rach881101]

34:22 for me. Interesting puzzle!

[@Ardalambdion]

Can you please play the 6x6 puzzle that you have advertised recently?

[@Kirbyfan87827]

Finished in 29:45 by following along with the video.

[@ericsjoberg8167]

After third attempt I realized my mistake of assuming there had to be a cell in between 1 and 9 on hangman rows...

[@badgerfool1980]

It's a good job I'm not really immature otherwise I may have pointed out that it seems appropriate that column 5 rows 6, 7 and 8 ended up being a valid thermo given that as Simon put it that was indeed a "hung man".

[@CrankyOtter]

Simon acting like he’ll be hanged if he uses more than 2 pencil marks in a square 😖

[@JohnRandomness105]

14:40 "Don't get any ideas, constructors." I'm not a betting man, but are we soon to see a Sudoku variant where -1 has to be placed in a cell?

[@TheEricthefruitbat]

I can't believe how long Simon ignores the most important letter: G.

[@craftyraf]

Funniest moment of today's commentary: Simon saying "Hang on, hang on" to hangman :D 21:24

[@Poet13xRatedRKO]

45:24 for me. Nice puzzle!

[@sacredsock8031]

Theoretically speaking, could a sudoku be made with the digits -4 to 4 inclusive. All cages / LK etc could sum to zero. And there would be a new secret

[@titusadduxas]

1:01:09 - Mind you I totally missed the not too difficult break in. There are times that I just don’t feel I’m improving.

[@fiartruck0125]

What are the chances when he was describing the sandwich rule that his example put the 1 and 9 where they actually go in the solution?

[@aligalad9907]

Is the cap with that logo (the monthly prize offered) avail to purchase? I went looking in your shop and couldn’t find it. Maybe a link?

[@loqkLoqkson]

the g sum is also pi

[@achad1607]

Simon, you solve presumes N cannot be 0. Is that really true? The puzzle just says N is a number, and, not necessarily within 1-9 inclusive.

[@thoomfish]

By that point, H was already known to be 0, and so N couldn't be. Unless I'm missing an earlier assumption.

[@shotdoctor5869]

I don't understand how he was able to realize on the arrow it had to be a 6 and not a 5 because it had to equal 7... and then immediately forgets it has to total to 7. I don't get it. How?

[@dannstarrjp]

Is it just me or it’s the break in with the blue line sum etc that took me a while and everything else was just kind of straight forward? It took me similar time to Simon but he found the break in early on and then struggled with the rest 😮

[@bertbergers9171]

Great puzzle, loved the video, but Simon at 47 minutes in you are looking for an opening: 10 minutes (orso) earlier you proved mathematically that row 4’s N-Sum could be either 12 to the left or max 11 to the right. Putting 1 in box 9 at r8c9 gives a minimum of 238=13 so 1 in box 9 is placed in r8c8. Just for your information, because usually if I declare stuff like this that cell being filled brings little to no immediate progress in the rest of the grid. But you had proven that digit to yourself, just not heard the proof in the moment you said it.

[@welemmanuel]

the mouse goes up and down suspiciously at 52:48, just joking, thanks.

[@Weirdman3214]

I can't tell if Simon is saying "hung man" instead of "hanged man" because the English language is inconsistent or for the double entendre of it. Either way, I'd expect the thermometer to also include r789c5 for a hung man.

[@MsNosis]

I don't understand the logic on why the two cells in row 1, box 1 are restricted to being just 1 or 2 (13:31 minutes in). why can't they be 3, 4 or 6?

[@loafes1352]

Because In the column you have 3 sections that add to 45 made up of two sections which are 16 so the section from box 1 must be 13 and the 1/2 is the remainder

[@321Crispo]

How do you know that has to be a 1-2 pair at 13:34 ?

[@andremouss2536]

54:00 Once again we witness Simon's trade mark refusal to do sudoku - even in hypothesis - either he would easily deduce the value of N, at least 25.

[@elektrikblu7331]

The groin of the hung man is restricted LUL only if he wears tight pants

[@Raven-Creations]

@ 19:25 - "Can that be 7? Maybe...that would have to be 9" - No it can't. If you'd done the most obvious sudoku, which is to remove 78 from the cells in box 1, you'd have been left with a 59 pair looking down at the cell you want to make 9. The largest the cell you want to make 7 can be is 5, giving you a 345 triple in box 5, which makes R4C5=2, R5C6=6, R6C7=7, R4C4=7. It really isn't hard if you're prepared to do the most elementary sudoku. @ 24:27 - "The 9 is there, or there" - the second "there" is in a column with a 9. @ 25:17 - "Let me see if we can do anything with that" - finds nothing. There's now 789 looking at a 5789, and you can't see it. Sigh! You didn't even bother to remove 9 from the rest of box 1. @ 41:04 - "If this isn't 9, then we could have 9 over here" - yes, and if you'd removed 2 from R4C2, you'd have seen that you'd have 46 in the sandwich. This means N is either 10 or 12, and R8C8 has to be 1. This means G cannot be 18, so the 9 in R5 is in C9, and G=8. Because of the 2 and 5 in R9 (which of course, you haven't tidied up), the cage must be 134. Placing the 9 in R5 meant that R4C2=9, making N=12, so R8C6=4. It's not surprising that you struggle to see simple logic when you have so much sloppy pencil-marking. @ 46:01 - "You can't have a 25 there because that would make these a 34 pair and that would break this" - what a ludicrously complicated way of working this out. You've got 1, 2, and 5 in R9. How could you possibly put a 25 in R9? @ 51:08 - "So that's got to be green" - Wake up! You've just made green 4, stop putting 34s in the grid. I don't know if you were deliberately using the wrong word to refer to the man, in order to elicit titters from the audience, but the correct term is "hanged man". What you called him would require an extra cell on the thermo in R7C5.

[@Sodorii]

If the government ever wanted to spy on Simon, all they needed was to disguise themselves as a pure sudoku problem and he wouldn't notice them even if they were sleeping in the same bed as him!! 🤣😂🤣

[@michielgerretzen9777]

I missed the constraint that all letter must be different .................. Lesson learned: Re-read the rules while being stuck for a longer time in the solving process!

[@LednacekZ]

37:28 for me. i had a great time and then i made a stupid mistake and had to backtrack a lot. a sub 30 easy.

[@erickehr4475]

24:01 was my time. A “goldilocks” puzzle for me: Not too hard; not too easy; just right!

[@mapIebun]

this comment section killed my lungs

[@HunterJE]

42:52 Also can't put 25 there when one of those cells sees a placed 2 and a 5 in its row...

[@LuhRipX555]

😮

[@derekswager]

The thermo of the hung man could have been extended into r7c5 😏

[@davideaezakmi9530]

Even up to r8c5 😳

[@13vatra]

There ended up being an 8 in that spot, no wonder "the groin is rather restricted."