The Secret IN The Fog

[@Ytterbio]

It's such an honor to have my puzzle featured on the channel, and I'm so glad that Simon enjoyed it! I have to give a huge shout-out to Raumplaner who has been doing daily setting challenges with the Sudoku Skunkworks! This puzzle originated from one of those challenges (construct a Fog of War puzzle), first as a 6x6 then expanded into a full 9x9 puzzle.

[@iceberg54321]

You need to change the ruleset, whenever the loop corners, it is technically touching itself diagonally.

[@stephenbeck7222]

@@iceberg54321it’s a pretty standard rule phrasing for loop/snake puzzles.

[@David_K_Booth]

Had to smile when I realised you'd put, not one but two, threes into corners.

[@iceberg54321]

@@stephenbeck7222 Yah, well the standard rule phrasing is wrong.

[@kathyjohnson2043]

@@iceberg54321 This is discussed elsewhere in the comments.

[@Gunslinger8912]

Best CTC of all time: "We will be touching ourselves far too often for what's good for us." @ 40:15

[@imeggy56]

"The reason i've stopped talking is because i've run out of things to tell you." 😂

[@ElysaraCh]

I love moments like 54:00 where there's literally a 3 right next to a 23 pair and he's like "this hasn't been resolved"

[@Secretninja53]

In that same moment, the bottom left 4 resolves like 6 cells

[@sirgeremiah]

And at the same time, he's missing an easy 8/9 resolution and an easy 4/8 resolution - either of which would also resolve the 2/8. And he just keeps clicking on things that are part of or next to each of them. I've been poking my screen with my finger in frustration, clearly hoping the poke will go back in time and show him what he isn't noticing. Simon is so much better at these puzzles than me, and I'm mystified how he manages to not see such obvious things. (Simon, you're just adorable, my friend.)

[@Gandalfa82]

This all shows how much he really hates sudoku, he’ll find the most complex reasoning to fill out the grid when he is looking at 5 sudoku boxes that resolve everything. He could fill out the 2/3 pair in box 3, 8 in box 5, the 4/8 pair in box 8 which resolves the 2/8 in box 7. Basically at this point he can resolve all the 8s and their counterparts. Just need to use some sudoku which Simon really hates. But he knows this is his weakness.

[@Adrian_Grey]

29:13 "There will be those of you out there who have realized this more quickly that I have." Only because you taught me well, Simon.

[@Glamador]

At one point Simon said "this is wonderful!" while placing a 1 in the grid, making it particularly one-derful.

[@himmelsdemon]

21:35 "Sorry, I realized I stopped talking because I ran out of things to say". I wish more people were like you in that regard 😅

[@Tekay37]

In a few years there will be a documentary about how it came that almost every Sudoku puzzle created has a 3 in at least one of its corners.

[@kkofodh]

just the fact that Simon got a whole 2x 3's in the corner in this puzzle when so many gives NONE

[@thefallenarm589]

Should be integrated in the rules to be a valid sudoku 😅

[@masonm9823]

could you explain the origin of the joke? i’ve noticed it’s a recurring theme in the community, but don’t know how it started :)

[@aishwaryaiyer7796]

@@masonm9823 i'm not sure when it originated, but i think simon just likes the song 'losing my religion by R.E.M

[@Tekay37]

@@masonm9823 I can't. It's just one of the things that put a smile on Simon's face.

[@kristo4046]

love it that Simon's looking at clues and spends a lot of time overanalyzing them to get overly complex deductions and then when he notices that column 7 requires 2, 3 and 7 to finish (at a point where there have been eight 3s in the grid for ages) he places the 7 and leaves 2 and 3 unresolved despite one of the eight 3s being right next to one of the unresolved 2 or 3 cells

[@janerobson2297]

And he refuses to use the 4 in box 7 to resolve the 48 in box 8 which would resolve the 28 in column 1. But saying that I'd concentrate on sudoku and miss the beautiful deductions Simon makes.

[@TheFlameofIcarus]

There was a solid 10 minutes where the Bottom middle has 7 numbers solved (needed a 4 and an 8) and he had a 4 in the Square to the left that solved where the 4 and 8 went in that square

[@complex_bisquit]

he's clueing for looks

[@inwalters]

I don't think I'm overreaching my self here, when I say on behalf of the other 2k+ people (at this time) who have watched the video, that you'll pass on to "the little person" our hopes that she has a fantastic birthday with lots of cake. 😀

[@Emmibean77]

Hear hear! Hope her birthday was wonderful!

[@grignaak9292]

Make sure it is chocolate cake

[@inspiringsand123]

Rules: 07:42 Let's Get Cracking: 10:28 Simon's time: 47m44s Puzzle Solved: 58:12 What about this video's Top Tier Simarkisms?! Three In the Corner: 8x (20:44, 22:20, 22:21, 22:25, 48:00, 50:19, 50:54, 51:01) Bobbins: 4x (29:08, 29:08, 54:33, 54:33) The Secret: 3x (14:18, 14:26, 18:20) Maverick: 2x (28:12, 28:20) You Rotten Thing: 2x (50:07, 50:07) Knowledge Bomb: 1x (38:40) ​Scooby-Doo: 1x (48:32) And how about this video's Simarkisms?! Touch Itself: 17x (08:39, 08:56, 11:16, 11:51, 12:34, 13:18, 13:25, 13:47, 28:42, 33:39, 34:03, 39:18, 40:05, 44:31, 47:05, 53:01, 55:33) In Fact: 16x (03:20, 05:49, 05:49, 06:54, 13:55, 14:34, 18:58, 19:36, 29:55, 29:57, 32:46, 39:32, 41:50, 44:49, 45:43) Ah: 13x (14:21, 17:45, 28:05, 28:52, 29:02, 29:08, 41:39, 49:40, 50:07, 50:14, 50:51, 53:03, 57:00) Sorry: 9x (06:51, 17:45, 18:07, 21:41, 22:43, 27:05, 29:08, 37:05, 41:50) Clever: 8x (29:22, 29:27, 29:31, 29:39, 43:56, 43:56, 43:58, 49:58) By Sudoku: 5x (43:09, 50:37, 52:09, 54:25, 54:30) Stuck: 4x (38:55, 38:55, 41:39, 58:37) Hang On: 4x (13:29, 47:22, 50:11, 50:51) Stunning: 4x (58:08, 58:11, 59:02, 59:04) Obviously: 4x (07:59, 13:13, 16:29, 45:47) Beautiful: 3x (09:29, 35:28, 38:31) Brilliant: 3x (06:25, 06:46, 58:50) Phone is Buzzing: 3x (10:35, 28:08, 41:27) Pencil Mark/mark: 3x (15:34, 15:36, 48:12) What on Earth: 2x (00:50, 49:07) Goodness: 2x (29:04, 53:37) Bother: 2x (50:33, 52:05) Naughty: 2x (21:12, 39:47) In the Spotlight: 2x (50:19, 51:03) Lovely: 2x (51:54, 58:58) That's Huge: 2x (42:47, 42:47) Have a Think: 2x (30:12, 49:56) Cake!: 2x (06:34, 59:24) Out of Nowhere: 1x (50:51) Nonsense: 1x (18:16) I Have no Clue: 1x (49:29) Gorgeous: 1x (45:02) Shouting: 1x (05:22) Flummoxed: 1x (49:53) Surely: 1x (24:52) Intriguing: 1x (00:36) Wow: 1x (58:18) What Does This Mean?: 1x (09:44) Middly Digit: 1x (34:54) Most popular number(>9), digit and colour this video: Sixteen (8 mentions) Three (80 mentions) White (20 mentions) Antithesis Battles: High (20) - Low (19) Even (5) - Odd (1) Higher (2) - Lower (0) Lowest (2) - Highest (0) White (20) - Black (0) Column (10) - Row (4) 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!

[@lilisecretworld]

@inspiringsand123 This needs to be pinned!

[@philiptate8810]

That is one of the coolest and most satisfying break-ins I've ever seen - and I would never have spotted it in a million years. I stared at this puzzle for about 20 minutes and just became convinced there was some clue or rule missing. Amazing.

[@teresagg9809]

I can't remember where I learned this tip. On a German Whispers line with no diagonals the digits are a checkerboard of high and low. no diagonals = only orthogonally connected cells

[@zordiark9673]

he solved that in 58 minutes while i´m stuck on how on earth he put the 2 at the start haha. My Brain cant keep up anymore.

[@voluux.]

40:07 Simon's little pause and sound of realisation of what he said is hilarious😂

[@258thHiGuy]

47:30 You know Simon’s stumped when he just goes “Okay, yes, I’m going to do sudoku.”

[@jpsullivan271]

I tried the puzzle myself before watching, made the deduction Simon discovered at 29:00 after some time and I immediately had to watch the video up until this point because I wanted to see Simon's reaction and his "oh, this is mighty clever" face.

[@margaretsinclair6697]

Happy birthday to your daughter. Give her a big hug from all of us.

[@trisha2584]

I feel proud that I saw the bishops move before Simon, although I only learnt it because of CTC videos. I hope Simon's daughter has a lovely birthday.

[@BaconJake14]

I also saw it several minutes before Simon which made me very excited. I'm never ahead of him in the beginning of puzzles

[@Hakucho64]

@@BaconJake14 I can't believe he hasn't seen it do far, and I'm 28 mins in!

[@Urroner]

I took a small vacation, a month and a half, and came back to watch Simon solve this brilliant puzzle. I can't, but i love, love, love the logic. I love this channel even more.

[@listey]

That is extreme dedication to CTC to curtail a holiday just to watch this video.

[@Ririkeiharu]

I'm a simple man, I see a 3 in the corner, I automatically smile! This one is especially great as there's not one but TWO!

[@jasonveale8467]

What a lovely puzzle! I was scratching my head for so long until I remembered the checkerboard/bishop move element that gave me the polarity of the 16 cage! Such an enjoyable puzzle to complete. Thanks yttrio

[@chezpuff1206]

At my work they play “lose my religion” as part of their playlist and I swear everyone must think I’m a looney bin when I start belting out “THATS THREE IN THE CORNER”

[@dangrene617]

Thanks to previous CTC videos, I immediately recognized the "bishop's move" constraint, and that helped me jump right in and cruise quite comfortably to a 16:13 finish. Felt briefly stuck a few times, but never for long. What a lovely puzzle!

[@davidrattner9]

The love and joy Simon you show in solving Fog of war puzzles, all puzzles on daily basis in fact, is just a wonderful testament to how much passion you have for everything this channel has to offer.

[@michaellautermilch9185]

Breakthrough a bit after 30:00, absolutely brilliant. Huge credit to the puzzle creator!!!

[@MaierFlorian]

Beautiful logic, I would not have got the trick with diagonal polarity until Simon did say we can work out the polarity on the bottom right with the one on the top left, but gorgeous, AND two 3s in the corner with two songs, absolutely loved everything :D

[@Rozoxrush]

Simon completely ignoring the 3 in box 2 during the last 5 minutes is so funny to me

[@steve470]

44:46 for me, including staring blankly at my screen for about 20 minutes before figuring out how to finish the break-in. I have no regrets - that is a fantastic break-in, and a great puzzle. Well done, yttrio!

[@wibblywobblyidiotvision]

That was absolutely gorgeous. The use of polarity is stunning. Took me over 2 hours to finally solve it, but that was exceptionally good.

[@stevieinselby]

Fantastic puzzle 👍🏻👍🏻 It took me 35 minutes, I was delighted to realise the bishop's move resolved the 16-cage very quickly, not often that I spot something like that quicker than Simon!

[@chrissolnordal9421]

I initially got stuck in clearing any fog, then started watching Simon's video and had the "a ha!" moment a couple of seconds before Simon, thus determining the 16-cage had four cells. From there I found it surprisingly straightforward. Bravo!

[@chocolateboy300]

I finished in 67 minutes. It seems like fog of war and german whispers go so well together. I really enjoyed this one. It was really fun calculating all the line possibilities in my head. Great Puzzle!

[@sonalita_]

I had to watch for the break in. Lovely puzzle. And The award for hilarity in Simon's solve today goes to 53:32 where he pencil marks a 3 next to a 3 and says "hmm it doesn't seem to have resolved anything" I think the high solve count might be due to people being dishonest with themselves, but then that takes all the fun out of it.

[@Malakree]

I needed the initial German whispers intro/advice as it's my first time encountering them but when he started thinking about the 16 cage I realised that it was a hot cold from the top left. Managed to solve it from there, super happy!

[@BaconJake14]

I do enjoy me learning the birds and the bees through Simon talking about which numbers can hook up on a whisper line

[@scarbo3697]

39:29 for me. Lucky I'd seen the bishop's move logic before or I never would have solved it 😁

[@couchalmark675]

36:00 An easier way to see this, since I don't understand how Simon gets the 456 triple: the line can't go through a white dot because it violates the whispers rule, so it can't turn right into r7c9 or r8c9. Since it must go up, r7c8 must be high and it can't be 6 or 7, so it's 89, forming a 789 triple in the row where 7 must be in box 8. This removes 3 as an option from r7c5, making it 2.

[@RichSmith77]

I did it the same way as you, and feel it's the more elegant path. (Just to wind Simon up, it's definitely less "bifurcatary" - "what if r7c5 was a 3, oh, then I can reach a contradiction several steps down the path"). But to explain the 456 triple, IF r7c5 was a 3, it would have to be between an 89 pair, then r7c7-9 see 127 in the box and 389 in the row, leaving 456 as a naked triple in those three cells.

[@0LoneTech]

The 456 was based on a hypothetical but impossible 3 in r7c4, which can't go next to a 7 so would force an 89 pair. The explanation starts at 35:42. That doesn't work since it breaks the loop in box 9, which as you (and I) deduced at this point goes straight up.

[@Ytterbio]

This was my intended solve path, and I was a bit surprised Simon didn't look earlier at how the dot restricts the loop's path. It was definitely interesting seeing that it was possible to get the same digit via a different method, though.

[@spelldaddy5386]

I feel like with the way Simon talks about the different digits personalities in this and other videos, we need a whole storybook with them interacting, based around sudoku

[@KSilverlode]

Happy Birthday to the Little Person! This puzzle was a real challenge for me, but I'm happy to say I conquered it in the end. 🙂

[@thefallenarm589]

Very nice puzzle. Around 36:00 a simpler way to deduct this, is just to ask how the loop is going out of box 9. Then a 789 triple appear in row 7 so there mus be 7 on the loop in r7c4 or r6c4 making r7c5 not a 2

[@CrankyOtter]

I could follow Simons’s logic & even anticipate in some places but could not have made all the necessary leaps on my own. Clever setting & solving. Enjoy the cake. 😊

[@jezza6948]

"We will be touching ourselves far too often than whats good for us." This rings so true

[@coreydixon9713]

Wow wow wow. Loved doing this one! Nearly gave up after staring at the opening for ages, but the bishops move was a lightbulb moment that was so thrilling!

[@kgeiger61]

Great puzzle. In fact, from Simon's perspective, it is the PERFECT puzzle, because it is a double serenade!

[@Kitt262]

Always love your solution Simon! Thank you for the amazing solve as always!

[@pewterhacker]

That was a beautiful break-in! So hard to spot while there was still so little happening in the grid. Very nice setting!

[@planningkitten]

Oh I’m still solving the planet suite and that was indeed one of the facts I was thinking about sending in!

[@srwapo]

33:56 with help with the break in. I completely didn't think about how the loop had to be high/low/high/low and didn't see how the two give cages related to each other. It was a breeze after that.

[@QuarkTwain]

54:33 is peak Simon: "Oh Bobbins McBobbinsface... I think in a moment we're going to be forced to do Sudoku in earnest." (Great puzzle!)

[@ninety9960]

21:11 "7 is a jolly naughty digit" That is a giggle!

[@Issaquatch]

One of my favorite puzzles I’ve done. Fun from start to finish.

[@marcuspi999]

Best line ever, "I've just realized that I stopped talking. The reason I stopped talking was that I didn't have anything to tell you." 🤣🤣🤣

[@signalred]

Such a good puzzle this one. I've now attempted maybe two handfuls of the puzzles shown on this channel so I don't have a lot of experience with them yet, and this was the first I managed to solve all by myself without any clues from the video. Took me a little over an hour and it was definitely worth my time.

[@AFT3RDAY5]

The only thing I actually realized way before Simon was that the loop can’t traverse white dots. But I wouldn’t even have gotten there in the first place. Although the solution was logical in the end 🤩👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@terryhobbs2038]

We all are hoping the little one had chocolate cake for her birthday.

[@Unchained_Alice]

Did this a few days ago and it is amazing. Love it so much.

[@renawhitlock6752]

"the reason i stopped talking is i ran out of things to tell you" felt that

[@michaelguida7796]

It's not often I can say I smiled the entire way through an hour-long video. :)

[@daniellucas5522]

It's interesting to see the end of Simon's solve differ so much from mine. After filling the 19 cage, almost all the rest of the puzzle can be done via sudoku, leaving only a 6-7 pair to be resolved by completing the line. Quite nice to see that you can do the line immediately instead.

[@steve470]

One thing you can count on - if there's a way to not do sudoku, Simon will find it. 😀

[@davidrattner9]

Happy birthday to the little person and that she enjoyed all her presents and special day!

[@MichaelJ-lo7mz]

i bet so many people solve it by guessing numbers to reveal fog and then they know the polarity of the line without having to understand the geometry of the grid trick. nice work simon!

[@kajacx]

The absolute brilliance of this puzzle is that the two initial clues interact with each other. Since the loop is orthogonal, high and low digits alternating can tell you which digits in the bottom-right corner are high or low based on which digits in the top-left corner are high and low. Think of it as black and white squares on a chessboard.

[@SourabhDas95]

I did spot the trick almost immediately, but I was helped quite a bit by the fact that I solved a bunch of parity step chessboard problems in highschool. (Essentially, the idea being if you take an even number of orthogonal steps from any square on a chessboard, you'll end up on a square that's the same color as the square you started on, and the implications of that when trying to create tiling patterns, or move sequences etc.) Incredible to see that concept incorporated in a puzzle using the genius medium of a BYO german whispers loop!

[@michielhorikx9863]

I saw the polarity trick pretty quickly, then proceeded to get bogged down by missing so many easy deductions like '7 cannot go next to 3 on the whisper line' and simple sudoku stuff that it took me just over 75 minutes to solve it, oops. Great sudoku, very beautiful!

[@ersatz_ben]

Clever puzzle. Loved the breakthrough of realising the polarity of the two given cages was linked.

[@258thHiGuy]

"The loop is touching itself, and that's not allowed" was the tipping point for me as far as unintentional innuendos

[@victorfinberg8595]

alternate logic for 37:00 (inverted sequence, with simpler steps) a) if loop turns right from middle of box 9, and goes up along edge of grid, it must be 3 cells straight up (or more). This puts a white dot between 2 GW cells, which is impossible. b) therefore r7c8 is the next loop cell, which must be 8 or 9. c) this puts a triple in r7. d) this forces a 7 to be next to r7c5

[@biaberg3448]

Happy birthday to little person 🎉🍰🌰🍩🍿🎂🥤💥

[@praematura]

I had helped test this puzzle originally, but decided to try it again as it's been a while! It was amazing how I nearly forgot all of it. 😄 22:42 this time around, as I do recall I forgot to do a lot of basic sudoku to solve it the first time, hence a slightly faster solve on this pass. 🙂 Really wonderful puzzle from yttrio!

[@aidarosullivan5269]

That must be one of the most difficult break-ins in recent history of the channel.

[@timdorr]

Simon and Mark will need to add another phrase to their repertoire: "There are a few secrets I know about Whisper Loops..."

[@_aullik]

I usually have big problem with breakins, but this one just came relatively easy. I mean its a fog puzzle, and there are only 2 visible parts of the puzzle you have to think about which also raises the question why there are 2 visible parts. From there on i thought about connecting them and then i deduced the bishop rule.

[@pedrosaraiva1411]

I agree. I would never get that break-in myself . Its just too hard for me to visualize how the loops will evolve and affect the puzzle in those type of puzzles . In fact I am so awfully bad at any loop puzzles that I am seeing cracking the cryptic for about almost an year and I dont even remember finnish any puzzles when I have to draw a loop line

[@flora5090]

The bishop's move polarity trick was so cool! What an awesome puzzle! I've been constructing a similar loop sudoku and that really helped me with this one because the logic is quite similar

[@kevray85]

It’s so satisfying when Simon gets slowed down at the same spot I do

[@Jonasz314]

Awesome stuff. I solved the entire puzzle except for four cells which had a 67 pair, and realized I had to close the green line to get resolution, since a 6 could not be placed at that spot - so that's what forced the 7. Really clever puzzle!

[@DarrenNakamura]

Finished in 65:11. Not too much longer than the video length! It helped that I've constructed a whisper snake puzzle so I'm pretty familiar with the things you need to think about for them.

[@mclaindog1642]

Decided to try solving it myself while i got stuck at the beginning and needed help on how the bottom cell is 4 the rest flowed really well while the ending making the loop matter once again after doing a bunch of sudoka to answer a 67 pair box was a wonderful way to finish it.

[@yadiracamacho499]

Thanks you Rebecca for sharing your mom's story, it was really sweet.

[@lrayzor]

At the start I figured that once you knew the polarity of one cell, by the fact the loop is orthogonal and cannot cross itself you can work out the polarity of the other corner by just counting hi/low from R1C1 to R8C8

[@PattyManatty]

The bishops move is a great way to visualize the breakthrough, but it can also be thought of algebraically. Once you know the r1c1 is low polarity, then r9c7 must also be. You must traverse 8 rows down, and 6 columns across for a minimum of 14 moves, an even number. If there is any inefficiency to the path like a move up or left (from the context of following the loop counter clockwise) then it must be made up for with exactly one extra move in the other direction forcing an even number of moves on the path there. Forcing the polarity of the squares to match

[@_Some_Random_Guy__]

Never thought I'd enjoy someone trying so hard NOT to touch themselves for an hour 🤣🤣

[@ukdavepianoman]

Stunning puzzle. It's amazing what can be done with such small clues to start with. I got the polarity relationship between Box 1 and Box 9 immediately (nice to get Congratulations from Simon) and made some progress. Then I got stuck after about 13 digits (43:50) and had to look at Simon's solve and this got me restarted.

[@Hakucho64]

Saw the bishop's move really early on, then got stuck not resolving my own pencil marks in box 2 (and Simon pointing out the X-wing on 3's helped too). Lovely puzzle, more like these please!

[@avz1865]

Absolutely amazing puzzle. The polarity trick had me in awe

[@richardblue9139]

22:20 REM's newest hit: "That's three in the corner. That's three in the spot. Light. Causing a division. Oh no it adds too much. It doesn't add enough. To the German whisper..."

[@richardblue9139]

50:20 He had the same idea!!!😂😂😂

[@SirBradiator]

35:02 for me, took a while to spot the parity trick for the break in, once I got a few digits it was a relatively straightforward puzzle.

[@Aliessil]

Finished in 34:05, really pleased with that! FoW and GW must be my favourite puzzle types 🙂

[@LithmusEarth]

37:05 more onto that point you also cannot drive through a consecutive white dot with the loop that is an x border. So the 2 loop can't turn right, if it turns right it has to go up 2 spaces to prevent touching the 2 on it's other side, well you can't pass through a consecutive because they aren't far enough apart, after going up one you can't go right or you'll run into that same consecutive problem, and the left side touches the back end of that cage also can't do, so you have to go 2 up from 2 in box 9.

[@LithmusEarth]

41:52 exactly. I actually didn't realize i paused it right at a transition, i did see a weird face shift when it happened. just got lucky.

[@AnnaChiaraBellini]

This was classy! Really enjoyed it

[@Teeboned]

Wow... I've been watching for years, and this break in is the first time where I've thought I wouldn't have ever seen that given enough time. Never noticed that polarity cheese board on whispers because they are normally much shorter lines

[@richardwingrove953]

I got the possibilities for the two initial cages alright, but just could not figure out how to disambiguate them. Had to watch the start of the video to get a hint unfortunately, but the rest of it flowed from there. Very nice puzzle!

[@martinbull-gundersen8878]

Thanks for another very nice solve. Hope the little person got a lot of cake (with a lot of frosting).

[@tonyawright6020]

That opening was incredible.

[@onfire4godjj9]

I figured out the bishop's move to infer the polarity of the line in box 9! It's my first time figuring out whatever Simon just realized when he says, "Pause the video to figure it out" 😁

[@lba1979]

Maverick's timing recently has been really impressive.

[@andrewpalmer5189]

A truly brilliant puzzle.

[@adrianhead6272]

Having done a similar "chequerboard" puzzle just days ago, I caught the logic quickly on this - completed in 17m12s.

[@HunterJE]

Think this is the cleverest fog break-in I've seen to date

[@jsbrads1]

Because of the constraint of the loop, you can determine the polarity of the bottom cage by counting the cells between the two cages.

[@57thorns]

29:11 I agree with that sentiment, I should have figured that one out myself as well...

[@Xebtria]

25:45 this is what did it to me, realizing that R9C6 can be either high or low, and figuring out that it has to be high, because otherwise the loop together with the german whisper rule cannot connect properly, because no matter how the snake goes from R1C1 to R9C6 it is always going to be an odd number of cells (at least the "low/left" part of the loop). and because of that, since R1C1 is low, R9C6 must be high, and as it was described so beautifully, the only way R9C6 can be high, is if the 16 cage is a 4 cell cage with 6172, as notated at this point in time. so if that 16 cage would be 178, it means that R9C6 would be low, but in that case the line cannot connect anymore, because no matter what you try, it would be an even number of cells to the 13 cage top left, but then you would have two low cells adjacent on the line, and that breaks the rules from there the puzzle almost solves itself, still tricky, but everything unfolds one after another.

[@victorfinberg8595]

For puzzles of this nature, I do recommend colouring loop/not-loop cells. It makes it much easier to see the track

[@hewholimpsmartin]

Just got around to watching this (after midnight); wish your daughter a happy belated birthday from the Tucson-Quack