The Cliffhanger Finale To Season 2: Sudoku Rat Run In The Fog

[@martysears]

Hello everyone, Thank you for all the love and support for Finkz and myself over the last 6 months. I’ve been planning this season 2 ending since the beginning of season 1. Up til, 2 weeks ago, all I knew was the title and the ending. I knew the puzzle would involve teleports and fog, and that I would end with a deadly pattern which can be resolved by find the location of a teleport hidden in the fog, and that this would reveal the narrative twist. (That is something I thought of all the way back in April.) The idea of setting it on Christmas Day and calling it Gifted, I only thought of in the first week of October. When I realised Christmas Day fell on a Wednesday, which is the usual day I release an episode, I knew I had to try and make that happen, which meant I would need to start releasing season 2 on October 23rd (10 weeks before Christmas Day.) However at that point I only had two episodes made for season 2 (Mirror maze and Connectedness), and although I had many of the other episodes planned in terms of concepts and constraints, I hadn’t started actually setting anything else yet. This left me with the daunting task of trying to set as many episodes as possible in just 3 weeks, to be comfortably able to start season 2 on October 23rd. Somehow, I managed to set 5 episodes in those 3 weeks, surpassing my goal of 4, leaving me with just three more to make - which really took the pressure off. So after I started releasing season 2, I only had to make Thermoregulation, Brainwaves, and Gifted. These ended up being three of the trickiest ones to set though. I had a few different ways I could go with Gifted. It was an unusual starting point for setting a puzzle. Usually I start from a concept and a ruleset. Here I was starting from a very particular ending. This made it quite hard to figure out the best combination of rules to use to yield the ending I wanted, the options were almost endless. I started setting a couple of the other ideas too and they were cool but turning out way too complicated. I might save some of those ideas for season 3. In the end I went with the simpler ‘consecutive’ constraint, coupled with the Christmas lights idea. The puzzle turned out being quite a bit more sudoku-heavy than I had aimed for, and with a shorter path than I would have liked, but I think this was ok for a change, even though it did give it a slightly different flavour from the standard Rat Run puzzle. All in all, I was happy to deliver the ending that I had been looking forward to for 8 months. Once again thank you to Chinstrap and VikingPrime for their invaluable testing and feedback, which really helped me to hone the puzzle and make certain things clearer. And big thanks again to Simon for continuing to feature every episode, which is something I never would have expected or dreamed of. It’s been so awesome seeing you follow the story of Finkz over the weeks, and getting to hear about other people’s experiences of solving the series too. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their festive break and has a great start to 2025 :) x

[@shaunelliott8583]

Thank you Marty, you are a gentleman and a scholar

[@davidenas]

@@martysears With what this puzzle is like, I thought you'd have set out to make a Rat Run puzzle with almost no walls, but I see you started from something completely different. I don't mind the short path on a single puzzle, it makes it play out differently from others, plus it still important path decisions until the end.

[@martysears]

@@davidenas I wanted the colour for this to be White, which seemed appropriate for christmas and also for the consecutive constraint (like white kropki dots), so I was aiming to have no walls at all. It was theoretically possible with this ruleset but I didn't quite pull it off, so I had the tinsel idea as a backup in case I needed a few walls that you could actually see. Maybe if I'd had another week to set this I would have managed it, but with this path layout I needed some walls near the cupcake to limit the options so that it didnt turn into too much of a case-checking headache. Trying to set a Rat Run puzzle with no walls just reminded me how lovely walls are to set with in usual episodes... they give me so much flexibility

[@MarcusTheDorkus]

Your rat runs are so immensely good. Whenever I see a new one pop up on CtC I'm always excited to try to solve it. Thank you for creating all of them!

[@Andizottel]

@@martysears Hey Marty! Have you thought about making a maze with glass / mirror (invisible) walls? (Probably yes, you seem to be bursting with ideas, lol) As opposed to the no walls idea, you would have more possibilities to narrow the path down, the walls would just have to be determined or found by the solver. Allow me to tell you one or two ideas for how this could be done: Put some Columns (round wall spots) in the grid - walls segments would have to be attached to other walls or to those columns (but columns wouldn't need to have walls next to them). Adjacent cells with the same parity must have a wall between them (this works well with a mirror maze themed puzzle). All your rat run puzzles are truly amazing, can't wait for season 3!

[@darockdawson]

I will miss Finkz and her little weekly runs, but hopefully Marty Sears will soon come up with season 3 in 2025. Thank You Marty and Simon for those puzzles, they’re absolutely amazing !

[@JaymanOttawa]

The moment Simon thought he killed Finkz was PRICELESS! God bless you Simon... :)

[@martysears]

was looking forward to that bit

[@MaryVidal-pt8bx]

Thank you for the kind shoutout! Simon, Finkz, and a birthday message from my son. All I need is a bit of chocolate cake to complete an extraordinary day.

[@hummakavula3750]

Sudoku has foreshadowing now. I can't believe how far this has come in the last 5 years

[@TheSeventhCellist]

Fast forward to season 7 where there will be 5 rats, 2 mice and a duck having to find their way through a hyper cube of 9 dimensions. I can't wait! Joke aside, thanks to Marty and Simon for those magnificent puzzles and their solving.

[@brachypelmasmith]

Some sort of wolf/sheep/grain cross the bridge puzzle inside 😂

[@TheKronaxx]

The duck needs to reach the pond. The path taken is on a German Whisperline. The rats need to get to the one cupcake (Each of them a different rule set). None of them can cross each others path. Go.

[@TheBioRules]

Simon: puts a duplicate 5 in box 7. Also Simon: puts a duplicate 5 in column 9. Also also Simon: "How many times have I been made to look a fool in this puzzle? 5 times at least."

[@iabervon]

He got an early start on the duplicate theme. Just imagine if the teleporter malfunction had been in a 5. He'd have been sure it was his fault.

[@davidrattner9]

What a fabulous way to end the last Friday in 2024 with the conclusion of season 2 of the Rat Run series!! HUGE YOU THANK MARTY for all of these you have set for us. Just absolutely phenomenal from you and TONS OF RESPECT! Can't wait to see what adventures Finkz has in 2025.

[@martysears]

or 1975 :)

[@davidrattner9]

@martysears 😀😁

[@Andizottel]

@@martysears or 2025 - set by (hopefully) you in 2055 😆 What will they look like? The ones in 1985 will already be played in VR, with sound and animation and special effects and multiple grids of different sizes connected by staircases and of course exploding teleports...

[@gappy3234]

The concern shown in the video when the explosion was shown was glorious.

[@martysears]

💜

[@clericoflight476]

I can't help but be invested in the story of this little fictional sudoku rat!

[@WeaselOnaStick]

I teared up when Simon read the victory message and realized he didn't explode Finkz 🤣😭

[@PassionPopsicle]

@@WeaselOnaStick Right!? He was so relieved Finkz wasn't harmed

[@thebishop4112]

What a lovely puzzle. I had a particularly interesting narrative experience as, due to my incompetence, I failed to consider that there might be something hidden in the fog in box 9 and so uncovered the plot twist early. I thought I'd killed Finkz due to a logical fallacy! On unwinding I then proceeded to complete the solve the "intended" way, all the time wondering whether the software had evolved to the point where putting incorrect digits in might reveal a different set of images in the grid. This sort of branching storyline might be entertaining in the future if the solver falls into a predictable trap... Many thanks to Marty for a thoroughly delightful puzzle, and to Simon for a thoroughly entertaining video.

[@maljamin]

Yes, same here! I had revealed the 1-telport first (just above the 2-teleport) then assumed I could expose 2 on the path, but got the 💥 and another teleport! Which to me suggested some sort of split-path weirdness (though at the time I thought it was some kind of punishment for a unfounded deduction).

[@mikewyka5733]

I can only commend Marty for the excellent puzzle, but I must mildly scold as well. How DARE you make us think something bad happened to our friend Finkz! Also can't wait to guide two rats in the next season! How such panic turned into anticipation in the end is lovely, and I'm back to commending Marty in the end. Happy Holidays, all!

[@koschkathedeathless]

This puzzle also scared me. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought something happened to Finkz

[@sebastienlecoq3956]

Every time I watch those puzzle, I cannot not think to "flowers for Algernon"... And fearing for Finkz...

[@SilvrSavior]

I can't help picturing that Marty will have 1 sudoku puzzle with 2 completely different answers depending on the path 1 of the Finkzs takes. The thing that would probably change the path would be the constraint on which digit has to be on the path next.

[@TigerWalts]

And now we move into the evil Mirrorverse Finkz arc.

[@acadia2876]

Dynamic fog is both beautiful and stressful, when i put a digit in the grid and no fog gets cleared i always second self my answer.

[@A_CC_K]

These videos are always amazing, the genius setting of Marty Sears and the brilliant solving by Simon. Pure bliss to watch.

[@jonahfastre]

With 22 cels visited this may very well be the shortest path ever taken by Finkz.

[@martysears]

i think it is, yes

[@davidenas]

Rat Run 1 is shorter, but that's cheating because it's 6×6. It's definitely the shortest of the full sized ones, probably by far.

[@ubk-qm4rz]

@@davidenas But not officially. Results were voided.

[@elainedenning]

@martysears, I have enjoyed this series so much! I can't wait for Series 3! Thank you for bringing so much entertainment to the sudoku world, and for introducing us to Finkz.

[@craigyoung8008]

Simon pointing out how easy it is to make a mistake is spot on. I was quick to jump on the puzzle on Christmas day when it was published on LMD. A few people had already solved it, but there was a problem with the first digit not clearing fog from r4c1. At that stage in the puzzle, you can deduce that r4c1 is a dead end. But if it's still covered in fog, you have no way of knowing that it's not a teleport. Which means there is insufficient information to progress without guessing. This suggests that a few of the people who solved it might have mistakenly failed to consider the possibility that r4c1 is a teleporter, getting the right answer for the wrong reasons. Fortunately, when I retried the puzzle later, the problem had been solved, and I was quick to notice the additional fog clearance.

[@RichSmith77]

Someone else commented below that Simon overlooked the possibility of a teleporter 3 in r7c3 at 42:10. There doesn't seem to be a particularly clean logical path to eliminate this possibility. Only by bifurcating. Your comment has me wondering whether this is a similar situation as r4c1, and the puzzle would have been improved had r7c3 had its fog cleared earlier, to show there was no teleporter in that cell?

[@brspies]

Fun puzzle, can't wait to see what's in store for season 3. What a cliffhanger, the possibilities are limitless!

[@elric58]

That's why I left the orange and blue rows colored. That's the only thing that held Simon up at the end.

[@levb258]

I love how the finished "maze" had only three bits of tinsel; it feels like a nice midpoint where an entirely mazeless maze appears entirely feasible but it still has a bit just to remind us of the origins of the maze.

[@chocolateboy300]

I finished in 66:27 minutes. I suspected this twist several puzzle ago and I am so glad it is going to happen. I tried to create my own puzzle based on it using thermometer and renban rules where the rats would switch rulesets every time they crossed each other, but I am not good at setting so it just sits in my mind. I am so glad Marty is going in the direction of multiple rats. This puzzle was so fun to solve, especially the Christmas lights. I think my favorite part was the dual naked singles starting with 1 in r2c7, followed by the second naked single of 9 in r2c5. Those felt amazingly out of nowhere. The ending was tough for me, but seeing that teleport E's partner wasn't found yet, that made things super clear. Thank you Marty for all that you have done in this series. It is more appreciated than you may know. I look forward with great anticipation for season 3. Great Puzzle!

[@balanceseeker]

This was a case of multiple times going "I think I know the way this will go" followed by "Oh, no... I was a fool." Well played, Marty.

[@violetfactorial6806]

This is a wonderful series of puzzles, thanks so much to everyone involved especially the setter, Marty Sears - it's brilliant work and very entertaining.

[@PerStarback]

I really loved the set-up where you started to wonder if the 24-3-24 sequence in box 9 would go to the 1 teleporter or the 5 teleporter; and then it was neither!

[@braydenboudreau2118]

That bottom orange Christmas light really slowed down Simon at the end. I wonder if it would have helped disambiguate the path after leaving the 3 teleport

[@giuliaconcialdi2758]

I'm so happy! To have my good wishes read on a Finks video is the best gift I could receive! And yes Simon, you said my name correctly! Me and Marco will enjoy this video ( fog sudokus are my favorite) and you'll hear from me for his birthday in April 🥰

[@CauchyIntegralFormula]

50m06s. What a remarkable final deduction! I was trying to figure out which of three paths Finkz was going to take, only to discover that it was none of them!

[@MaierFlorian]

What a happy christmas ending for a perfect second season ♥

[@Jukka70]

can i just reiterate how brilliant these have been. I hope there's a season 3, Finkz always makes my day :)

[@annikamartenson866]

The West Wing - best series ever!! Now I have to watch it all over again ❤

[@Timlagor]

I don't think I could bear to given what's happened in USA politics since

[@slamcatX2]

@timlagor, you are so right. Breaks my heart. Thank goodness we have Marty and Finkz and Simon to shine some light in the darkness

[@nickjayyoung7662]

The teleport malfunction has been hinted at in the "solve report", we just didn't know what was going to happen. Enjoyed the video. Edit: In fact, the "solve reports" on the Rat Runs with cells that doubled, mirrored, etc. a digit was also hinting at the twist in Finkz's story.

[@martysears]

😉

[@TiagoMorbusSa]

Marty Sears is an absolute master!

[@katiekawaii]

That last bit of teleporter logic was so satisfying to figure out. Thanks for making me feel like a genius, Marty! 😋 (And for the best series of puzzles I've ever played.) Season 3 can't start soon enough!

[@stevenbetts666v2]

I had fun solving this on Christmas morning!

[@Paul-cn3ij]

Think I'm finally getting into the head of Marty, which is both a pleasure and a worry! I've learnt that if there's only one logical deduction on a number, enter it and ignore the fact you may have to rethink the path. This one flowed beautifully for me. 26:28 minutes of Saturday morning joy.

[@martysears]

wow thats an impressive time. welcome in to my head :)

[@Paul-cn3ij]

@@martysears Last week was an hour and a half plus a bit so it's more a broken clock scenario this week! ;)

[@nylimb8403]

At 31:05 Simon remarked on the hesitation before the fog cleared. I hadn't noticed that when I solved the puzzle, but it turns out that you need to put the correct digits in all 4 squares r89c67 to make it clear. The order doesn't matter; the fog always clears after entering the 4th digit.

[@Andizottel]

Oh, interesting - so you can make even more complicated stuff with the dynamic fog than I thought - neat!

[@compiling]

Solved in 39:41. I accidentally spoiled the twist for myself by forgetting about the possibility of a teleporter in the fog for how to get into box 9, then backtracked to solve that bit properly. Pretty funny way of setting a fog puzzle where you get told you're right about that digit, but for the wrong reason.

[@TheBioRules]

Same, I'd seen the results before I was meant to

[@RichSmith77]

Same here. And when it revealed the teleporter with the explosion, I wasn't sure if that meant that the teleporter was a non-functioning teleporter, that Finkz could have traversed while in box 9 without being teleported out of box 9. I eventually decided that would be an unreasonable implementation of the teleporter rule, as defined in the rules, so I ignored the explosion and continued as if I hadn't seen it. It did feel like I'd spoiled the ending for myself a little though. Pity that the 1 in box 6 was a correct digit

[@Sternentier]

This puzzle did a good job of not making the logical path too forced, which is sometimes a problem with fog of war puzzles for me. I wish you guys would do more traditional fog of war puzzles, though. For some reason, I find them more fun to watch and solve.

[@danbanks9325]

😱 two Finkz this is going to be interesting. Think Marty is playing with Simon mind 😂😂

[@Antiknight]

This was a really cool puzzle that I solved a couple of days ago! I really enjoyed this one in the Rat Run series.

[@QwDragon]

0:41:36, 0:42:05 There is another way. R7C3 is under the fog, so we can't know it doesn't have a teletort there. If it does, we leave box 7 by withiting that only cell. 0:43:38 This time 1-2 is correct because there is 2-3 and 3-2-3 repeacts 3 in a box. Other digit in the corner is impossible as can't get 4 anywhere (first column is odd, second doesn't have 4).

[@cloudbringer104]

I need this today. I can't believe I forgot it is Friday. This is my evening sorted out. Crossword after this.

[@AaronPriceColby]

I was terrified Finkz was zapped and I was going to have to curse the creator for taking Finkz away from us on Christmas... glad the image was not what it appeared to be.

[@martysears]

I wouldn't do it to you Aaron, not at Christmas time

[@elizabethgrosvenor153]

Finkzy!!! 😱 Also, the ending of Series 2 of Young Sheldon was incredible, worthy of being a whole-show finale (although I'm glad there was still more of it)

[@RoukoThyuan]

"Fog is all alround me" sounds like a video title

[@constanza1648]

This sudoku seems to have a 5 overdose today!

[@ShakalDraconis]

And now Simon knows why the experiment results mentioned that the teleporters have been overheating and malfunctioning. Foooooreshadowing...

[@MarcusTheDorkus]

That puzzle was easier than I thought it would be... right up until the final disambiguation. I spent far too long not seeing the other possible path. At least 1/4 of my total time was spent on that, possibly more!

[@DaleKingProfile]

My theory is that next season will have schroedinger rats. My theory is that the teleporters are spawning parallel universes so while one Finks took the discovered path another one went north from 3 teleporter in box 6 to the 1 teleporter and then to the 2 teleporter on box 9 while the other Finks was teleporting to the same space overloading the teleporter.

[@janpopiel6845]

Does "kropki" sudoku name come from polish, where "kropki" means "dots"?

[@OddLittleShoppingBag]

I believe that to be true but I don’t remember why. I think maybe Mark said so in a past video, or it could say that in their domino sudoku app.

[@tremkl]

Yes. I remember when they first started appearing on the channel, there was discussion whether to refer to them as “kropkis” or “kropki dots”, since the latter is clearer to people unfamiliar with the etymology but is also one of those repetitive phrases like “PIN Number”. Another fun fact, when kropkis were first introduced to Sudoku, they ALWAYS had a negative constraint (ie all kropkis were given), which is the reason why to this day, almost all kropki puzzles say “Not all dots are necessarily given”, despite the fact there would be no reason to assume as such.

[@HunterJE]

!!spoilers!! ... ... YESSS been waiting for something like this since the first mentions of the teleporters misbehaving

[@piarittersporn]

Brilliant rat run. R7C9 was very irritating for me, but there was no other way to the cake. So it must be the true path.

[@johncj75]

Why couldn't there have been a 3 in a teleporter under the fog in r7c3?

[@abcrtzyn]

After revealing something way too early the first time I solved it, I solved it again staying fully aware of teleporters under the fog. I tried placing a three there and eventually had a contradiction in box 9. I’m sure Simon would consider it bifurcation but I couldn’t find any other way to figure it out.

[@compiling]

I didn't consider that possibility either. Looking back, the 3 is restricted in box 7 to the upper right and lower left corners, which solves some more squares to reveal the cupcake. Then box 9 needs a 3 in the top row to get between the fog and the cupcake which resolves the 3 in box 7.

[@r.b.4009]

Yeah, I also don't understand why it couldnt have been a 3-teleporter in r7c3??

[@renedekker9806]

Simon indeed missed it, but at that point in the solve, you can deduce that r7c6 is a one. Placing that reveals the cupcake in box 9. Then placing a 3 in r7c3 makes the path in box 9 impossible. At least that how I did it, there might be a simpler way.

[@alexsmart2612]

Good sir, I regret to inform you that you are in fact the Grinch.

[@atBiarne]

Did the clone-Finkz maybe come from some marty-maze-multiverse, taking it's own path up from the 3-teleport? Up through the '2' and then into the 1-teleport, then down into the 2-teleport? Clashing with Finkz-original? I'm not sure about the reveal order when solving in different ways. But sure feels like Marty-madness to me!

[@charlesh.1643]

you could have gotten the 7 in col 3 row 4 more quickly by realizing you were on an odd square (2 yellow lights pointing to the square with 7,8 on it.) But in the end, you got there.

[@aamocryp]

I mean the oddness of a square is only determined by the path goIng into it, so seeing if the path takes that square in the first place is key here

[@RichSmith77]

​@@aamocrypYes. It could have been an 8 if the path didn't visit that square. You have to work out the path is forced through r4c3 first, which is what Simon did.

[@roccov3614]

I'm also expecting 2 rats next season. Obviously, the tester would want to be able to differentiate between the 2 rats so I'm expecting them to be wearing 2 different colored ribbons or something.

[@dustpan5356]

Something I think Simon missed is that Finkz found the “friend” referenced in Episode 19.

[@Coyotek4]

39:35 (I found no issues regarding hard-to-find digits; just had to remind myself that each teleporter had a match) ... What a crazy end to Season 2, and what a set-up to the future! Just a wonderful collection ... Season 3 can't come soon enough for me!

[@kobs_0]

This one will have to wait till morning... My brain keeps getting blue and orange swapped since any other puzzle I do, I use blue for "cool" numbers (low, odd, etc) and orange for the opposite. This puzzle has me swapping that around and I've stumbled now 4 times in the first 5 minutes. pause!

[@kobs_0]

completed. fun ending to season 2. Although, at times I definitely felt like I did something wrong so I am now watching to see if my logic in places was flawed and I got a bit lucky, we shall see

[@markp7262]

56:12 finish. Enjoy your well-deserved rest, Finkz and Finkz. I am curious to see if you will both be joining us for next season. It would certainly make for an interesting twist!

[@maljamin]

I think I see how the second Finkz emerged! From the 3-teleport exit, two paths are possible. If we imagine a quantum Fink taking both paths... and if you imagine simultaneous paths, you can almost see the collision in the 2-teleport, that might force both to exit on the same end, despite one entering there (from the 1-teleport)! To the only un-taken path digit, the 3 in box 9. Is this a mechanic we can expect to see blossoming in the future with tandem/clone Finkzes??

[@maljamin]

Plot twist, IMO, the first Finkz to reach the cupcake was the one that took the 1-tele, for (entirely invented) rules and reasons about how quantum Finkzes might work that could see them colliding in the first place.

[@rikki-isabella]

Ive been enjoying Marty Sears Ratrun series

[@Mandragorn]

Leave it to marty to make sure we got our christmas 3 before the end of the year!

[@roccov3614]

43:42 Oh Simon, you try so hard not to say nonsense but sometimes you still do. Have you been into the Christmas wine? TIP: Counting in reverse, a 1 does follow after a 3,2. Hope you have been enjoying the holiday festivities.

[@mattconco]

I have to admit I got quite excited when the first green 5 got revealed and I could immediately see where the other one was 😂

[@martysears]

i'm happy about that. the whole idea of this puzzle was looking for teleporters in the fog :)

[@srwapo]

75:24, I messed up a bit, assuming that Finkz had to go through r6c9 and r7c9 to get to the end, typed in a digit, and revealed a teleported I didn't even think could be there. Undid that step and solved it correctly. Super neat disambiguation with knowing there HAS to be another teleporter somewhere in the end, and that it had to have a unique digit. So, 2x Finkz in future puzzles?

[@Mx-Alba]

Suddenly I recalled that at a certain point in the series, Finkz only ate half of her cupcake... Was she saving the other half for the copy-rat?

[@XavierBASTIEN-j8w]

Prepare yourself for some schrödinger cells on next season, Simon ^^

[@nicocost33]

48.20 for me. Love it. Will we soon have two mice in the grid?

[@leickrobinson5186]

I love solving this puzzle series! Can’t wait until Season 3! (39:40 for me) 😄

[@TurquoizeGoldscraper]

34:10 for me - I got stuck figuring out how Finkz was supposed to get to the cupcake area, if she came from R6C9 which would be a one, or R8C9 which would be a 5. Nice going hiding the teleporter (and another surprise) in R7C9.

[@Ardalambdion]

Can someone give Finkz some fitting special goggles so she can navigate any fog and mist?

[@ronjohnson6916]

Nice recoveries from bad entries.

[@jamesdonnelly9217]

I thought it was a deadly pattern for Finkz, but it resolved.

[@Unbounded7]

I accidently cheated by forgetting about the possibility of teleports and just assuming a 2 was there only to see the explosion symbol haha brilliant to use the fact that it is correct to scold me

[@wordclover]

Me2. It made me wonder a) whether I had killed Finkz b) how Sven had coded wrong digits to clear fog and revealing a different graphic. After that, I was more careful, and managed to finish in 58:10. Loved the deductions based on locating matching teleports.

[@twelvexii9474]

The Rat Run Series is by far my favorite. I don't suppose you could clean up the playlist, they're quite out of order and have an unrelated puzzle. Makes it a bit harder to introduce them elsewhere.

[@aartbluestoke3352]

todays mathematical nugget of wisdom : 1 is not even.

[@paulramsay1884]

Why do I look at the same result but a different path. From the 3 in box 6 I went straight up to the 1 Teleport in box 3, then to the Teleport in box 9 and stopped, thinking it had stopped.

[@andrewgrant6516]

Shouting at the screen to carry on shading the cells you can't visit. It all falls into place then.

[@leefisher6366]

I did it! I did it!!! Took me a long time to figure out the final twist, but I did not use 'bi-fur-cation' (although I suspect someone else did).

[@PhilippReinhard-f6j]

I was so sure after reading the rules, that there won't be any red tinsel...

[@DoongXiouHua]

So we can expect 2 Finkzs in next rat run puzzle, right? That would be really interesting!

[@r.b.4009]

Maybe we'll have to decide which one is faster, and they prevent the other taking a specific route? I am sure @martysears will come up with a looooot better ideas 😂

[@PurajitMalalur]

Woah interesting! Is dynamic fog unbounded in capability? I filled in the 6 teleport first, and it didn't reveal anything, and the bottom fog opened up only when I filled in the 2 in box 1. And after some experimenting, it looks like it expects that entire chain to be filled before revealing the fog - removing any digit there brings back the fog.

[@martysears]

thats right, the setter can tell a fog cell to only reveal when a specific set of cells are all filled correctly, regardless of the order they are filled in

[@PurajitMalalur]

@martysears hey thanks for the reply! The rat sudokus have been incredible, and it even got a couple friends who previously didn't care for the alt-sudokus into it!

[@martysears]

@@PurajitMalalur ah thats lovely to hear. Nice to bring new people in to this crazy world

[@angec9908]

Aw. Finkz has a friend. Finkzes? Finkz 2.0?

[@KyleDB150]

The fog didn't reveal when playing in the sudokupad app, only on the website

[@ca-ke9493]

I accidentally spoilt myself on the ending by erroneously concluding it was a 2 in box 9 way before we were meant to. I was so sad that Finkz might have been killed

[@solarone7795]

1:19:45 I thought Finkz was killed there after last teleport at first too D: What a drama been resolved by the end because it is appeared to be a happy-end! P.S. My time is 39:32, woo-hoo! It is another one case when I solved it substantially faster, they are still very rare though

[@Kelarys]

I'm irrationally upset that she never goes into box 3 haha

[@S_Black]

Maybe the second rat really turns out to be her evil twin

[@paulnieuwkamp8067]

47:00 what am I missing? Why can't the digits in r7 be a 4? Simon is backtracking the erroneous 5, but he is not questioning the 68-pair while I've been pausing and puzzling why he isn't putting a 4 in them. No other 4 in the columns, not in the row, no path constraint, no x-wing... I just don't see it.

[@DanielAydarArantes]

he just did a mistake and didn't noticed, you are correct.

[@DanielAydarArantes]

oh, the 6 and 8 in box are a hidden pair, so 4 could not go in row 7 box 7. mistery solved!

[@paulnieuwkamp8067]

@@DanielAydarArantesAh, I see it now, thanks. If he had used that pair to pencil mark box 7 row 8 and then pencil mark row 6 I would have gotten it, but doing it the other way around had me baffled.

[@AWanderingSwordsman]

47:11 for me. It was fun even though I like normal fog better than dynamic.

[@perigin3]

The real secret to do this in half the time is to not recognise that there could have been a teleporting 5 in r8c9 and so you get that cupcake 4-3-2 halfway through the puzzle 😎

[@PeterZaitcev]

Solved in 39:00. The ending is unreal.

[@hanzel5417]

i spent a ridiculous amount of time on boxes 7 and 8.... For some reason, I thought that the Christmas Lights would be present for all rows and columns (just had to be revealed as i solve the puzzle).... And there was no way to get out from rows 8 and 9....

[@AaronPriceColby]

Was doing great until I hit the red tinsel and didn't realize it was a wall :(

[@mordirit8727]

So... We'll have _TWO_ Finkzes next year?

[@MeriaDuck]

That ending did upset me for a moment 😂