Endgame: The Sudoku With The MOST Crazy Finale

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** TODAY'S PUZZLE **
KNT has been making incredible sudoku since just March 2022. Every single one of KNT's puzzles has an enormously high rating on Logic Masters Germany and this is a great example of why. Spelunker is astonishing - the logic at the start is fabulous but the logic at the end.... Do give it a try at the link below:
tinyurl.com/k3j46ntb
Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply. Some of the cells must be coloured grey so that all grey cells (the “walls”) are orthogonally connected to the edge and all other (green) cells form an orthogonally connected area (the “cave”). Grey cells may not have 2x2 blocks. A number in the top left corner of a cell indicates the sum of the digits that are seen from this cell looking to the north, south, east, and west. The cell with the clue counts once in this sum. Walls obstruct the view. A cell with a clue must be part of the cave. Within the field of vision of a clue, digits may not repeat. In addition, any two orthogonally adjacent wall cells must have values that differ by at least 5. Isolated wall cells are not bound to any constraint.
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[@KNT_awesome12345]

KNT here: Thanks for the feature! I'm glad you found the end as surprising as I did when I found it :). Your inuition at the end was correct: I spent a good 8 hours or so placing ">0" clues around the rightmost 4 columns to force the whisper up to R1, which was my intended result. The >11 and

[@KNT_awesome12345]

Jesper Josefsson's Yin Yang Chaos Construction: This is the only one on this list that, Simon, you MUST do. Yes it will be your longest video to date. Would be fantastic for a livestream. But at the sake of intellectual enrichment, this is a puzzle absolutely not to be missed. Magnus Josefsson's Regional Skyscraper puzzle: I am aware TotallyNormalCat messaged you suggesting this for a livestream and you humorously declined due to his *intimidating* comment on the puzzle page. This took me close to 6 hours, it is absolutely crazy, but I adore it. This is the only puzzle on this list that I absolutely do not see a CTC video happening any time soon for. Emre Kolotoglu's Region Geometry: No words for this one. Not sure how it even exists. Niverio's Dynamic Construction. The rules are harder than the puzzle, but it's still a worthwhile battle. TotallyNormalCat's Eye Of The Storm: I hope you enjoy doing mod9 arithmetic, because this one takes that to the nth degree. Udukos' Blackadder: Another puzzle (like mine in this video) inspired by Abed Hawila's cave. The break in took me a good hour to reason through, but the rest, while still difficult, is a fairly smooth solve. And lastly, two shameless self-plugs, Ilsensine and Roadblock. One is a triple ambiguity chaos construction, the other is brutal region geometry with a difficult negative constraint. I am proud of both of these. And for people looking for even more hard puzzles, Wenchang Lu, a small Chinese sudoku youtuber posts daily uploads of monsters on LMD. While you might not gain the satisfaction from listening to Simon reason through logic, his channel serves as a fantastic puzzle repository for more serious solvers. I hope these resources will be put to good use by at least some of you! Like I said earlier, I think finding hard puzzles, without being in the "in", must be very hard, so I'm trying to do my best not necessarily to cater to CTC, but to more serious solvers like myself. And if they end up here, thats a nice bonus :)

[@KNT_awesome12345]

Annoyingly, I tried posting the links about 10 times to these puzzles, but the youtube spam protection (?) filtered me from commenting for a short period of time. Regardless, if you google any of these, you should be able to find this information.

[@crystalgehrt8861]

I haven't done much in the way of caves, but I fought my way through this and got better and better as I went. The end was as amazing as the beginning (and the middle!) Thanks for the fun solve!

[@victoriam6569]

I enjoyed this puzzle so much! Thank you!!!

[@yeehaaw]

complements to the chef

[@Skycroft1000]

I like the mixture. With the easier puzzles, I enjoy them because I can follow along with the logic or even try them myself first. With the harder puzzles, there's a special kind of joy that comes with watching a master of their craft at work (both the setter and the solver!). Both types of entertainment are good at different times!

[@NikolasZonta]

I share the same opinion :)

[@slapusillydawg]

Me as well

[@longwaytotipperary]

Well said, Skycroft! Totally agree!

[@A1win]

Agreed. In addition, many of the quicker puzzles featured here have been masterfully set. Even if they're easy to solve, it's still interesting to witness the brilliant setting and entertaining to see the solver's reaction to it.

[@longwaytotipperary]

@@A1win yep!

[@XdivineExp]

To prevent Simon from getting mocked by >0 clues, the next puzzle like this should have

[@wigermiddelkamp8064]

That would actually be a deduction. Simon would be glad I guess

[@easye9186]

Careful, you are hinting at the best kept sudoku secret

[@rgoyal107]

Intersperse some of them with

[@asbjrnfossmo1589]

There couldn't be 1 clues or 2 clues (isolated caves), so just use >1 for the next one, and >2 for the one after that.

[@vitowidjojo7038]

That's not enough. It should be

[@howmanyrobot]

I don't know how many "I prefer short videos!" people you're going to reach at 58 minutes into a 96 minute video.

[@howmanyrobot]

I generally go for the longer ones though, but that's often because I need something long to throw on my second monitor while I'm doing something on my main monitor.

[@ca-ke9493]

Actually i made it to the 58minute mark and I would like to see more shorter videos on the channel! I love to watch solves but my current skill level needs more videos of puzzles around 30mins or less.

[@shadowpenguin3482]

I only stumbled upon the discussion because of this comment. I usually prefer the short videos for sudokus that I actually want to try to solve. I also noticed that the marks sudokus are usually easier. I especially like the gas sudokus since I can solve them without much struggle. But when I have more time I also like doing marks 30-50 minute sudokus. Simon usually does very difficult sudokus, which I find very enjoyable watching. Or when I have a lot of time, for example on holiday, I might give them a go and watch Simon’s approach whenever I get stuck.

[@shadowpenguin3482]

@@ca-ke9493 try the gas playlist, it’s a huge backlog of easier sudokus that you can work through :)

[@rachelgilbert3164]

Hahaha true - most of them probably left or fell asleep around the 20 minute mark

[@jamiepettingale2807]

I never seem to tire of hearing Simon tell me what the secret is 😌

[@jasminedavis6686]

I often find other creators repetitive and annoying however I get a strange sense of joy at being told that all the numbers 1-9 add up to 45

[@samaranix4232]

I think the enthusiasm is part of it. Its really hard to find him repetitive when he's thrilled to tell us the secret or how the set scrabble bags work.

[@jasonwood9520]

I totally agree with how calming these videos are. i love the challenge of following along while also soothing my anxiety and depression. thank you so much!

[@kenmolinaro]

Sometimes too calming and I doze off to the sound of Simon's voice :)

[@longwaytotipperary]

Same here! Multi functional channel! 😃

[@NotElusivePanda]

Simon you’ve helped me through a lot of panic attacks. When I’m expecting bad news or I feel like my world is coming apart you provide a place for me to come to find intrigue and calm. Even just for a little bit everything is alright. Thank you

[@chessburns]

I think most if not all of us feel the same in that regard. Watever problems ppl have or r goin thru. Maybe even a death in the family or wat not. Depression, anxiety to name a few. This channel on youtube is a beacon of light in a world of darkness. Massive compliments to ALL. Setters, solvers, children, women and men who all take part in the enjoyment of this. And also, Simon & Mark a big THANK YOU for all the work you do. Massive props to those of you going thru anything in your lives. I am humbled to know you all are here and having some peace at at least for the time that these videos are going. I encourage anyone who knows anyone with problems to seek the help for the ppl in need as well as b a friend for them. Maybe even introduce them to this channel and who knows they may even be a genius setter like phistomefel, KNT, Tallcat, TotallyNormalCat etc

[@longwaytotipperary]

It seems a lot of us feel the same.

[@NathanBowmanMusic]

I got laid off this morning - and this is where I came

[@galleskovar5323]

Jesus bless you with Holy Spirit!

[@grahamrskelly6042]

Spending 20min or so on a puzzle or watching a puzzle get solved gives my mind a rest from stress panic even grief. My Best to everyone

[@cbear7996]

Lol, Claire here, today is my birthday, and I made my whole family gather round the screen, and then when you got to the rules I thought that my mom's email didn't get through or something and they were all upset at me, but then we finally got there, so thank you so much!

[@benhawkermusic]

I love the mix of difficulty. Always love seeing a long one, but get equally excited about more approachable puzzles.

[@sjm6280]

Would Simon and Mark ever imagine some time ago they would get to help many people in aspects beyond logic skills and enjoyment?

[@CrackingTheCryptic]

Absolutely not. It is a source of welcome amazement to us that the channel has these benefits for some people.

[@inspiringsand123]

Rules: 06:09 Let's Get Cracking: 10:56 Simon's time: 1h24m13s Puzzle Solved: 1:35:09 What about this video's Top Tier Simarkisms?! The Secret: 3x (17:00, 17:11, 17:13) Bobbins: 1x (49:27) Chocolate Teapot: 1x (19:33) And how about this video's Simarkisms?! Checkerboard: 15x (15:32, 16:15, 20:09, 20:26, 21:30, 22:59, 23:56, 42:54, 43:56, 43:59, 45:20, 51:35, 55:17, 56:19, 1:13:26) Ah: 13x (30:04, 30:37, 36:05, 39:58, 39:59, 44:06, 44:06, 48:40, 48:43, 56:04, 59:47, 1:03:27, 1:11:36) The Answer is: 9x (15:38, 15:49, 17:55, 28:59, 1:11:27, 1:11:39, 1:19:17, 1:20:47, 1:28:16) Good Grief: 8x (13:19, 38:57, 53:10, 1:08:23, 1:18:53, 1:28:34, 1:28:38, 1:34:21) Clever: 8x (31:59, 45:07, 45:08, 50:46, 1:08:31, 1:23:17, 1:28:12, 1:32:45) Beautiful: 8x (04:17, 20:49, 20:51, 44:19, 46:29, 46:37, 1:00:01, 1:08:34) By Sudoku: 7x (53:06, 53:13, 53:16, 1:00:19, 1:07:07, 1:11:47, 1:30:32) In Fact: 7x (08:56, 27:42, 42:47, 43:16, 44:15, 1:27:58, 1:29:04) Sorry: 6x (07:58, 19:40, 30:37, 46:57, 52:12, 1:33:36) Incredible: 6x (01:35, 1:20:10, 1:35:19, 1:35:20, 1:35:48, 1:35:52) Hang On: 6x (08:48, 36:06, 45:59, 52:21, 52:27, 1:31:10) Obviously: 4x (04:54, 25:59, 53:49, 1:26:33) Wow: 4x (1:07:18, 1:23:13, 1:35:10, 1:35:12) Nonsense: 3x (41:12, 43:24, 47:36) Stuck: 3x (35:26, 35:26, 1:33:35) Lovely: 3x (05:40, 27:44, 1:13:24) Brilliant: 3x (10:27, 1:30:26, 1:36:18) Nature: 3x (44:20, 1:15:19, 1:34:30) Pencil Mark/mark: 3x (58:51, 1:03:52, 1:10:45) What on Earth: 2x (22:29, 46:09) Useless: 2x (1:00:54, 1:10:53) Missing Something: 2x (34:39, 1:14:02) I Have no Clue: 2x (58:38, 1:01:46) Horrible Feeling: 2x (1:13:39, 1:33:33) Extraordinary: 2x (00:17, 1:36:09) Ridiculous: 2x (1:35:12, 1:35:34) I've Got It!: 2x (1:28:12) Progress: 2x (28:54, 34:47) What Does This Mean?: 2x (24:11, 1:01:21) What a Puzzle: 1x (1:36:13) Naked Single: 1x (1:12:25) Deadly Pattern: 1x (1:04:33) Our old Friend Sudoku: 1x (1:24:15) Come on Simon: 1x (46:09) Spider-Sense: 1x (49:33) Think Harder: 1x (1:21:32) Stunning: 1x (1:00:03) Unbelievable: 1x (02:26) Full stop: 1x (1:18:45) Box Thingy: 1x (39:49) Wrogn: 1x (04:13) Have a Think: 1x (32:54) Thingy Thing: 1x (39:49) Cake!: 1x (10:33) Most popular number(>9), digit and colour this video: Twenty Nine (22 mentions) One (130 mentions) Green (93 mentions) Antithesis Battles: Low (37) - High (24) Even (6) - Odd (0) Column (16) - Row (13) 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!

[@steve470]

"Box Thingy" I love this bot so much.

[@jasminedavis6686]

@@steve470 same, I always imagine it as a gonk droid spitting out a small paper feed of these stats every time a video is posted

[@jamiemacey]

Simpler logic for the

[@Wuerschtle]

Yeah he didnt acknowledge the < during that thought, but he got there later, so its fine

[@koegerli]

Simon: Do have a go! Me: Looking at the lenght of the video Also me: Grabbing popcorn and making myself comfortable on the sofa 🍿😅

[@longwaytotipperary]

Same!

[@jbruuuu]

this is the correct response :P

[@mareksroka5629]

Thought to do the same, but it's more fun to try and see what deduction could be done, and then come to the video whenever I am stuck. .. and then scream at the screen when Simon fails to spot a deduction that I found easily (like r8c6 unable to be an 8 because it would leave no where in the box for 4 to go)

[@minamagdy4126]

About the >0 clues, there is an added restriction on the cells attached to it that isn't strictly forced on unmarked green cells. That restriction is that cells seeing that clue form a non-repeating region, or a cage. That is not a given with unmarked green cells. If it were purely intended to show these cells to be green, a more logically clear way was to give them as green. That said, I doubt that would come to much, as one of them is already restricted to seeing only cells in its column (number 2) by 30:00.

[@GotG113]

I love the long videos because I know there are a mess of people around the world all sitting down together to watch the show and eat popcorn! Always do what brings you joy and it will most certainly bring joy to us!

[@taakotuesday]

I've said it before, but the amount of work you and Mark put in every day to put out daily videos is absolutely prolific. Your sanity comes first, and for what it's worth I think the frequency of super long videos is more than enough!

[@jonathanharsh7434]

2:20 I’m honestly really surprised I was the first to submit answers for the doctorate pack; I probably would have finished it sooner if I didn’t have work yesterday! Also, in case anyone thought my sleep schedule is *that* horrific; I’m in EST, so I got my submission in before midnight. Easily could’ve stayed up until 4:00 doing those puzzles, though, they were honestly superb.

[@chessburns]

You have a good head on ur shoulders my friend. Gr8 solver indeed. Curious to know if u had a go at the Wrogn series of puzzles? Were u able to solve them? I wont attempt those or any of the super difficult puzzles Simon gives a go at. But i do enjoy watching him struggle n solve the puzzles for us all to enjoy:)

[@jonathanharsh7434]

@@chessburns Thanks for the kind words! To answer the question, the “wrogn” puzzles are some of my favorites.

[@emilywilliams3237]

Wow, congratulations!

[@crystalgehrt8861]

@@jonathanharsh7434 mine too! Simon seems to hate them, but I think they're awesome!

[@jasminedavis6686]

You're a madman! 🙇 I fear your dedication to the puzzle game. The rest of us are mere ants!

[@followeroj9115]

Sudoku the Movie 5 🍿🍿🥤

[@Jonathan-el2gk]

I love the monstrously hard ones, always fun to watch Simon do something I couldn't do. In general I watch the ones over an hour, but if there were too many it would be to hard to keep up so I think the mix is good.

[@denouchka7043]

I love having a cofortable evening in my couch watching long videos (it makes me feel smarter to shout things like "the 7 in the 2nd row! aaarg!" even if I could not even start the puzzle by myself), but I also appreciate seing that a 30-40min video is out, and it gives me the motivation to try before watching it. Conclusion: the balance is pretty good for me! Plus, I totally agree about how calming your videos are. For a given time, all I have to do is concentrate on a 9x9 grid with funny drawings on it. It's the right amount of difficulty to just forget problems and focus on that exclusively.

[@NoobixCube]

When it comes to anxiety and stress, I think your videos help because each puzzle is a universe unto itself. There are no outside pressures on any one puzzle, and for anywhere between 20 minutes and two hours twice a day (seriously impressive feat), we can follow you and Mark on a logical, orderly journey. There is no random externality impacting the solve, it isn't edge of your seat gaming action. For a short while each day, you help us forget about whatever is stressing us out. I think that's the real secret to why Cracking the Cryptic exploded during the plague years. It wasn't that we were all stuck inside and needed something to watch. Some people watched Tiger King. We needed something to sooth the stresses of the world.

[@SmartHobbies]

Thank you Simon for talking about how you got better as a solver with the example about the green vs grey cells in block 4. Unfortunately, all I can think about now is if you had anybody to talk to on your lunch break when you were a banker.

[@AugustoValentini]

Actually he had Mark. In one episode of the CtC podcast they talk about how they would meet up to have lunch and sometimes talk about puzzles 😄

[@tiagomarques9822]

The bit between 54:00 and 54:16 just made me giggle: a 6 and a 9 “might work” in box 8, just before pointing out the already-placed 6 elsewhere in the box. But never mind these brain-hiccups, I always love to watch Simon solving these incredible puzzles. Edit: now that I finished watching the video I can say that it was really entertaining, a pleasure to watch. I welcome this kind of long videos, but I really enjoy shorter videos as well when they display curious solving paths.

[@e38383]

I'm really looking forward to the long ones. Even if it would be hard to fill in 1,5 hours every day, I would love to see more of those long ones.

[@AugustoValentini]

I think the balance of easy, medium and hard puzzles is good as it is. I really enjoy watching these hour-long videos but it's fun to sometimes try to do an easy (GAS for example) or medium one before watching the video.

[@markbennet9058]

I learned most of what I know about solving from the videos - I think that some easier ones showcasing basic techniques - harder than GAS - are fine, and there are some elegant examples. We used to see more bent triples than we do now, for example, and that is a technique worth knowing (and necessary for some of the problems in the apps). I love monstrously hard puzzles - but not puzzles that are a monstrous hack from beginning to end, Again it is the discoverable logic which attracts me. The other attractive thing is extreme puzzles which are humanly solvable. "White Room" and The Miracle Sudoku are classic examples. A mix is good and necessary to attract new people to the channel. So I think there are four kinds of videos - GAS, harder but elegant examples of logic exemplifying useful techniques, very hard puzzles with elegant logic (there has been a flurry of those recently - really enjoyable), and "miracle puzzles" which can be of any level of difficulty, but are just astonishing. The Patreon outlet is always an option for more of the harder content, but the main channel needs to have examples of what can be done by human ingenuity.

[@icuddlecats1]

I know someone you help beyond words, that would be Me. Bless You.

[@vlad_the_impala]

There are definitely two camps of CTC puzzles. The first is where I can pause at the start of the video and attempt it myself - always fun. The second camp are those where I know I have almost no chance of solving, like this puzzle here. I enjoy both camps equally, because even in the case of the second, I get to see Mark or Simon masterfully navigate the setter’s logic, and if I’m honest, the schadenfreude is simply sublime.

[@cyrille6483]

I do like seeing you guys take on hard puzzles (like this one) which I wouldn't dream of completing. at the same time, I also like to see some easier stuff that I can have a go at. So, for me, it's a bit of both worlds, and you're currently doing a good job at it, imo. Keep up the great work !

[@caseyglick5957]

I would like to add my thanks for your help with my insomnia :) I think what makes CTC so nice here is that it's something that holds my interest so I don't go running off on insomnia thought-trains. But it's also low life-importance for me, in that if I miss a clue, or drift off to sleep and miss half the puzzle, it's no big deal for me. I can catch up later, or just watch the next video, and it doesn't change my life. In short, it's it holds my attention just strongly enough that I can fall asleep anxiety-free.

[@maxnokhrin697]

I’ve been watching for a while. Usually this is my bed side close of day thing. Sometimes I want a nice short puzzle I can quickly grasp and even solve along with the video, but sometimes I have energy for a longer one like this specific one. So a mix is perfect.

[@veganer161]

Always a plesure to have your vids in my inbox😍

[@chessburns]

Absolutely it is. I think i speak for all of us wen i say #1 we all enjoy the puzzles in our inbox. N #2 we all love the long videos😈

[@jordylont1879]

With a title like that and a video over 90 minutes, I’m so excited to go and watch this

[@jensschmidt]

Since November, I have watched every single one of your (Simon's) videos and regularly am looking forward to 9:30 German time to watch it right as it starts. And yes, I love the long ones, but also am a fan of a good mixture as I have to get up at 5am for work... so 90min videos every day would seriously impede on my sleep schedule 🙂

[@chessburns]

I bet😎

[@Arkhanno]

I really like the balance of long vs short videos. I particularly enjoy the longer videos (especially this length) because I can sit back, eat something, and enjoy a very nice solve with some very good commentary. The shorter/easier puzzles are fun to attempt (and some days I do like something shorter), though I normally only watch these videos to relax and enjoy some nice commentary, and follow the logic or spot some along with you, Simon. Or have a chuckle when you miss something really obvious (like a digit given to you by Sudoku) only to solve it the hard way later. The main reason I like the more difficult puzzles more is because I enjoy seeing a solve, as well as the logic, of a puzzle that I (quite honestly) wouldn't have a chance of solving even if given a year of working on it.

[@emilywilliams3237]

This video was very fun to watch. I felt that it moved along and was interesting and not-bogged-down at any point - I hope you were pleased with the pacing of the video. Of course the excellence of the puzzle is partly responsible for that, isn't it? Congrats to KMT for this excellent puzzle. Simon, you are particularly good at the pathway-through-the-grid type of puzzles, and you gave us a hint tonight of why you are so good at them. As for video length, I have mentioned this before when you have posed the question: I love them all, I will watch every single thing you and Mark post, the same day if I can manage it. I do try most of the easier puzzles, I now have been mostly caught up on the GAS puzzles (from the discord channel) before Mark gets to them in his GAS videos and I love watching those. I think that the things that make me enjoy the channel the most are when you are having fun, when Mark is having fun, when the logic itself is being explained and I understand it (even if I could not reproduce it - yet), and when the overall week's worth of videos are varied enough (puzzle type, length, debut constructors and the repeat appearances) that I feel that it is all freshly interesting and appealing every day. But hear this mostly: I love this channel and watch it all, and enjoy it all. You and Mark are brilliantly smart, witty, funny, and make for enjoyable "companions." Thanks so much.

[@longwaytotipperary]

Holy cow - someone already finished the doctoral pak????? Mighty congrats Jonathan, Tom, Siruph (sorry if name is wrong), and Matt!!! 👏👏👏👏 So glad you found solace listening to Simon, Mohammad! Good luck Christine! Ok - now going to get 🍿 and watch the video. Looks like a fantastic puzzle, KNT I know Simon will rock the solve!

[@shybunny2759]

I really like the mix of long and shorter videos. If they're really long, I just sit back and watch the crazy logic unfold (sometimes being soothed into a nap), and if they're shorter I try to do the puzzles myself first. Win-win.

[@sidrat2009]

There's many reasons for success mostly trying new things and seeing what works and not getting in to a rut where the present is bored or dulled by the mundanity. You are both able to speak the logical and critical thinking process out loud and although you don't use the word "Eureka!" but you could it's evident you're excited and sometimes exasperated with yourself for not seeing things earlier. It's captivating. There's very little randomness involved except for where your eye goes and most of that would be experience . A truly wonderful puzzle with brilliant narration as well. Now if you want to do interviews get KNT on the line and ask him how long it took to come up with it so the clues led to the only possible answer.

[@briannashoemaker1962]

ADD, ADHD, and insomnia, there are night that my mine race and race and race to point it leads to me not sleeping and anxiety attacks, but if I lay down and turn on yours and marks videos of the day, I have calm but mentally stimulating content. It relaxes me, brings my mind to a slow enough place where all I can do is watch your numbers pop into the squares and breath. I may not always stay awake for the whole puzzle each night, I do make sure I watch the parts I miss the next day. Because of you and these Videos I have also found a love of non standard sudoku puzzles, I do each and every days puzzle of the day on the discord, and I have even done a few of the puzzles you and mark do in your vids, more marks then yours cause well yeah yours are super hard! But doing the puzzles gives me a point mid day that I take a break from what ever it is on the docket and my add and adhd grabs the puzzle and pulls me in for the time. Long winded I love your videos and I thank you for everything you and mark do! Love you all!

[@ohwell225]

I've got to say, I was really grateful for a long, challenging puzzle today. Rough day on my end, and while I could never hope to solve one of these on my own, with your comments I do manage to get glimmers of insight on occasion. These videos are fun, relaxing, and always keep me engaged. I do enjoy the mixture of long and short videos--my favorite solve of all time was the one where you had to color the entire grid and from there the puzzle solved in less than a minute. (Also, you wouldn't happen to make the "Knowledge bomb!" tee shirt in a short sleeve, would you? Just wondering; here in Arizona, USA, there's no way to wear long sleeves since you'd overheat in a very short time, even in winter. It's fine if you don't, I'm just curious.)

[@michaelondic5884]

I've been watching for about 2 years now. I like the mix of videos. I certainly would not have become a regular viewer if all the videos had been 1+ hour when I first started watching. And even now I am by no means an expert solver, especially on these tougher puzzles. I appreciate seeing the GAS puzzles that Mark does, as I can almost always solve those in reasonable times. I enjoy the 30-45 minute puzzles as challenges I can usually attempt, and typically solve with a little help from the videos at the sticky spots. And I do like the harder puzzles as well for the variety.

[@tzeneth]

I like a good mix of difficulties. If you have a lower difficulty one and it's not a killer sudoku, I usually like to try it (I just don't enjoy killer cages).

[@jesseraen4172]

Great solve, and an amazing puzzle! I'm someone who's still new to the channel (been subbed less than a year) and if all you had was the monstrously hard puzzles I'm not sure I'd have ever been sucked in. Don't get me wrong, they're fun to watch, but even with your explanations I often have to rewatch sections to understand the logic and that's not something I'm up for doing twice a day every day. I have a lot more fun with the current mix of gazing awestruck at your complex solves and then your easier/shorter ones where I try to puzzle out the next logical step before you do and get better at sudoku that way.

[@ChrisSchumann]

I really enjoy there being a mix of video lengths. Even watching at a faster speed, the long ones take a long time to watch, while the shorter ones inspire me to tackle them myself before watching. Sometimes I finish those, and sometimes I give up and watch instead. I imagine many of us have our own thresholds at which point we would try a puzzle first, so please, do keep them varied in length.

[@koepisking]

I clicked on your video faster than normal today because I love End Game. First movie to make me ball my eyes out. For my birthday I'm this year I took the day off to watch Infinity War and End Game!

[@IanRiley915]

I really like the mixture especially when it feels like the shorter videos are helping me prepare for the longer one. I just watched two shorter solves that involved whispers that I also worked on by myself. With this one, rather than working on it by myself, I'm working on it "alongside" you. Having completed those shorter videos that used whisper lines is helping me tremendously to follow along and feel like I'm figuring things out too. It's almost like watching a murder mystery in a way. If you do a long video that involves new logics, I'm more likely to be surprised at every new reveal and never feel like I had a chance to solve anything. You're the detective with hidden information that I don't have but need to crack the case. Having done the shorter solves, I may not be able to solve the whole puzzle here, but I'm solving little bits of it along the way. You may get to things faster, but it doesn't feel like you got there because you know something I couldn't have known.

[@Coyotek4]

1:19:06 ... yeah, this one makes my 'personal choice' list. Simply astounding!

[@th.nd.r]

Absolutely strikingly incredible with a beauty of an ending. Like that puzzle got better as it neared the end. Wonderfully solved as well. Looking forward to KNT’s next channel feature! Also, I like the mix as is. I will say that my preferred time length for a video is about 45 minutes, but when the puzzles are this good, I don’t care how long the video is.

[@46lespaul]

I just like to say a couple years ago I started having stress induced seizures and over time my mental function seem to take a dive by at least attempting the puzzles and learning so much from them I can probably say that my memory and cognitive function is back to normal I watch your videos everyday and even though I don't always attempt the puzzles when they're too daunting I still pay attention to all the logic and run it through my head which really helps me a lot so thank you for all you guys do and keep up the great videos

[@afanofosc]

What a solve. Great job Simon. Best of all I got to shout at the screen starting at 1:30:04 "r7c8 is a 5!" for about 46 seconds. And it was the 89 pair in column 8 that resolved it rather than the 4 sitting next to it in c7. 🙂

[@ruthphelps1440]

RE: the email from Muhammed - You do have a very calming voice, Simon. I play your CTC videos while I'm working, whether or not I actually pay super-close attention to the puzzle solve (to be honest, the ones that don't even have a single digit in them are WELL above my pay grade, so just listening to Simon tease out the logic is enough for me).

[@jasminedavis6686]

I agree, both Simon and Mark have very relaxing voices. I think they're both kinda deep and rumbly but are also joyful and animated!

[@kyaniteice]

I love these long videos - I may take 3 days to watch it with all the pauses I need to follow the logic, but I love love love these amazingly long puzzles!

[@nathanrish7142]

I love watching the hard videos, it’s always a pleasure to see you work logical magic and the immense enjoyment you always bring to them. That being said, when I see a video 45 minutes or less I know I’ll be able to at least attempt the puzzle and get a lot of enjoyment out of watching my skills evolve. So yeah, the mixture is great, keep up the great work!

[@KevinNijmeijer]

The mix is amazing! I watch before going to bed since it's very relaxing content so shorter puzzles are great, but if I see a 1hr+ timestamp I always get a little giddy knowing there's something beautiful about to go down!

[@hanichaudhry5058]

I personally enjoy the mixture. The hard puzzles are a joy to watch, and the easy puzzles I enjoy attempting to then watch the solve

[@al129]

The sound usually remains in sync with the puzzle, but it can go out of "lip sync" with your face cam. I suspect that has something to do with the audio and puzzle (screen) capture rate being the same but the frame rate of the web cam being slightly different. Meaning over longer videos the difference in the audio and face cam becomes more apparent.

[@Gonzalo_Garcia_]

46:03 for me. What a great great puzzle, I love it so much when setters combine rulesets like this, is absolutely superb. Btw, I also think that having a brutal puzzle such as this one from time to time and some easier stuff in the meantime is the best way to do it. At least that’s the way I enjoy this channel the most. And thank you so much for what you both do daily!!

[@anneselwyn6465]

i love the current mix of difficulty levels. if I've had a busy day and don't have time for the really long ones, then I save them for a rainy weekend! I just watched a video from 2 years ago with tons of 89 and 67 pairs but not suggestion that they should be colored. I think it might be fun to watch you solve one of those older puzzles now just to see the vast improvement in techniques

[@smahoney1212]

Channel and puzzle thoughts A balance of length between Simon and Mark is good so if one of the videos is really long, the other should be more modest. A balance between types, if one does a killer, the other should do something else. The GAS videos are great. More classics are always good. Including the description of items like how to do an X wing, or the secret, or the Phistomephel ring for new videos is appreciated. Occasionally mention that you do have playlists showing some of these techniques for reference. The Wordle and Plusword videos are fun. The occasional Cryptic is also good. Overall, though, anything you provide is good since for both Mark and Simon your expertise and enthusiasm is fun to watch.

[@SheilaMertens]

I think the mixture of hard and easier is just about right here on CTC. Even considering the fact that I am not even remotely capable of solving this gem on my own, it is still a great joy to follow your journey towards solving this - I learn so much from your excellent explaining/teaching along the way. Just keep them coming, I love it! LG Sheila.

[@jazztbone3]

100% agree that a mix of difficult and approachable puzzles is the best. I think the balance is about right

[@janepattinson2345]

Please keep doing a mixture of easy and difficult. I can have a go at the easy ones and can sit back and enjoy your logic work on the harder ones. Thank you for doing these videos. All the best

[@Adrian_Grey]

I think you have a good balance with the hard vs easy puzzles. I love the intricate logic of these long puzzles, but I could never tackle them myself, so I definitely enjoy some more approachable ones mixed in.

[@Kdovi]

57:15 I watch prettty much only the monstrously difficult puzzles (ie. the ones I can't solve myself), but honestly I don't think I could handle any more of them than you're posting now.

[@user-xh6cg7zf9h]

these videos are super calming in an entertaining, brilliant way - i'm awful at sudoku but i really like the way you explain things and i love watching these when i'm stressed or having them in the background whilst i work, very glad youtube recommended me this channel :)

[@clausewitzianwar]

At 1:02:38 I spotted the logic to disambiguate r8c6 and I felt very proud of myself when you said it was difficult. I can't do the rest of the puzzle to completion, but it gives me hope that I'll get there someday.

[@jasminedavis6686]

Awesome, nice one! You'll definitely get there one day with progress like that!

[@cooraa]

To give some feedback one the puzzle difficulty: I personally enjoy the mixture. I don't have time to do and watch the difficult puzzles (and I do not posses the ability to solve them...), so I love to see easier ones that I can solve myself first and watch you solve afterwards. I also see these super difficult puzzles as something "special". Overdoing them would take that special feeling a bit away I think. All this to say that I like the current way of the channel, keep up the good work 👍🏼

[@amirhaviv1756]

I love the balance of the videos! A monstrous puzzle is super interesting but also take me about 3-4 days to watch, while an ez one takes one night sometimes (I want to be focus and solve the puzzle alongside you)

[@dragonspight]

I like the monstrous puzzles and I definitely wait around for them. I love watching you take 90 minutes to solve so that I can solve alongside you. However, I'm by no means needing one of those videos every single day. Once or twice a week is fine by me. I'll watch you solve any interesting puzzle.

[@ericdimickeastman5127]

I love the mix of puzzle difficulty. Here is my rule of thumb: 60min: watch and learn

[@series161]

that letter from mohammed touched me so much. your videos are like islands of safety and calmness in my day to day life and the mental exercises sometimes even help me with emotional struggles. thank you a lot ❤️

[@cobhallagames6997]

I really enjoy a mixture of videos. I listen to you do puzzles while I work so the room isn't quiet. Hard videos are interesting to see your thought process, but It is nice to hear you just getting it right off the bat

[@oddbarnett]

The balance of puzzles is great. You guys are doing an awesome job!

[@mareksroka5629]

I am VERY happy I attempted this, despite the video's length. While I did get stuck a few times, and had to come to the video for help, I got the satisfaction to find most major deductions :) This has been an astonishing fun puzzle, thank you so much KNT for setting it, and thank you Simon for the full solve!

[@davidblake6889]

Brilliant, guys! Thanks. You have the balance absolutely right between easy and hard puzzles. The standard of the setting is absolutely amazing. Thanks to everyone who contributes.

[@theredstoneengineer6934]

I love the extremely difficult puzzles! Not only is it more time seeing your brilliant mind in action, but I also love a good challenge for myself.

[@shellmichael9665]

The mixture is great. I love the long videos because it’s just amazing watching you find the logic and explain it all so well and make me say “why didn’t I think of that?!” But when I see a 25-30 minute video from you, I usually try it myself first. It’s good to have some that I can try.

[@andymitts251]

I've always pictured my ideal CtC week looks like this: Simon - 1 monster puzzle of 90-100 minutes, 4 "intermediate" puzzles that are between 50-70 minutes, 2 puzzles 45 min or less. Mark - one 60+ min puzzle, 4 puzzles from 40-60 minutes, 1 less than 40, 1 GAS video. Not that I don't enjoy longer videos from Mark, or easier puzzles for Simon, but these lengths typically play to your individual strengths in terms of entertainment.

[@ldamoff]

I also like the mixture. The easier ones I can mostly do without having to get hints from the video, but these longer ones are impressive, and definitely stretch my puzzle brain.

[@amysteele2488]

I love the mixture of long and short puzzles. I'd never attempt a longer one myself, but love watching the solves of the really complex ones. For me the balance is about right.

[@jasonscottschwartz]

I am a new subscriber. I started watching last week and loved the calming demeanor you have while solving these seemingly impossible puzzles. I now like to try and solve them before watching. Sometimes when they're incredibly difficult, solving it and then watching it takes a very long time. For instance this puzzle took me 457 minutes to solve today. So not much time for the videos. But I'm sure with practice the time it takes will come down. Just wanted to give my opinion and say thank you!

[@selectmedical]

Adding a vote for keeping the mix! Love watching the monstrous solves, but I like to attempt the easier ones myself, with the video available for solving hints 😀 ALWAYS love seeing a puzzle solve where Simon questions whether he was given all the information

[@MichaelMoore99]

I definitely like the mixture, with a bias towards the harder ones. What I REALLY like are UNIQUE puzzles, i.e. ones that have some sort of trick or constraint that's new to me.

[@msolec2000]

42:08 It's for a complicated reason... The complicated reason is that the minimum the R7C4 clue sees is 1237, which is 13, which is NOT less than 13... ;)

[@ericpraline1302]

This is the first time in more than two years of looking at CTC pretty much every day that a puzzle has been showcased that I've already solved. I'm not particularly quick at solving so CTC's output is generally enough to keep me going, but I did this one on LMD a few days ago. It was brilliant, and I remember thinking it worthy of recommending to CTC - glad others actually made the effort.

[@mattmatier5745]

I like the mix of long and short puzzles. Some 30 min ones are good for when you have less time but the long ones can be fun for a challenge once in a while. Keep going with what you're doing! love the channel. Keep it up.

[@LittleBallOfPurr]

So excited you're doing Spelunker, loved this puzzle!

[@rabuswell]

I like a mixture. Some days I have time for a feature-length video. Other days I really need to finish up quickly. Here's what I do. I start by solving. When I get stuck, I watch the video until I am unstuck, then continue solving until I am stuck again. The easier videos, I rarely see them through to the end. The harder videos I tend to watch all the way through. What's important to me is that you continue to make videos. I have already become a much better solver thanks to you.

[@robertsinkovic1306]

I like the mixture of difficult and approachable puzzels.

[@bergnijlpaard]

Astonishing solve, Simon. I also like the mix of puzzles. Anything under about 45 minutes, I'll try to solve first by myself. Anything more, I'll only have a go if I'm feeling particularly brave or foolhardy, safe in the knowledge that no one will know of my failure.

[@fitilegasy]

I discovered Logic Master Germany thanks to your channel and i can solve the easiest puzzle available but not the hard ones and i'm always amazed to see you solving these hard ones but sometime i miss the easy ones

[@tymon5349]

i use your videos to go to sleep. often im gone in 15 min.. its not that it boring. its just a calming sound. you are kinda the bob ross of sudoku

[@harmonicaveronica]

I enjoy the shorter/easier ones because I know I can try them and have a shot and finishing. But it's also delightful to watch a solve that's well outside my depth!

[@davidgiannetto8584]

I think the mixture of difficulties is good. I very much enjoy watching you solve the more difficult ones, though I don't tend to try them myself. I do however, with the "easier" ones, tend to try them myself and get a lot of enjoyment out of being able to complete them. Love the content you put out and I am really glad to have come across this channel.

[@revelate8385]

i think the long videos are the real quality content, with interesting puzzle solving logic. im engaged in trying to find a way while you're thinking what could be the next step. once a puzzle is in a state where a good sudoku player just puts in one number after the other, the videos isn't really interesting anymore. for me, the optimal lenght is about 45minutes, this means it's a decently hard puzzle, but not monstrous, also it's a good lenght for a chillout on the couch or to have something to watch while eating dinner, but also like to watch long videos, often i watch them in 2 or 3 sessions then across the day :)

[@hayleysquires4346]

I love both the long and shorter videos but haven't seen a non sudoku puzzle in a while (star battle/pentomino etc) those are my favs!😀

[@regrettablemuffin9186]

I like the approachable puzzles better because I feel like I can actually give them a go, but I definitely enjoy watching a genius at work with the insanely difficult ones

[@MartinFindon]

I like mixture of lengths you have. In general I prefer the longer ones, but If they were all long I’d have trouble making time to watch them.

[@christophstahl8169]

This was highly entertaining and a beautiful puzzle to solve. I found myself stumped a few times wondering how on earth this could solve and following the wall from box 8 all the way to the top through what seemed not to be any clues was exeptional setting. Every cell you were forced upwards was a small revelation and felt quite satisfying and then the 11 and 20 clues topped it all off. Wonderful experience. I love those hard puzzles and i am quite exciting when i see video lenghts of over an hour - but i can't do those all the time either. So the mix we have now on the channel i feel is quite good. Actually when i don't have too much time i do a Mark puzzle, because there is a "Let's get this done" attitude and when i want a lovely puzzle to appreciate, I'll do one of Simon's :D