One Of The Best (& Easiest?) Logic Puzzles Ever

[@darleneofthetallpines5742]

I'm glad there are people in the world who construct puzzles as clever as this one. It's just delightful!

[@Gliperal]

"I wish we got sent more puzzles like this. I wish more puzzles like this existed in the world." Me too Simon, me too. Pencil puzzles are just glorious when done right. 😌

[@user-uf9zk3uv6e]

Im gonna be honest, the videos on this channel are the only thing keeping me sane during the exam season.

[@user-uf9zk3uv6e]

Actually they have been the only thing keeping me sane since the covid outbreak in 2020. Thank you Mark and Simon !!!

[@longwaytotipperary]

Best of luck!

[@DuckisLS]

same for me, nice break from writing a master thesis :) we got this, good luck!

[@KlingonPrincess]

​@@user-uf9zk3uv6e and @Tygr159 You both got this! Best wishes for a great finish to your studies!

[@KeiFlox]

Good luck with your exams!!

[@LavenderGooms]

The realization w/r/t/ the longest line was one of the best feelings i've had doing a puzzle. Amazing.

[@emilywilliams3237]

Simon, if you want to outline the regions (even if there is no "good reason" to do so other than that you want to do it), you go right ahead. I love seeing you have fun. It has been a while since a puzzle brought tears to your eyes on the channel, so that was fun to see, too. That long line with just 4s on it - so funny and amazing. Thanks so much for this very entertaining and interesting video!

[@longwaytotipperary]

Wonderful comment, @Emily! Very much agree!

[@davidrattner9]

Constantly love seeing you write!! 🙂

[@blcmd]

What a great feeling of euphoria when discovering the 5. After solving the puzzle, I watched the video with great anticipation of Simon’s reaction to the same discovery. He did not disappoint!

[@sonalita_]

Simon, you often say you don’t know how the checker knows… it’s really quite simple - the setter can embed the solution into the puzzle, thanks to Sven’s superb software. There is an option to “create link with solution” after the initial solve which the setter can then publish.

[@jakubt8701]

I beleive that it only checks large numbers ....

[@RoderickEtheria]

@@jakubt8701 Quite true. That's the only thing it has been designed to check for.

[@Myxo-hv4ov]

Really deserved feature! So glad to see more non-sudoku on the channel recently.

[@davidbnpl]

33:40 - "that's one of the most brilliant logic puzzle I've ever seen in my life", like he said in literally each video he makes :D

[@MrWaffles1030]

Far from being annoyed when Simon did the outlines, I was thrilled. It looks much more complete that way. It does annoy me that some regions on the very edge of the grid have the border drawn and some don't, though. I think it's nicer if it's consistent.

[@John-qf6dw]

Yes, i got a smile when he said sorry. I was telling the him through the screen for at least a few min to border the finished 1s up :)

[@bobh6728]

Missed 8 edges on the border. 92 score 🤪

[@HunterJE]

Technically if you go by the letter of the instruction borders along the edge are not a part of the solution, since it explicitly directs you do "divide the grid" which a border line does not do (it makes me nervous watching him fill those in at all since I'm used to solving puzzles in Penpa etc that are often set in such a way that stray marks on the grid border break the answer checker)

[@brycehosken6634]

@@bobh6728 turns out we all make mistakes - you missed one too! (Top left)

[@allendracabal0819]

Outright Completeness Desired

[@EpicAnonymus]

I just love how Simon can go to extreme levels of logic to solve hardest of puzzles but fail to spot an obvious point that whenever a circle touches its own line, it gives a border between cells

[@Michael-kp4bd]

I also loved how he was clueless how the program could know if he solved correctly. He was thinking so much about he drew out the correct regions, that he forgot that he clearly put all the digits in their places, matching the sole solution. Ya know, like how sudoku checks🤣

[@microstudy_]

highly deserved feature, such an adorably clever fillomino!!

[@Rubrickety]

Amazing puzzle indeed. I'm not so sure about "easy"; it took me a looong time to figure out how to get anywhere at the beginning. Once I finally realized what was going on with that "lasso" line, it was exquisite.

[@Joshua_Knowles_]

the bottom left circle had to be a one as it couldnt grow onto its own line

[@olivier2553]

I just watched a 2 years old video, it is amazing the progress in both Simon and the software!

[@tiagomarques9822]

Whenever I do a puzzle where I want to outline regions, I start by outlining the whole puzzle border, so that I don’t risk missing a line at the end and, by doing so, angering the OCD deities. ;-) Delightful puzzle, this one! Thank you.

[@ElectricBluePresents]

Being able to solve this puzzle myself without any help (which is a rarety for this channel 😂) and then watching the video to see Simon's solve, was honestly such a fun and wholesome experience. Lovely way to spend a Sunday morning 😁

[@Unchained_Alice]

This is the first time I've solved a puzzle like this. I struggle with them but this really is approachable and doesn't need any kind of bifurcation. Finding that 1 line with the 4s really was special. Amazing puzzle

[@rockratzero]

So glad to see this one featured. Such a fun and humorous puzzle from the clever Ninja :)

[@biaberg3448]

I enjoy the finished puzzle with all the beautiful colors, numbers and lines. Its like art.

[@user-ox9oo6wp6d]

It really is the most brilliant comedy I have ever found in this channel! I am just amazed and laughing so hard on those between lines! Wonderful puzzle!

[@ChadRedl]

One of my favorite puzzles in years of following this channel. Such an enjoyable solve!

[@Chazzmyn]

Already really looking forward to this, my day has been kind of rough, so I appreciate this video, as it's surely going to help, to make it a lot better. Thank you!

[@jonhansen9622]

I suggest cake to smooth out a rough day! I'm sure Simon would agree

[@longwaytotipperary]

@Jasmin - ditto ditto and ditto!!!

[@mikebarta4887]

16:23 Definitely got the feeling that long line could be fours with all those T-Block possibilities, and super satisfying when it was. Very enjoyable!

[@mstmar]

great puzzle. there's a really nice way to do progress at 30:30 that doesn't involve as much trial and error. the bottom left circle is surrounded by finished regions and it's line, so it has to be a 1. the other end has to be at least 3, but can't be 3 since it would put 2 2s on its line which is impossible make their regions not touch. so it has to be a 4+. 4 would bump into another region of size 4, and 5 is the max that can fit and in only 1 way to place it. this makes the lines 2s and 3s (they cant be greater than 5 since it doesn't fit, can't be 4 since they all touch finished 4 regions and can't be 1's since they're on lines). the last circle needs to be a 1 or 2 since its line has to be between itself (2,3) and the other end (5). it can't be 1 or it would isolate the cell next to it making it 2 1s touching. so the last circle is a 2. forcing everything on the lines to be 3s.

[@dno]

Yeah, that has to be one of THE most satisfying fives I have ever placed. Great puzzle and great video, as always x

[@Coyotek4]

27:14 ... the turnaround from 'what the @#%$ am I supposed to do?' to 'is that all there is?' was rather staggering for me Nice puzzle!

[@Jesthers]

Had to watch to 18:39 to really understand where I was supposed to be looking, but the puzzle finished really quickly afterwards, I don't play with the timer going for my sanity, but total time must be somewhere around 30-ish minutes judging that I started this puzzle around 4:40 and now it's 5:10. Great puzzle, fun from start to end!

[@altreusplays]

The app knows the solution is correct when the puzzle is provided with a solution; but, if it's not, then it will use sudoku rules to check for mistakes and assume it's correct if it's consistent. This means that you can check a non-Sudoku-rules puzzle, provided the puzzle's solution is known! Sven's software is quite excellent, isn't it?

[@WhoStoleMyAlias]

Somehow there always seems to be a part where Simon overcomplicates things. The circle closest to the left lower corner already had a known value of 1 for ages because it is not part of any of the other surrounding regions and cannot extend onto its own line.

[@Michael-kp4bd]

That’s true, and I see things like this often - BUT… i almost always notice that the “obvious fillable cell” adds very little information to the puzzle, all the while Simon is cracking away at large leaps forward that strongly progress the puzzle. I also have to remember that there are often multiple paths that get you to a solved cell, so I don’t mind at all seeing it uncovered a different way. Simon’s intuition is so strong an unique, that something “over complicated” is just as valid if it is true and his brain figured out the logic!

[@thoughtbyte]

So glad you featured this one! Loved it when it came out, great puzzle, great solve. - thoughtbyte

[@Hakucho64]

At 29:30, there's a much easier next step than Simon's fairly convoluted logic: we know from the black lines that r9c2 can only ever "grow" into r9c3, but that cell is on its own between-line, so it does not grow, and therefore becomes a 1.

[@quothacreations]

wow, super fun--what a pleasure--thanks AnalyticalNinja. the wonderful surprise of discovering the 4 line, and the fives--like fireworks in the mind!

[@oneeyedman4431]

Two stars!!!! That break in was amazing and not easy to spot, didn’t see it myself. Maybe five stars for break in then two…..Great solve, as always Simon

[@Ian_Hay]

Loved this puzzle. Not brutally difficult, but not at all what I was expecting.

[@zaclewis1869]

I had a similar reaction as Simon at 18:30. It certainly made me chuckle realizing that whole big line was all 4's. 😃

[@Raven-Creations]

That was completely bonkers. I thought, "the long line needs to be at least alternating 4s and 5s, so the top end must be 6", then snorted my tea when I saw what that would do, and realised what the solution was. This should have been released on 1st of April. I started off drawing borders between bulbs and their lines. This made some of the plotting a bit easier. For instance, it was obvious that R9C2 was a 1, and that the first cell on the line had to go up and across, leaving a 2 region for the other bulb. Even without drawing borders between bulbs and lines, how could you not see that R9C2 had to be 1? Instead, you forced it to be a 1 by the other regions, proclaiming "and that makes this a 1". How could it be anything else?

[@Steev42]

I did the same. Made the one line blue and the other green, and it definitely helped me visualize.

[@spelldaddy5386]

This puzzle is so great! I admit to resorting to bifurcation toward the end, failing to get the last, crucial piece of logic, but I do understand it logically now. I look forward to seeing how Simon explains that bit. Really fascinating use of the between line constraint

[@MsBestPilotEver]

I appreciate the borders on finished regions :)

[@bertbergers9171]

Jeujj i beat Simon, by a minute, and just because you have to explain your thinking and finished the colour and bordering :P Love this puzzle and the solvepath, very linear, but fun. Thank you for raving on it Simon, it deserves it!

[@longwaytotipperary]

I enjoyed watching Simon create a lovely colorful grid while having so much fun! 😊

[@davidrattner9]

💜💙 when he expresses such joy and fun while solving. 🫠

[@squidge903]

This was a grea puzzlet! Definitely wouldn't call it the 'easiest' though! :P It was complex enough that a a not-quite-beginner still could make some logic errors and lose track of where they were. Definitely more simple than it seemed at first - loved the progression across the board as I figured things out though!

[@lordofthe6string]

One of the few I've actually tried because I love watching but don't consider myself very good. I'll be honest and say when I first looked at it I didn't know where to start. But I stuck at it and finally got the two ends of the line to be forced and am happy to say I finished it. Was a lot of fun, and yes the forced line of fours was a laugh.

[@Baritocity]

On filling in the longest line, I was at first dismayed I couldn't rule out the possible digits that turned out to be the exact way to do it. Clearly designed to make you smirk or laugh at yourself.

[@GoldenredDragon]

This was mindboggling, both as how easily it happened, and how clever it was! Finding out the values of the circles was so satisfying!

[@williamvanduyn698]

A truly delightful puzzle and solve - Thank you Mark and Analytical Ninja - It made my day and its a real delight to watch it several times.

[@ryxiewuff]

I didn't think a logic puzzle could fit the category of comedy, but the longest line exclusively containing 4s qualifies this as humor I think

[@livedandletdie]

18 minutes, quite frankly a good puzzle, and quite lovely to solve.

[@fishnetpatrick]

Incredibly satisfying solve today! Enjoyed seeing you get absolutely thrilled with each new little discovery :)

[@samc9516]

I managed it, I only needed one hint from Simon which was the pink penning in line at timestamp 9:20. The rest of the logic I got myself so I'm pleased. At that one key moment in the puzzle I was saying "that's crazy!" I got pretty far up to the point of needing the given 2 and then I missed one possible configuration without realising, which made me falsely conclude I'd broken the puzzle. So I went all the way back to find my mistake, worked all the way through the puzzle again back to the same point before realising I didn't break it and just missed something haha.

[@eytanz]

This took me a long time to start, but once the logic finally clicked it went really smoothly. What a fun challenge :)

[@Fogmeister]

Oh cool. I saw what was possible with that long line early on and hoped it would turn out that way 😃

[@andersosterholm2538]

Wow! What a fabulous puzzle!

[@brianj959]

I love this puzzle, and I absolutely loved watching Simon solve it!

[@Destructificial]

The checking works because it looks at the numbers, and the fact that no two adjacent regions with the same number may touch avoids any ambiguity. So you only need the numbers to define the regions, and the coloring isn't needed at all.

[@Gonzalo_Garcia_]

13:54 for me. Beautiful puzzle, really enjoyed it!!

[@SiculusTheEpithet]

This was amazing, and the first time I've ever technically solved it faster than Simon. Technically since I didn't have to explain myself to anyone, and I didn't fill in the entire grid with separating lines. But I'm taking the win dangit :P

[@ericpraline1302]

Clever boy AnalyticalNinja and very apt title. Please make more.

[@CauchyIntegralFormula]

19m01s. That was really cool! Every time I hoped something would get forced, it did, which made me quite happy

[@anchorass]

I was actually able to to this one! It took me 2 hours and 4 mins (I am new to puzzling) but this was a really enjoyable one!

[@AmmoBoks]

34:32 "We should genuflect before you". Your vocabulary keeps amazing me. But I totally agree, this was a beautiful puzzle and a lovely, enthusiastic, solve!

[@Bonehead777]

I like your OCD for highlighting regions Simon. Excellent puzzle AnalyticalNinja.

[@echoes6092]

oh my goodness what a lovely puzzle

[@AndreasKungl]

Wow. That was "my everything comes together"-puzzle. I have beaten Simon by 10 minutes, which will never happen again. I have fulfilled my purpose on this planet...

[@theashen]

22 mins! Din't expect that! fun

[@DumbMuscle]

What I did, rather than outlining the regions, was to fill in the numbers once I knew them and only fill the colours for completed regions

[@notsecure6855]

This is why I suck at puzzles: when the requirement was presented that the two ends of that long line had to be a 3 and a 5/6 on the other end, my brain resisted. And then when it was 3-to-5, my brain said "there is no way you can put just one number on a long line across a whole puzzle like that. You've obviously done something wrong, go back and start over if you need to." I do, however, enjoy watching them be solved, so there is that. And the worst part is that when Simon is solving things, there are times when I am quicker than he is to see things. And then I think, "well, if I am quick at this then maybe I should try to solve some puzzles." Sigh.

[@istvanmagi473]

What is the point of calling this "easiest" in the title? It is not easy by any means.

[@steve470]

26:46 for me. This is an absolutely amazing puzzle. Loved it.

[@DarkChasm]

Beat Simon by a cool 21 seconds ;) Fantastic puzzle ❤❤❤❤❤

[@agargamer6759]

The 4s somehow not breaking the puzzle was beautiful to discover

[@Kelters]

Very clever to use the word "conceit" in a positive way to describe the setting of this puzzle.

[@nezarnassif2967]

More like these Simon. Please :D:D:D

[@coreydixon9713]

Such a fun one!! Loved it!

[@kenneth.topp.]

this was a fun solve. I do think simon did some unnecessary bifurcation around the 30 minute mark. If you mark border between circles and their lines, It's clear that the bottom left circle has to be a one, and that the members of the lines have to be two or three. and then the circle bottom of column four cannot be a one, because that would create a problem to it's neighbor on the right. that forces the three for the squares on the line.

[@MarkWiseTechno]

Solved in 24:17. That was great fun!

[@pedrosaraiva1411]

Very nice puzzle and quite easy compared with the difficulty that normally Simon´s puzzles have .

[@sxmchn]

What a fun puzzle! Loved it!

[@MH-dn3jz]

When people ask me if puzzles can be beautiful I'm going to show them this.

[@chipsounder4633]

Find a bunch of your favourite songs that sum up the length of the solve and sync. Mind blown🎉

[@josephbentley7780]

25:25 for me, what a lovely puzzle. thanks as always

[@eleanorpenklis9883]

❤❤❤ love this one so much

[@cyberpigion1334]

video title: "and easiest?" me: being confused on what to do after 5 seconds of looking at the puzzle

[@Hakucho64]

See Betteridge's law of headlines.

[@nickatty462]

Make that 5 minutes. I don't do many of these and haven't really got a clue how to make any progress at all.

[@Liliththelizard]

Simon, do you find it strange that people choose to listen to you solve puzzles as something to calm themselves down before bed? I usually watch 30-60 minutes of sudoku solving before I put on my qudiobook to go to sleep. Sometimes I'm even solving my own sudokus while I watch

[@Orenotter]

Today, I don't work, 'cause I'm sick. Instead I watch Cracking Cryptic. A poem I start Yet it falls right apart Because I feel too sick to rhyme.

[@tonyawright6020]

That was so much fun!

[@RoderickEtheria]

I don't know how Simon doesn't know that a solution can be programmed into the software, where the program can check to see if the solution is reached.

[@itsmeagain1745]

Probably because he isn't a coder.

[@RoderickEtheria]

@ItsMeAgain 1 I don't need to be a coder for me to see the message about a solution either being included or not into the puzzle in at least one of these.

[@emilywilliams3237]

I am not a coder, either, but my impression from other puzzles that are not sudokus is that there is at least one extra step required to have the solution in the software - it is not automatic nor programmed in in any automatic way. Only some of the basic constraints are programmed into the software; otherwise the solution has to be specifically input by following some extra steps. You may notice that sometimes the message at the end of a solve says something like "Looks good to me!" and in that case the solution has not been included, but the programming of the software checks the grid for what it has been programmed to understand (starting with the basic rules of sudoku). Especially grids that don't follow "normal sudoku rules" have to have the solution directly included. Since Simon (nor Mark) does not see the puzzle before they start the video, they don't know in advance if the solution has been included, which is why they sometimes are surprised (especially with non-standard puzzles).

[@RoderickEtheria]

@Emily Williams This said, he should know from previous puzzles that the software is capable of recording solutions. The recording of a solution is easier for constraints a program isn't built for than adding additional constraints. This means that, whenever their software is used for differing constraints than sudoku, the expectation should almost always be on that the solution was included.

[@allendracabal0819]

In the olden times, the checker was not as sophisticated, and could, for example, only check standard 9x9 sudoku grids. Sven's software has come a long way recently.

[@PauxloE]

The rules would be clearer if they said "between the digits in the attached circles (excluding these)". (In Sudoku this normally doesn't come up, as there are often other constraints implying that they can't be the same, but here it makes a difference.) 59:17 for me, solve counter 3427.

[@AndreasKungl]

I don't understand. What's ambiguous about "between"?

[@PauxloE]

@@AndreasKungl In my usage of "between", the borders are included. (I.e. "a price between 5 € and 10 €" doesn't start at 5.01 and end at 9.99 €, but includes 5 and 10.)

[@Stormorbiter]

That's a really fun one :)

[@ChrisSchwab1]

so annoyed at myself. thought the 5 HAD to be at least 6 as how could that line all possibly be 4. then assumed I'd got something wrong when the undeniable logic of it all was staring me in the face. awesome puzzle

[@Chaobish]

I need more of easy puzzles so I can also try it

Beautiful little puzzle, quite approachable, although i must admit i determined the shape of the 1/3/5 area to left by unicity of solution 😅

[@CodeAndGin]

I started in the wrong place, ruling out 7 8 and 9 from large swathes of the grid, but it obviously didn't get me anywhere. Looked back at the video and grabbed the clue for where to begin and it all fell into place from there. 67 minutes total.

[@inspiringsand123]

Let's Get Cracking: 06:39 Simon's time: 27m41s Puzzle Solved: 34:20 What about this video's Top Tier Simarkisms?! Bobbins: 1x (22:35) And how about this video's Simarkisms?! Hang On: 11x (05:51, 06:57, 09:49, 11:15, 11:18, 11:18, 12:52, 13:42, 27:42, 32:30, 33:20) Beautiful: 7x (16:40, 16:40, 21:23, 33:12, 34:42, 35:09, 35:09) Brilliant: 7x (01:36, 01:36, 01:49, 03:42, 19:29, 33:43, 33:43) Clever: 5x (12:06, 12:11, 18:34, 18:38, 32:56) Ah: 4x (11:15, 11:15, 14:37, 24:21, 24:21) Gorgeous: 2x (19:50, 33:51) Shouting: 2x (02:55, 03:38) In Fact: 2x (10:58, 15:11) Obviously: 2x (06:08, 20:04) Snake: 2x (33:16, 33:28) Goodness: 1x (18:34) Apologies: 1x (26:26) Nonsense: 1x (17:11) Stuck: 1x (01:20) Lovely: 1x (03:21) Break the Puzzle: 1x (21:03) Fascinating: 1x (02:39) Ridiculous: 1x (33:12) Take a Bow: 1x (34:37) Surely: 1x (29:34) Pregnant pause: 1x (07:39) Wow: 1x (31:24) What Does This Mean?: 1x (07:33) That is Sick: 1x (18:28) Cake!: 1x (03:53) Genuflection: 1x (34:39) Most popular digit and colour this video: Two (73 mentions) Green (8 mentions) Antithesis Battles: Higher (2) - Lower (2) 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!

[@willlaurie2860]

You should add "I think" to the list, I think 😊

[@eve_the_eevee_rh]

20:08 this looked deceptively tough at first glance, but wow that was easier than I thought (don't mean it in a negative way, I like my puzzles solvable). Fun puzzle!

[@KittSpiken]

27:35 on the second go round. It helped using the rules as written instead of the insane rules I decided upon myself. Though to be fair, it was still a pleasant solve until it wasn't with a circles greater than lines rule. 😅

[@mudscuffer]

Solved in 30:45. Felt like I took my time, marking things properly with colors and lines.

[@trudain]

I had a go and managed in 20 mins. Fun.

[@srwapo]

30:21 with a couple of peaks when I got stuck pencil marking incorrectly. Like, I said r6c2 could only be 123 because I didn't see that it could move further than that past the circles. Neat logic, just wasn't really used to all of the possibilities.