Sudoku Devil Shows Us Heaven

You can try the latest Phistomefel masterpiece here:
cracking-the-c...
▶ NEW CRACKING THE CRYPTIC MERCHANDISE◀
teespring.com/...
▶ JOKE VAN VEENENDAAL's NEW PUZZLE HUNTS HERE◀
Junior Puzzle Hunt: / 36199580
Adult Puzzle Hunt: / 36199477
▶ OUR CHESS SUDOKU APP IS NOW OUT!◀
AppStore: apps.apple.com...
Steam: store.steampow...
Android: play.google.co...
▶TRY OUR CLASSIC SUDOKU APP◀
AppStore: apps.apple.com...
Steam: store.steampow...
Android: play.google.co...
▶TRY OUR SANDWICH SUDOKU APP◀
AppStore: apps.apple.com...
Steam: store.steampow...
Android: play.google.co...
▶SUPPORT US + ACCESS EXCLUSIVE "CRACKING THE CRYPTIC" PUZZLES/VIDEOS◀
Patreon: / crackingthecryptic
▶SEND US PUZZLES TO SOLVE/CONTACT US◀
[e-mail]
▶FOLLOW US◀
Twitter: #crypticcracking
@crypticcracking
Instagram (for how to solve daily clues from The Times): www.instagram....
▶SOFTWARE◀
Play the puzzle in the video by clicking the link under the video (above). We are building a website which will allow you to enter your own sudoku puzzles into the software and this is coming soon!
▶Logo Design◀
Melvyn Mainini
▶ABOUT US◀
Hi! We're Simon Anthony and Mark Goodliffe, two of the UK's most enthusiastic puzzle solvers. We have both represented the UK at the World Sudoku Championships and the World Puzzle Championships. We're also "cryptic crossword" aficionados. Mark is the twelve-time winner of The Times championship and Simon is the former record holder for most consecutive correct solutions to The Listener crossword. We hope we can help your puzzle solving while also introducing you to some of the world's best puzzles.
Thank you for watching!
Simon and Mark

[@gursimarsingh8462]

This channel has actually somehow saved me from going crazy during this lockdown and got me back to suduko. Time just flies while solving the puzzles!! Thanks a lot and all hail the KZbin algorithm!

[@Chislevs]

It's insane right - I'm not very good so it usually takes me about an hour (while also using the video for hints lol - nowhere near doing these on my own) and I do not even notice the time passing by on me.

[@renedekker9806]

Simon fills in the numbers in rapid speed, and has only 5 square left to fill: "I think we must be closing on the solution..." 😂

[@TheGreatGritzy]

Me before lockdown: yeah sports Me during lockdown: he he swordfish

[@mountainsmelodies4096]

I missed the hinge geometry, described around the 20 min mark so looked at the first couple of comments to see if there were any useful hints. Based on your swordfish comment, I started scanning for one and found my first one ever on 8s which broke the puzzle open for me.

[@TiaMat99]

I'm in awe that someone actually makes puzzles like this... and that people like you can actually solve them! Such skill.

[@ethanderrick8486]

Phistomefel is a genius. I wish that I was good enough to attempt and solve his puzzles, but I always make mistakes. Instead I enjoy watching your pure joy as you solve them for me.

[@tehniobium]

I honestly sometimes wish there was a "go back to just before my first mistake" button...it always feels like such a shame not to solve one of these beautiful puzzles yourself, just because you made a silly mistake somewhere (tbh I feel like i often do the "hard" parts right, and then fuck up basic sudoku somewhere)

[@getsomegoodstuff]

Try this one as long as you stick to 1 and 9 early it's not bad, it's much easier than his usual puzzles.

[@Qazqi]

@@tehniobium You can use the end of the video as a solution reference and hit undo until you reach the point you want. It's not as convenient as that hypothetical button, but it matches the behaviour. Seeing the final numbers doesn't spoil the logic to derive those numbers.

[@Jay369]

@@tehniobium I got the cracking the cryptic chess app and it allows you to set the gameplay rules, so you can turn on "highlight error" or "highlights all errors" .

[@tehniobium]

@@Qazqi good point 👍

[@abittilted9753]

Phistomefel is honestly an descendent of logic itself

[@TheBlackZodiacGhost]

Or at the very least a grandmaster at creating interactive logic-art :D

[@Pyromonkey83]

Every time I see Phistomefel's name on a puzzle I get excited. This one was no exception. 24 minutes to solve, all of which was bliss. Not nearly as hard as many of his puzzles (although the break in had me completely scratching my head for 5 or so minutes), but an absolute joy to solve as always. I feel like this puzzle should be called 'ring around the rosy', as thats what I felt like I was doing all the way around the grid!

[@aubinl]

I think Simon feeling out of his depth with Phistomefel mirrors quite well how most of us feel about Simon! 😉🤣🤷🏼‍♂️

[@billyoung8118]

If you find a hobby that makes you anywhere near as happy as Simon gets when he works on puzzles like this, then you will have an amazing life!

[@Wecoc1]

9:32 That 9 fixes the other 9 in the 44 cage of that row

[@aad6796]

How did that 9 go up there.. why couldn't it be at r1c9?

[@topfive8415]

@@aad6796 I know it's been 10 months and probably don't need this answer anymore but just in case you do. Whatever goes in r1c1 cannot be placed inside the 36 cage. So whatever goes in r1c1 has to be the digit which is not in the 36 cage. That is 9

[@12tone]

Loved this one! Not too hard by Phistomefel standards but some beautiful logic.

[@Wouter10123]

I took half an hour, but I didn't see the trick until 19 minutes in. Also, the 14 cage in the middle box is only 11, so I must have made a mistake somewhere...

[@TrackpadProductions]

I never thought I'd find myself eagerly anticipating the upload of another sudoku puzzle. Yet here I am. This lockdown really blew up this channel quick, huh.

[@josemanuelabisambracarbone4226]

Having been subscribed since 20k, I can't tell you how happy I am for you guys to have reached 160k. Keep up the awesome work. PS: Love the new logo!

[@eViLPaCcc]

20:11 I believe there was a simpler logic to that 2. Since you already had a 2 in boxes 6 and 9, there was no place for it to appear in the lower 44 cage other than r3c9

[@DonnyTheNerdfighter]

Before I started watching this channel a few days ago, I never knew anything beyond super basic sudoku. Now I'm completing puzzles without any given numbers thanks to you! Not without mistakes, and not without your help now and again, but still I'm super happy.

[@R.a.t.t.y]

How loud do I have to shout at the screen for you to pick up on something I have spotted?

[@sird5104]

Omg, it's 7:20 am and i haven't slept watching your videos all night haha i don't know how i got to this channel but one thing is sure: i'm never leaving.

[@benphelan88]

Me: Well, it's midnight and my two-month-old daughter will be up for a bottle soon. Better catch a few winks. CTC: A new puzzle from Phistomefel! Me: *sigh* *click*

[@jeroenvangestel6740]

I Joined for about a week ago. I didn't really stay for the sudoku's, but I did stay for this guys voice. If all my teachers at university had his voice and passion, I probably attended more classes and didn't drop out xD

[@PopeGoliath]

I wish solving puzzles on my own felt as beautiful as they do when Simon solves them. I have no intuition on where to look next, so most puzzles are just a combinatorial slog. I feel like I took something beautiful and accidentally crumbled it in my hands.

[@evah4431]

I always wonder if "Phistomefel" is a Walter Moers reference, like Phistomefel Smeik. If he reads the comments, I'd love to know if it is or not :) either way it's a great name And Simon: Thank you for your genuine care and concern during this crisis. I only discovered this channel a few days ago, and the sudokus have entirely taken over my life, for better or worse. Thank you!

[@squiggles5640]

I did the coffee mug puzzle and I'm very proud of myself it's about my level of puzzle-solving since I could do it without getting frustrated and quitting.

[@dgitau]

I love this channel. Any time Simon says, 'that's just beautiful!' I feel his joy. Thanks for keeping us entertained.

[@AussieJohnny]

If Simon was to solve this puzzle today he would solve it much more quickly. He would see instantly that whatever is in R2C2 must go into R1C9 and therefore the 9 missing from the 36 cage would go in R1C1. How do I know he would see that instantly? Because I did and it was Simon that taught me to see that.

[@wanderlustwarrior]

I've made a lot of progress this year, thanks to learning from this channel! Coming back to this puzzle, which I don't know if I actually attempted before, I solved it in 27:07

[@markandrews7630]

I love these, and when Simon gets on a solve rhythm his enthusiasm is infectious. I'll be honest though I am lost after the first move, but I still yell at the screen when I see something he hasn't solved yet.

[@nadeemhajiiqbal9214]

The 44 cages were a giveaway straightaway, but I didn't see the correlations (mirrors) when I tried it at first. Simon explained the first mirror pairing (r1c1 on the 36 cage), but he didn't notice the other two (r1c1& r1c2 on the horizontal 44 cage, and r1c8 &r2c8 on the vertical 44 cage) until much much later One thing that helps me a lot in Killer Sudoku is that I always color the cages with different colors. It really makes the cages stand out, and in this particular puzzle, made it easier to spot the mirrors.

[@Afterthoughtbtw]

As usual when it comes to Phistomefel puzzles, by the end my brain is so scrambled by being transported around the grid in unexpected yet pleasing ways... so I miss something obvious. In this case it was forgetting to disambiguate by using one of the killer sums. I'm getting the suspicion that the setter is incapable of putting out a puzzle that isn't a delight.

[@achad1607]

Five-and-a-half hours, backtracking from several errors, but, I finally did one of his puzzles!

[@goldenghostinc]

I got the mirror cells and the 44 geometry really quick, but it takes me wayyyy longer to see the correct calculations of the boxes. Finished in 1:28:06. Really happy with that, especially since the last killer Sudoku (from last week by Phistomefel) took me a little over 3.5 hours 😁

[@stephenbarnes7881]

I solved this puzzle, but it took me just under 5 hours to do it. Watching you blow it away like this is incredible. Keep up the good work, I'm really enjoying your channel!

[@user-gq4lo2cz9p]

I think it's quite cool to not use the 14 cage in the middle box up until the very end. You then have 3 pairs which would otherwise break the puzzle. But the 14 cage fixes all 3!

[@corsairrus]

At 17:34, col 8 already has a 2 in it. The 41 cage must conatin a 2 -> it has to go line 4, col 6. In general, whatever is in col 8 but not in the 41 cage -> has to be "4" (45-41) and the other 2 numbers have to go in 41-cage too, but in line 4 (those are also mirror squares)

[@uncluckable6535]

Once you got the 9 and 1 in the top left, it revealed the 9 in r2c9 immediately...I stared at it for several minutes in frustration. But good solve. I couldn't do 98% of the other logic required, so...

[@spaghettios3741]

Not being able to complete this difficult puzzle makes me sad, but being able to see what I did wrong makes me very happy.

[@jessies-j6429]

Hi Simon, I was wondering, why did you put a 9 in that top left corner? I'm trying to figure out why and don't understand, the 9 could have been at the bottom left corner, and any of the other squares in the top row unless I'm missing something. I'm stuck with 3 ones, a two and a nine. Love two watch your video to unblock me but I still like to understand haha!

[@EugeneChangEC]

2:01:10 Super hard fought. Now I'm going to watch how Simon just flies through it.

[@mavericksjd6140]

54:12 Unbelievable. I can't believe the brain Phistomefel must have to come up with such brilliant puzzle. I made a small mistake in marking and it couldn't even spot my mistake for a long time because of the logic behind this puzzle. Hats off Man

[@victormanjarinsala2253]

Stared at it for 10 minutes. Got to put some 9s and 1s more out of intuition than actual logic. Surrendered miserably and came back to enjoy your solve. Beautiful puzzle indeed!

[@MrJohnHelper]

This is the first Sudoku I try to do, it's impressive how it took me 90 minutes and he manage to finish it in under 20! Great job

[@Tiger21us]

Last time I attempted the Killer XXL I either solved this along with the video or gave up. Came back to it today and managed to solve it all on my own! So happyI improved in solving sudoku during last six months :D

[@MisterNohbdy]

6:34 - This is a prime example of why the "Snyder notation" I see you guys using makes no sense to me. It's an arbitarily block-centric notation, and trying to use it for other purposes seems misleading. Here you're using it to show the places that the 1 can go in a cage instead of a block, but since you otherwise always use it for blocks, it now looks like those are the only places the 1 can go in blocks 7 and 8, which is obviously not the case.

[@Alansshows]

Whew! Took me 1h, 23m to solve it. Then I watched the video to see how he does it so fast. Two differences: 1) He knows immediately where to look for the next clue, while I'm wasting time looking at every square EXCEPT the one that's the next step; 2) He quickly says things like "You can't have 4 digits add up to 26, using a 7 unless one of them is a 2" while I'm counting on my fingers like a caveman, trying to make numbers add up.

[@lakarto19]

01:39:21 solve time for this one; another one of those puzzles where I felt like a complete idiot before noticing a very specific trick (the mirror cells) that lead to the rest of the puzzle unravelling relatively quickly... really exhausting.

[@kevinsnyder4658]

With a little bit of hand holding until about 15min in, I was able to finish from there in about 45 minutes. More fun than frustrating like a lot of your puzzles lately. Thanks!

[@wyattoquinn8197]

So, I like your voice more so than your compatriot. Idk. I just enjoy watching you solve, keep up the good work.

[@carlhausman8157]

Delightful puzzle. Took me 30:03, not counting a couple outside distractions. Usually these take me closer to 45 minutes to an hour, so it was a nice change of pace.

[@jga5821]

I can't believe I solved this whole thing all by myself :) Feeling quite proud. It was a grind at the beginning, but it had a really nice flow to it. Took me 1:09:38

[@igk6359]

simon: this sudoku devil show heaven. me: oh my goshhh, this sudoku devil show the lowest hell. joke aside, great puzzle! although it took me almost 1 hour to finish this..

[@fulltimeslackerii8229]

Idk why but it was easy to understand when you did it but I keep thinking 6 + 5 was 13 so I “broke” the 16 cage and kept restarting. I’m so stupid

[@UofMFan628]

really simple once you spot the trick with the geometries limiting r1c1 then r9c1 and r8c4 being mirrors but that took me a long time to notice. I was very close to giving up and watching the video to get unstuck but pushed through and spotted it. happy to have solved it on my own eventually.

[@RealCadde]

At 24:55 you ruined an amazing property of this puzzle in that you end up with a lot of deadly patterns around the fourteen cage in the center box. I got three (well two pairs and a sorta triple pair) deadly patterns in total before i checked what the digits in the fourteen cage could actually be. I saw it would be vital to the resolution of the puzzle so i waited with that one just for fun. The deadly patterns were: 36 in columns 5 and 9. 47 in rows 6 and 9 and the 18 (which you've also "ruined") in box 4 column 1 together with the 19 (which you also "ruined") in the center box column 6 and the 89 in column 8. Neither could be resolved unless you used the 14 killer clue. But i guess your solve path is simply too high level for this puzzle's construction.

[@thatpuzzleguy]

Definitely a bit easier than his usual, but just as beautiful. Was quite pleased with my solve even though I started over once after being paranoid about a small mistake I made.

[@jonchambers131]

1:01:12 - got the r1c1 wasn't a 1 quickly but took ages to realise I could extrapolate out and rule out everything else but 9 too. Things opened up really well once I'd been able to use the triples in the lower left box to break the 16 in rows 2 and 3. Quite hard to get going but it does get easier!

[@Dethneko]

Broke it a couple of times, then got it down to 4 legal solutions. Time to watch and find out what the real answer is. edit: I was so focused on my own pencil marks I didn't notice the 14-cage in the center block. That narrowed it down to a single solution.

[@DNXTMaster]

I think this is the first phistomefel puzzle that I complete (which already is only a handful) in under a gazillion hours

[@happystar56]

I solved the merch puzzle... spoiler warning if you want to solve it your self dont keep reading. Start with the C in the middle right, put the R directly right of it, then put the A below that, return to the C, then place the K below the C, place the I to the left, the N to the left of that, and the G above that, put the T to the right, the H Diagonally to the left, the E to the right, than return to the C diagonally to the right, move right to the R, put the Y above the R, then put the P to the left, then return to the T, then the I, and finish with the last C. If I'm wrong go ahead and correct me 😀.

[@maryammehtab3135]

This channel is the reason I play sodoku everyday and I am getting better at it! The tricks for solving and entertainment at the same time. Keep up the good work!

[@holy_molly]

i have never played sudoku but something about your videos is so fascinating! you have a great personality!

[@sujaykulkarni6138]

36:35 which is probably the best i have ever solved considering it was Phistomefel's!!

[@theplaguedoctor3381]

I'm new here, have they ever done a mathdoku? it's kinda like a killer sudoku but you can repeat number in cages and any simple math operation goes in the cage

[@Pritchie45]

Didn't see that top left corner, even after 90 minutes. After the hint I solved it in 2 hours and 48 minutes

[@hawk-nightcore5577]

Omg this speed is still just astonishing. I can barely finish those sudokus in 2 hours and he does it in 20 minutes. Crazyyyy

[@hallowurm]

Took me 38:57 but every minute of it was super fun, every next step felt natural and rewarding

[@OttoBittoSplatoon]

1:45:05 and really proud of it, thanks for providing us these amazing puzzles 😍

[@RangeWilson]

The mirrored squares make it all straightforward, but I had to watch the video to realize the idea was there :-(

[@markusjohansson844]

May i ask, are we that are not in total lock down allowed to watch this video? Regards from Sweden.

[@Brandlin]

tool me 1:05 but i got there. Interestingly by a different route to simon, I was able to work almost from the right to the left, but we still finished on exactly the same cell.

[@sanctionbuster]

56:54. I needed a hand to get the third and fourth digit - thank you. Pretty chuffed to finish it by myself.

[@magicharry17]

Could you do a video about setting puzzles, I would love to see how that works

[@Simsomanka9612]

Found this channel few weeks ago and boy oh boy, I cant stop watching! Your videos calm me down, and I love watching them before going to sleep. They are part of my daily routine. I absolute love when you get something and start smiling, its so adorable, it makes me smile as well when you finally crack the solution! Keep up the good job! Thank you for your videos! :)

[@jonathanross6260]

Took me over an hour, but I loved it. Now to watch the video...

[@NowUndefined]

What a wonderful solve of a wonderful puzzle!

[@romainleonardy9380]

18:50min, there has to be a 2 in c9r3, because the 44cage needs a 2 and it can't go in either box 6 or 9 :) Haven't got any further than that ;)

[@KuronoPunto]

Finally I managed to solve this one without your help, I can die in peace now

[@facilvenir]

I only managed to place 2 ones and a 9, but I enjoyed watching you solving the puzzle. Great logic.

[@slid3rek24]

It took me 2h 17 min to solve but it was nicely spent time

[@57thorns]

Annoyed at missing the 14 cage (I had 18 in it, så it could really only be 23 left) at 15:43, I got stuck missing something that obvious and watched up there. Otherwise managed to solve it in just over one hour. :-) I fund all the hard ones, the mirrors etc. And the double deadly combination that resolved using one cage at the end was a nice touch. edit: my path at the end was different that Simons it seems. I probably missed something. But it was a beautiful puzzle.

[@57thorns]

23:53 took you a while to spot that mirroring.... the 2 was done several minutes ago.

[@thepimentninja7340]

It took me only 1:55:00 to solve it. Still proud I didn't give up.

[@belorbit]

I tried for five minutes and stressed myself out. Think I'll take the L and just watch you solve this masterpiece today.

[@mylomilk4635]

Took me 50 mins but it feels like every step of the way is planned and it felt amazing following it :)

[@carasynthiadune9842]

It's crazy that you have these sums memorized like "obviously there can't be a 4 here,' I would need a spreadsheet to figure all that out.

[@bristolrovers27]

Another incredible puzzle Simon may have been bamboozled but I was bamboozled to the power of ten. Great Chanel, thanks for upping the output, I for one greatly appreciate it 162K subscribers!!!!!!! Didn’t you pass 100K less than a week ago ? You should both be proud

[@xueyixin2959]

Really unfamiliar with killer rule, took me 90 mins to resolve...I feel I'm suck

[@sfumato8884]

Killer sudokus take practice. Once you do 20-25 of them, the digit combinations start to become automatic. Don’t give up!

[@moritzkockritz5710]

Took me quite a while, but I was never really stuck This was a really fun solve for me

[@ragdoll_blue9877]

I've just discovered this channel and am addicted to it!

[@AnRuixuan]

Felt really proud of myself with this puzzle, for some reason I was able to fly through it, ended up with a time around 25 minutes. Normally the puzzles you feature take me 45+ minutes!

[@eskii2]

What is the difference between corner and centre (small) notation? How do you use them differently?

[@GrahamNicholson56]

The corner marks indicate that the number is a candidate (so there may be other candidates not yet marked). Centre notation is used for a complete list of the possible candidates for that cell (usually just doubles or triples).

[@LednacekZ]

i think realizing the mirrors was the most important part. knowing what digit is missing from an 8 numbered cell should be obvious.

[@LuckGG1]

it's really weird, if I see a move ahead of you, then the moment you make it feels like watching my team score a goal.

[@joeomundson]

I like to get as far ahead on the puzzle as I can, then when I get stuck I watch Simon "catch up" to my logic (until he quickly surpasses it) at which point I pause it again and get as far as I can with the new information, etc. But this way I'm "ahead" of him almost the whole time, lol

[@Pwecko]

1 hour 57 minutes. That was tough. How does anyone do it in just over 20 minutes?

[@sfumato8884]

Practice with killer sudoku goes a looooong way!

[@neilramsey1368]

Got it out after 2nd try great puzzle

[@Dysiode]

I love that this one is much more balanced between the logic and the maths than other puzzles we've seen from Phistomefel, it feels more refined!

[@jonatanstahl5918]

What a beauty, it took me 48min!

[@yishsaur7657]

Can someone make a 16x16 Sudoku?

[@Kelarys]

I solved this incorrectly (had the 67 pair swapped in the bottom corners) but the app still told me I was right. I didn't even realize I had a double 6 in the 44 box on the right until after I finished watching your solve. This means that the app doesn't check to confirm the math is right, only that the boxes are all filled in, which is a flaw in the design. Just thought I should mention that if you were unaware, I don't know how complicated it would be to make the solve also confirm that the killer aspect is correct

[@micheltordoir7734]

The check is only to validate rows-columns-boxes. Never the special rules of the sudoku.

[@Kelarys]

@@micheltordoir7734 too bad lol, I hope this will be the only time I get a false positive

[@AndreAy1975]

The start was difficult.

[@emptylungs]

This guy is like the shroud of sudoku

[@Kaiser86]

I want that mug!