The Hardest Puzzle Of The Year

** NEW PATREON SUDOKU HUNT JUST OUT **
We've just released our December monthly reward - The
Cryptic Scriptures Of The Secret Snake Society - a sudoku hunt featuring nearly 20 puzzles by some of the greatest setters on the planet. Anyone who solves them all gets shoutout! Remember that patrons gets access to their own special channel on the CtC Fan Discord server - where you can find hints ;)
/ crackingthecryptic
** TODAY'S PUZZLE **
There is a lot we could say about Rosette by Gliperal. It is undoubtedly one of the cleverest puzzles we've ever seen. It also must be one of the hardest! Simon very nearly turns the video off...
Play it at the link below:
app.crackingth...
Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply. Digits along grey "fast" thermometers must increase by at least 2 at a time starting from the bulb end. The large red ring is made up on 5 normal thermometers glued tip-to-bulb. ie travelling clockwise around it, digits must increase with no more than 5 exceptions.
** NEW GAS PACK IS OUT **
The new GAS pack is out on Steam for PC here:
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It's already out on Android and App Store. 60 original puzzles by Sam Cappleman-Lynes, Clover and Philip Newman!! Earn party hats and dinosaurs with these brand new puzzles!
We've also released a FREE app full of handmade puzzles to celebrate reaching 500k subscribers - simply download the Cracking The Cryptic app on Android, Steam or App Store and then select the 500k pack. We're streaming a playthrough of this app and you can watch all seven episodes
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(Please note to use our real names rather than 'Cracking The Cryptic'.)
▶ SUDOKU PAD - Our New App ◀
You can input classic sudoku puzzles into our software and help support Sven, the programmer responsible for the wonderful user interface we all use to play these puzzles everyday. The app also comes with 12 handmade puzzles from us:
iOS:
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ALSO on Amazon: Search for “SudokuPad”
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[@Gliperal]

This is another one of those puzzles, like Quite a Mouthful, that I fully expected to never see a video (I believe I said something to that effect in the submission email). No testers could solve it, I had to create a solution guide to even get it validated, and at the time of this video going live it still has only 3 solves on LMD. Simon truly is remarkable. Not only finding the logic, but to be able to explain something so abstract and theoretical in a way that viewers can follow. Highlighting exactly the ideas that I wanted to showcase -- the notion of distance around the clock face, and the way the 3-cell thermos on the side effectively cancel those digits from the sides of the ring (even if it did end up being easier to get the breakthrough by trying candidates on the right). Plus that ability to instantly hone in on the right ideas (even if it took a moment to understand them). No 15 minute pauses this time. As soon as one trail ran cold, to instantly think "I probably need to look here now." Really impressive to solve this in just under 100 minutes. I often fear that the logic in my puzzles will go unseen, in part because they are frequently too difficult, and in part because I always seek out logic that hasn't been seen before and can't be solved in the same way as a conventional puzzle. This is possibly one of my favorite creations in that regard, and knowing that the ideas have finally been seen by more than 3 people... I cannot express how happy that makes me feel. I couldn't ask for a better Christmas gift.

[@MargarineMeadow]

I know the expression “Pot calling the kettle black” normally carries a negative connotation, but I can’t help thinking of it when I see you comment on Simon being remarkable. Remarkable pot, remarkable kettle. Y’alls minds just work differently to be able to do stuff like this. Congrats on a truly exceptional puzzle sir

[@AndreasChrisWilhelmer]

The puzzle you came up with here is truly amazing. It's always nice to see Sudoku variants that explore new logical concepts that seem like they were meant for that puzzle and vice versa. Thank you for creating this masterpiece and sharing it with us!

[@Deathranger999]

When I watch Simon solve normally, it's impressed upon me just how smart he is. But watching him do this revealed another level of intelligence entirely, something truly exceptional. And the fact that you managed to set this, and to come up with that logic? Nothing short of pure genius. I've been watching this channel for quite some time and this very well might be the single most incredible sudoku I've ever seen featured. Well done.

[@longwaytotipperary]

I’m worn out watching Simon solve what to me would be an impossible puzzle! You are both next level geniuses! Holy cow!

[@kr12a2y]

Did you envision it as people realizing there needed to be more "resets" than just every 9 cells on the loop due to the fast thermos in the corners, and only then realizing that a digit needed to be duplicated on each outer flare as well?

[@cathybryant5119]

Don't you love those moments when Simon says a puzzle is impossible. Then he stares at it for a while and says "I do have one small thought". And we're off!

[@jensschmidt]

I think Simon takes great joy in saying "Do have a go yourself" after he said - not 5 minutes earlier "I don't know whether I can solve this." Yeah, thanks Simon... I'll pass just this one time...

[@AFastidiousCuber]

There are some people in this community who are arguably better at this than him. Simon's great, don't get me wrong, but there are definitely some unbelievable solvers out there.

[@TheMeanAdmin]

@@AFastidiousCuber Simon is good at explaining how he solves most of the time. Me - I look at the video length. 30-40 minutes - worth a try, hour - if I have a free evening maybe. Hour and fifty minutes - that's a spectator role for me...

[@DuncanBooth]

Something like this I watch the video until I see the direction he's headed then I have a go. I needed the first 40 minutes and was then able to complete it myself in another 38 minutes. But without that introduction there's no way I had the remotest idea where to start. Also while I think all my steps were logical it's quite likely some of my reasoning was a bit hand-wavey.

[@Nerdnumberone]

I don't think he doubted his ability to eventually solve it, but rather his ability to solve it in one sitting.

[@ian59]

@@DuncanBooth This was me exactly but I don't think I even fully understand how Simon got to his logic I just accepted it and went full steam ahead from there.

[@mityaadamskiy]

It is quite telling when things like "this number has to be at least one" (51:44) actually make sense!

[@matthewread9001]

I was waiting for It and knew it was coming after reason this comment. But actually seeing the context was hilarious.

[@thetaphi]

Mate, if your solves were further out of this world, you'd be arriving in a blue police box.

[@longwaytotipperary]

❤️the reference to Dr. Who! 😀

[@whitetiger1518]

Came here to add that exact thought.. Maybe after all the glasses references to superman, someone could knit him a nice long stripy scarf or send a screwdriver or two?

[@Wecoc1]

The "As useful as a chocolate teapot" should be updated to "As useful as a one cell thermometer"

[@rgoyal107]

Oh there can be a whole bunch of those. One cell renban, whisper, equal sums line. Imagine a puzzle where all lines are only one cell long.

[@robinbrown6530]

@@rgoyal107 You probably just inadvertently gave Future Simon a terrible time on a really long video. Its like him saying not to do puzzles with halvers.Tthere are just some things you dont put out into the universe.

[@Azeria]

@@robinbrown6530 the really evil play is a german whisper line where the line is one cell, and the digit _is_ 5

[@feldegast]

@@Azeria that's mean.... Love it... 😂

[@kathyjohnson2043]

@@rgoyal107 oh, I'm sure someone is working on it!

[@HonkeyKongLive]

Honestly, more than anything, I'm amazed by Simon's ability to keep grinding at a puzzle for nearly 2 hours and not start making errors or get frustrated and quit. If a puzzle takes me more than about 30 minutes I have to bail, let alone over 3x that. And doubly so when it takes THIS long to even begin to start putting anything in. After 2-3 minutes if I can't even see how to begin, I definitely quit. This is a marvelous watch even if I'm only half an hour in.

[@warren_r]

In ONE sitting.... that's part of the remarkable nature of Simon's puzzle-solving. So many of the rest of us will get up, take a break, look at our phone, or whatever. Not Simon. Once he gets going, only the outside world will slow him down.

[@SirJefferE]

"I've got twenty minutes, time to check out today's puzzle." *checks title* "...I'll come back later. Wonder what Mark is up to today."

[@stumbling]

This video is a testament to Simon's superb solving skills. Although, bloody hell I hope this isn't anyone's introduction to the channel or sudoku for that matter!

[@nikolaz7740]

I love when mark tells Simon to open the puzzle on screen 😂

[@martysears]

me too! I actually think this should be the default... love to see the honest, initial reaction to the aesthetics and the ruleset

[@mathieudavis26]

Does Simon ever make Mark do this? I haven't seen it happen, but also haven't watched all the channel's videos 😅

[@JohnADoe-pg1qk]

I think Simon is in dire need of a big piece of cake after this marathon puzzle.

[@longwaytotipperary]

Or a gin and tonic. (Actually so do I😁)

[@poujor]

Definately chocolate cake

[@shaunbrowne9870]

> realizes that there are 9 unique digits in pink and blue combined > does nothing with this information > is shocked when that area develops into a series of pairs I'm just razzing you, Simon--I could never have done this puzzle.

[@Shippochi]

This doesn't feel like a puzzle I could solve at all in this lifetime, but your explanations are so thorough that I followed all of your logic the whole way through! How delightfully satisfying it is to have been here for this 2 hour journey. This is truly why I follow this channel.

[@zakaryjaynicholls9867]

I can normally keep up with Simon a little bit, but even trying to follow this has turned my brain to jelly. Amazing to watch.

[@dennismazzlack]

I normally watch your videos before i go to sleep because it is relaxing, but this one felt like a thriller :D

[@dennismazzlack]

"That's a four by the power of magic" :D love it

[@thoughtbyte]

Wow, wow, wow. This is a mind bender, a true masterpiece. I am in awe of Gliperal's construction here. And Simon, I love watching you take on these insanely difficult masterpieces, this solve of yours is also a work of art. Brilliant puzzle, brilliant solve!

[@longwaytotipperary]

Chuckling at Simon’s conversation with himself about how to start/ whether he can complete the puzzle. Knowing that it wouldn’t be on the screen if he couldn’t makes this funny and not sad. I know you can and you did - so well done, Simon!!

[@davidrattner9]

One of my favorite parts of blind opening links. He "laughs, cries" saying no no , he can't and won't do it. :-) Yet we see it and the guy is just amazing in his solving!!

[@longwaytotipperary]

@@davidrattner9 😄

[@SirJefferE]

@@davidrattner9 The part I love is when he's just on the edge of giving up and you can tell that he's started talking to himself rather than to the audience, but then he notices that small bit of logic that sort of snaps him back into it and makes him realize the video has a chance of getting out after all.

[@HunterJE]

I usually follow Simon's logic path even on puzzles I would have no chance of finding it myself but will admit on this one reached a few points of "OK I'll take your word for it" - well done Gliperal and well done Simon!

[@zmaj12321]

For sure. I had to run the logic through my head a couple of hours after watching the video before I felt like I truly grasped it.

[@Raindeux]

There were so many points where I was like ok I give up, w/e u say I agree with lol. I couldn't wrap my head around what he was saying. Ofc with the 2 hour run time I should have seen that coming.

[@NicknotNak]

I didnt understand anything for nearly the first hour with the 45 step explanation. I understood the need for 4 thermos, but i got lost in the weeds pretty quickly when it came to the logic

[@SourabhDas95]

My first thought was that the red line had an awful lot of overlap with a modified phistomefel ring, but that wasn't a particularly useful avenue. Breaking a 5 thermo sequence down into a potential 1-45 thermo with some jumps was an incredibly clever way of tackling this.

[@steveoneill8822]

OH! 1 LONG THERMO! I was completely lost on that logic. I couldn't figure out why he kept saying 45.

[@Aschilon]

So, does Mark need to give Simon a 45-hour clock for Christmas?

[@cheerpoasting]

Yes

[@1caaake]

"As I sit here now, my brain is giving me absolutely nothing" is an entire mood! I've not finished the video yet but the comments say Simon was able to solve this, so well done! I absolutely cannot fathom even starting something like this, much less finishing. Thank you for giving it a go and explaining the logic to us!

[@ryaneakins7269]

I'm imagining half-way through one of these movie length videos, Simon starts playing Starcraft while his subconscious works on the puzzle. And we'd probably still keep watching.

[@Jodawo]

We have many intelligent solvers out there who have been able to follow what was going on. I do know there must be a few that must be just taking Simon's word for it that it is a logical solve. Even after listening and going back and listening again it's still alludes me how this puzzle works. It does not mean it's a bad puzzle it just means that it is going to be an acquired taste to a smaller number. It is still amazing how Simon is able to wrap his head around these puzzles and be able to make sense of it. It is also amazing but not 100% that he can dumb it down enough to get most of us able to follow along and understand what is happening. Simon has a true gift and I think that's what makes this channel amazing is we get to see genius at work.

[@jorrr9096]

I think it explains it all when he shows why the cell can't be a 6 at around 50:00. You just can't jump too much around

[@Jodawo]

@@jorrr9096 I get that part about the five thermometers being put together. I get he has to divvy up the spaces so it doesn't go over using five thermometers. I also understand that the thermos that are strategically placed will have restrictions and only certain numbers can go in them. When you put all of that mess together you need a far more intelligent mind to keep that all straight. As I said Simon is able to dumb it down enough to get some understanding but there are some puzzles that defy the ability to understand them completely no matter who the teacher is describing how to do it.

[@jorrr9096]

Ok Im sorry, I thought you didn't understand. But I know what you mean. I understand almost all of the puzzles when he solves them, but 90% of them I couldn't come up with the solution myself.

[@longwaytotipperary]

@@Jodawo yes to all those points.

[@SpencerTwiddy]

@@Jodawo oh dang, I was actually in the crowd wishing Simon was able to keep the different pieces of logic in his head better once he saw them... he spent so much time doubting himself when to me the truth of his conjectures was pretty clear.

[@windybeach2184]

This was pretty easy to solve by myself. Just needed Simon to point me in the right direction for 86 minutes first.

[@MrKrill7]

Karsten here! Wow, what a lovely video to have a birthday shoutout in! A coloring puzzle plus a long video, my two absolute favorites! Major congratulations to Simon for not only sticking through this puzzle, but for solving it! Your emotional journey ranging from near resignation from the beginning to the sheer satisfaction of completing a very difficult puzzle was satisfying to watch through! I bet you're glad you didn't give up on this one after all! Astonishing work! Going to purchase a chocolate cake in your honour. ;D

[@longwaytotipperary]

Happy birthday 🎂

[@kathyjohnson2043]

Happy Birthday! And, what an amazing puzzle-solve to have for a gift.

[@MrKrill7]

@@kathyjohnson2043 Thank you, Kathy! :D

[@MrKrill7]

@@longwaytotipperary Thank you! :D :O

[@longwaytotipperary]

@@MrKrill7 hope it was great - with lots of cake (or whatever makes you happy 😉)

[@carlpantuso7718]

What an amazing puzzle and even more amazing solve. I've finally started asking questions like Simon and Mark while I'm solving such as "Where can these digits go in this box?" Which is basically how Simon was able to get a handle on this puzzle. And once that logic (that there is a repeated digit along the arc shaped sections of the rosette) was discovered and pointed out by Simon, the solve was pretty straight forward. Difficult but straight forward. I'm amazed at how these setters keep on coming up with unique and beautiful logic and create these wonderfully elegant puzzles. 81 little cells - infinite puzzibilities! Bravo Gliperal! And of course Simon for solving it!

[@amoswittenbergsmusings]

The puzzle got looked at with shocked eyes: A circle and thermos of odd size With strange interactions And coloured abstractions… But Simon *did* conquer it, clockwise.

[@Anne_Mahoney]

OK, that's good -- never would have thought of rhyming "clockwise" with "shocked eyes"!

[@th.nd.r]

OH MY GOODNESS. Via the power of the Internet, we are standing in the presence of two geniuses. Gliperal and Simon, the setting and solving were both unbelievably excellent and entertaining. I’m in utter shock. Utterly incredible. Thank you both for doing what you do. Re: 5:50 - color and flavor are not the same! You could have a chocolate cake with purple frosting, for instance! Not to mention the fact that you can probably get the cake part itself color dyed. Might be hard with chocolate though but still.

[@uncgoalie]

every once in a while I feel like I am reaching his level after solving a puzzle somewhat faster than Simon... and then there are puzzles like this which remind me that I have way to go (and will likely never even get close) to his solving ability... congrats! I have not given up as quickly as today (maybe 5 minutes) in a long while...Simon is the best!

[@jfbrasch]

I really like the 20-40 min videos, I feel I can usually solve those. Over and hour, I get a bag of popcorn and get ready to watch the movie.

[@filippocona6232]

It took me hours spanned over several days just to break into this puzzle, but I’m so glad I didn’t give up. It was so rewarding finding a way to make sense of the apparently disjoint clues of this beast. I can’t wait to watch Simon’s solve now!

[@salmacis]

An astonishingly hard break in to determine that the 4 corners have to be 1357, and I'm still not sure I fully followed the logic to get there. But a beautiful path from there.

[@Atticus837]

Simon's mix of elation, excitement and relief as he got his first digit was so wholesome.

[@ElysaraCh]

Simon I recall you saying at some point recently that as much as once a week you get puzzles that you are unable to solve - have you ever considered doing "CTC Outtakes" videos as a bonus to showcase puzzles that were in fact too difficult to solve?

[@haniapopowska8966]

It's 4am and yet I am giddy with anticipation, because after only 50 minutes of game philosophy we are about to start! I know I will find birds of a feather amongst you who understand how excited I am 😃

[@aleksandartasevski1576]

Mark is just an expert on recommending puzzles, isn't he? This feels like watching science-fiction movie. Absolutely staggering puzzle. Huge thanks for Simon on not giving up on it. The way Gliperal executed it with these thermos's difference of at least 2, it's just mind-blowing.

[@asliceofjackie91]

"I'm sure this is really clear to many of you." No, Simon love, it very much isn't abundantly clear to most of us I'd dare say. You are a phenomenal sudoku solver, don't sell yourself short in any way! There's a reason most of us are here in the comment section, and not running our own very successful youtube channels!

[@annaweigand3884]

Dear Simon, I admire your logical abilities and your perseverance with almost unsolvable puzzles (Sudokus)! What I've wanted to tell you for a long time: you embark on a mathematical journey of discovery and you argue like a mathematician proving a new theorem. As many others stated before me: Brilliant puzzle, brilliant solve!

[@davidkay6655]

Like that Simon makes a duplicate grid because he doesn't want to loose his colours and never goes back to it

[@kathyjohnson2043]

Ah, but it was there just in case.

[@zmaj12321]

I would've done the same. When you're trying to get your bearings, it's unwise to eat your breadcrumbs.

[@margaretsinclair6697]

If the other puzzle mentioned with the 15 minutes of silence was put up on KZbin, there would still be lots of us here willing to watch it.

[@markboots_]

This was absolutely mind blowing, the setting and the solve were just out of this world (and way out of my reach). I actually cheered a couple of times during the video when there was a breakthrough. Very well done Simon and Gliperal!!

[@mateochavezlewis2868]

When Simon got the first digit, I nearly cried I was so happy for him!

[@jeffreytennant]

This is one of the most amazing solves ever. For this channel, that really is saying something

[@d4r4butler74]

Thank you Mark for suggesting this! Great solve, even if you were still puzzled and kept forgetting the simple things like "i" wings. Simon, you explained everything every step of the way and the reason we watch and can see the easy digits you skip over is because you are doing the heavy lifting in the solve. We get to watch and point out that your last digit (the 8 in r6 c6) had been the last digit in it's column for several minutes. That was fun to watch, thank you.

[@erik.isomer]

You’ve got to wonder how often Mark pranks Simon by sending him a puzzle that’s actually impossible, just for a laugh

[@RichSmith77]

He probably stopped when Simon kept solving them anyway, just for a laugh. 🙂

[@Anne_Mahoney]

Perhaps Mark thinks that's *always* what he's doing! 😸

[@jonathanhutton5100]

Gliperal take a bow. But Simon as well… take a bow. What a puzzle. What a solve. I loved this video.

[@emilywilliams3237]

Wow. I (for once, I hear you say) am nearly speechless. I did watch this video all in one go this evening (sometimes these very long ones I have to break up into two or three sessions depending on what is going on in my life), and I was astonished. There is no way on God's green earth that I would even attempt this puzzle, but I sure did love watching you solve it, Simon. Thanks for not turning off the camera, but keeping going on it. It was amazing. The clock-face metaphor made total sense to me and helped me see how you were envisioning the thermos working around that red line. Also your analysis of how the repeated digit would have to work and where it could be. I am amazed. Thank you so much for this video. One for the ages, for sure.

[@inspiringsand123]

Rules: 03:07 Let's Get Cracking: 08:25 Simon's time: 1h39m16s Puzzle Solved: 1:47:41 What about this video's Top Tier Simarkisms?! Bobbins: 2x (1:24:08, 1:24:12) You Rotten Thing: 2x (1:07:33, 1:43:24) Three In the Corner: 1x (1:41:15) The Secret: 1x (06:51) And how about this video's Simarkisms?! Sorry: 18x (10:19, 20:27, 22:22, 36:14, 39:24, 43:24, 44:59, 45:01, 54:50, 55:42, 1:02:27, 1:05:35, 1:09:04, 1:09:04, 1:16:27, 1:16:27, 1:21:16, 1:49:51) Ah: 18x (28:23, 42:06, 45:52, 57:25, 1:07:57, 1:12:33, 1:12:35, 1:13:00, 1:26:01, 1:28:09, 1:31:56, 1:32:46, 1:33:05, 1:34:59, 1:39:15, 1:39:56, 1:43:32, 1:46:14) Hang On: 14x (02:03, 14:53, 18:00, 33:39, 41:58, 42:56, 45:40, 45:40, 1:01:09, 1:12:22, 1:25:54, 1:36:20, 1:39:56, 1:47:16) Wow: 14x (45:57, 46:01, 59:12, 59:12, 1:07:31, 1:13:10, 1:15:40, 1:15:40, 1:15:43, 1:15:43, 1:15:43, 1:26:14, 1:45:35, 1:45:44) By Sudoku: 11x (16:51, 52:40, 1:25:02, 1:31:03, 1:33:55, 1:33:58, 1:41:29, 1:43:06, 1:46:14, 1:46:21, 1:47:00) In Fact: 9x (08:07, 13:25, 19:16, 37:07, 52:33, 1:27:45, 1:35:24, 1:37:34, 1:45:39) Pencil Mark/mark: 8x (1:16:55, 1:17:20, 1:20:29, 1:21:34, 1:28:38, 1:29:51, 1:34:48, 1:34:53) Obviously: 7x (01:52, 05:04, 17:16, 21:42, 47:06, 1:48:57, 1:48:57) Clever: 3x (08:57, 46:29, 1:41:32) Lovely: 3x (05:28, 1:07:59, 1:45:15) Incredible: 3x (00:30, 01:35, 06:14) I've Got It!: 3x (57:49, 1:21:59, 1:22:01) Snake: 3x (06:51, 07:55, 07:55) Cake!: 3x (05:57, 06:01, 06:41) Naked Single: 2x (1:31:03, 1:40:51) Nonsense: 2x (15:52, 15:55) Naughty: 2x (1:33:12, 1:41:51) What Does This Mean?: 2x (1:31:57, 1:34:11) Thingy Thing: 2x (48:51, 54:23) Good Grief: 1x (1:23:56) What on Earth: 1x (59:34) Useless: 1x (1:07:25) Goodness: 1x (1:47:25) What a Puzzle: 1x (1:49:47) The Answer is: 1x (1:43:46) Out of Nowhere: 1x (1:39:18) Beautiful: 1x (1:24:58) Brilliant: 1x (06:26) Break the Puzzle: 1x (50:44) Extraordinary: 1x (06:21) Deadly Pattern: 1x (1:47:20) Barbaric: 1x (1:07:22) Magnificent: 1x (1:44:39) Stunning: 1x (1:48:32) We Can Do Better Than That: 1x (21:40) Pregnant pause: 1x (1:16:21) Fabulous: 1x (1:31:39) Most popular number(>9), digit and colour this video: Eleven (16 mentions) One (164 mentions) Green (8 mentions) Antithesis Battles: High (4) - Low (2) Even (26) - Odd (1) Higher (4) - Lower (1) Column (7) - Row (1) 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!

[@malcolmjohnson4414]

Thanks bot!

[@Catfurious]

Best bot

[@matejbrozkovec8795]

Seing today's Simarkisms just makes me so excited for this video, thanks bot!

[@tokul76]

At which point he reads rules and realizes that there are five termos on red line, when he split red line only into four termos?

[@andremorr]

@@tokul76 from the beginning, I guess. Four colored regions are not thermos, that's just the regions where at least one digit should be repeated, if I understand it correctly

[@davidrattner9]

Simon, again just phenomenal solving from you and able to deduce the right deductions and break in to get it started. You bring such wonderful joy and love to a whole world of people. When you blind open links, that is an extra bonus from you, cause your reaction is priceless as you show a range of emotions from laughing, crying and even being "mad, furious and angry " at Mark for having you trying to solve such a brute of a puzzle . Constant thank yous and will be with you for the ride into 2023!!

[@cgoldbac]

This has been my favorite puzzle featured on CTC, but I'm not sure why. Something about the way it solves, and no other puzzle feels like it. Well done Gliperal.

[@PeterJavi]

When I found this puzzle, I very quickly understood that the movement around the rosetta put the lowest digit in box 7, because of the pronged thermo, so the starting digits I got, but after that I just blanked out. It was my misunderstanding of how the restriction on distance between the bulb and the tips of the rosetta thermos worked that made it impossible for me to solve. Thanks for this guide, now I can finally take a crack at it myself

[@markbennet9058]

This is already (at 40 mins) one of the best solves of the year - and there have been some spectacular ones. I do not think I would have spotted that logic, or at least not for a long time and quite a lot of trial and error to see what was breaking.

[@wolf7215]

This might be the first puzzle ever where "This is at least a 1" was actually a useful deduction 😂

[@crashtextdummie]

A monster solve by Simon and a beyond stunning puzzle by Gliperal. Every deduction in this nearly 2 hour video felt hard-earned and I maintained my amazement throughout at how the rosette logic, once discovered, had to be reapplied in different ways to each quadrant of the puzzle. Not just the hardest puzzle of the year, but an absolute highlight as well.

[@philbeaudoin]

Now you realize we all want to see that junk video with the 15m awkward pause in the middle. This is worth gold! :)

[@jovaji72]

A Christmas movie !! Let's 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿

[@m3rrys0ngstr3ss]

I saw the title and thought, "What could be so bad about it?" - and then I actually read the rule set and thought OH HELL NO.

[@davidblake6889]

Watched the solve from beginning to end, Simon. Congratulations on an amazing solve. To say I could not have even started to solve it is an understatement. The way you worked through the logic to get to a solution was totally awe inspiring. Gliperal, my friend, you are a total genius. How you constructed that puzzle completely blows my mind. Thanks both.

[@davidstorrs]

Simon, that was amazing. No other word for it. You keep worrying that we're seeing something you're not and shouting at the screen that it's easy but I am always astounded at the way your brain works to chew through these, to me, incomprehensible monsters.

[@JPgreekgaming]

The amount of joy it brings me seeing a ctc video (especially a 2 hour long one) is not normal lol. It genuinely has become part of my daily routine and it is impossible to have lunch or dinner without you guys! Funny thing is normally it would take me 2 hours to find something on netflix to watch the first 10 minutes and then skip it, but a 2 hour solve, no problem!

[@videogamersEU]

Weird how people have different logic in their heads. When Simon does sudoku in like 30 minutes, I sometimes do it for 2 hours. Feels impossible. I do this one in under 30 minutes and then I see him being able to deduce 1,3,5,7 setup. Weird. And wonderful.

[@MustBeTuesday]

I had great fun alternating between working on the puzzle and watching the video! It was always really excited when I figured something out on my own, but I definitely wouldn't have been able to get started without Simon's help! I can't believe between watching the video and solving the puzzle I spent almost four hours on this (not in a row, but between doing other things), but it was entertaining the whole time! :)

[@M4dMel]

I've finally solved it after many, many hours distributed across several months of hopelessness. Breaking in was amazing, and even more was the fact that Simon could do it in like 10 minutes! What a genius he is!

[@psythagoras113]

I'm only just good enough at these puzzles to grasp just how extraordinary Simon is. However, I am certainly nowhere near good enough to understand just how much of Enigma @Gliperal must be. A truly incredible video of a masterpiece puzzle.

[@ShadowRevenant]

Being honest. I would absolutely still watch a video where you spend 15 minutes in complete silence trying to work out a puzzle. Seeing one that stumps you into silence would only add to the charm.

[@Harry-qq2ww]

What a brilliant puzzle! We just solved it in... 1:51mins. Truly amazing. Please please please keep the hard puzzles coming - those are the best!

[@SurnameName]

and of course simon doesn't let it stop him and solves it in under 2 hours

[@Ardalambdion]

Under 1 hour if we remove the introduction and all greetings.

[@SurnameName]

@@Ardalambdion the intro isn't that long

[@KajtekBeary]

The bot calculated it under 1h 40minutes :)

[@AvatarBowler]

Popcorn time! 😃 Just reading the rules and looking at the length of the video, I’m already like “yeah, umm, uhh, I think I’ll pass 😅”

[@kathyjohnson2043]

I've clearly started watching too late for popcorn since it is after midnight here. I'll watch the 2 hours without a snack because I can't wait until tomorrow...good thing I'm retired!

[@connorflynn5142]

i’m very proud to say that it only took me 16 days, but i’ve finally made a deduction

[@Lucashallal]

A better way to formulate the break-in logic is to realize that the only way that digits would decrease from one corner to the other (going clockwise) would be using 3 thermos between them, and you can only do that once because of the restriction of having only 5 thermos in the red line. Then all that is left is to prove that if only 2 thermos are used between corners, going clockwise between them will result in an increase of at least 2, which is easier than what Simon did in my opinion. Though I know that the hard part is figuring this out in the first place.

[@rupreeht]

43:00 is perhaps my all-time favourite moment lol "yeah I see what's happening, I sort of see, I said I see what's happening, I hardly see what's happening at all"

[@Cream147player]

This - out of every puzzle I've seen on this channel - is the one that stuns me the most that there is a unique solution. I'm honestly still in shock at that now even after following the logic of it!

[@martinbull-gundersen8878]

Wow, just wow! That was an amazing solve! Solving that puzzle while also managing to explain the logic in a pretty understandable way is just crazy. Thanks!

[@ronco2645]

This was a brilliant puzzle - but even more it was a genious solve. Congratulations to both of you. Chapeau!

[@HelloNotMe9999]

Simon, your ability to puzzle out insane logic is as astounding as your ability to ignore the blindingly obvious low hanging fruit for breathtaking amounts of time… Bravo.

[@HeavenlyDemonicKid]

I always enjoy these longer videos, I find myself getting completely enthralled by the solve

[@CaveIronMan]

Favorite solve on the channel in 2 years of watching, well done gliperal and simon

[@kevinmcknight5000]

It is interesting and cool how Simon thinks of the rosette as a 45 digit clock. In my solve, I didn't do that. Instead, I noted that each corner of the rosette had to increase from its previous one by at least 2 unless there is more than 1 bulb between them (which is something Simon essentially proved). This leads to the same conclusions that Simon gets. For those wondering why: Rigorous proof: Label the 4 corners of the rosette A, B, C and, D such that A -> B -> C -> D -> A. Now suppose there were only 4 bulbs, 1 on each side. This means that A>=D+2, B>=A+2, C>=B+2, and D>=C+2. Thus A>=A+8 -> 0>=8, which is a contradiction. Thus there is a 5th bulb. Let that bulb be between A and D. This still means that B>=A+2, C>=B+2, and D>=C+2. Thus D>=A+6. Since A, B, C, and D are all bulbs of "fast" thermometers, none of them can be 8 or 9. Thus the only way for D>=A+6 to be true is A=1 and D=7, with B being 3 and C being 5 in order to keep the other equations working. This is the same conclusion Simon reached. Short version: In short, if there is only 1 bulb between two corners, the one corner must be at least 2 greater than the other. Since we can only add 1 more bulb to the 4 we already know exist, 3 of the 4 sections will only have 1 bulb in them, making each corner at least 2 greater than the previous. Thus the final bulb must by at least 6 greater than the 1st. The "fast" thermos then force the corners to be 1, 3, 5, and 7 with the extra bulb being between the 7 and 1 corners.

[@RichSmith77]

Nicely explained. I did it this way too. What sprung to my mind was the M.C. Escher painting of an infinitely ascending staircase if there was only one bulb per side. It took me an age to realise the increase in digits from bulb to bulb was forced to be 2, not 1. But once I got that, the 1357 being forced was pretty straightforward.

[@kevinmcknight5000]

@@RichSmith77 It took me forever to notice the relationship between the different corners, but when I did, I saw it was a difference of at least 2 and from there the solve became much easier (though it still was not trivial). I also visualized the numbers going to infinity, though not with the M.C. Escher painting. (As someone studying CS at college, I saw it more like an infinite recursive stack.)

[@KestrelQ]

I love the manual thermo edit at the end 😂

[@lylecampbell8288]

As usual with puzzles this hard I was unable to get started but after I'd watched you get started I was able to orient things and finish it fairly quickly on my own. I'm quite good at the mundane logical details but not so good at coming up with sparks of brilliance. You, of course, are made of sparks of brilliance.

[@evaskoldqvist8406]

Simon, you are simply amazing! Take a bow.

[@iDaVirus]

Gliperal is giving Phistomephel an incredible challenge for the role of the true puzzle demon king..! Incredible work on this solve Simon!

[@kr12a2y]

This one makes every other puzzle look genuinely approachable. Complete mastery of the craft.

[@timothyjames2477]

After you got me started with the three 11s and one 12 idea it only took me 334 minutes to solve. :) Thank you for the wonderful video!

[@Bonehead777]

Yikes. I am not sure I could even have started this. And ‘imagine if my computer goes wrong trying to solve the immense madness of a glyperal solve’ made me laugh out loud. 😂

[@robertpenn2152]

Seeing as though only 4 people have solved this puzzle, you’re not alone in thinking you couldn’t have started this one. I have a tough time seeing how it works AFTER it was explained to me. Bravo, Simon. 👏

[@offtheball87]

It took me three days just to watch this, but what a puzzle, what a solve. Such a joy to watch!

[@NB_703]

“What if I can’t do it now.” The purity. And we all know that feeling. Aww! I wanted to hug him right there!

[@zerareota1560]

I love watching the video introductions where Simon is just like “I probably won’t be able to do this one” and being like “oh no I sure hope he does it lol”

[@clistere2]

What an absolute joy of a video to watch! Thanks Simon and Gliperal, you madmen!

[@judu7609]

Did the video to the end, and just by watching Simon thinking, i am totally brainsmashed :-) What a great puzzle, and what an extraordinary capability by Simon to solve this. Well done mate.

[@FelipeRodrigues-vj1zb]

I just watched an hour of a Sudoku video where no digits were placed an yet I was still paying attention. Everyone comments on Simon's solving skills but he's also a great entertainer.

[@philipnitschko9093]

Simon you just proved that you are a BEAST!!! This was just an incredible solve.

[@timparenti]

Well, it took me the better part of a week to find the time to watch the whole thing amongst a few sittings… but it was well worth it. Sheer beauty in logic!

[@freddyridgway6913]

27:12 “If I maximise the gap between the repeated digit, then I minimise the forced arc around the clock that I have to go.” Someone really needs to compile all of Simon’s relevatory exclamations!

[@Pulsar77]

What an incredible puzzle. I definitely needed Simon's intellect to help me solve this one (I actually tried to use the Phistomefel rings, which got me nowhere). But once I understood Simon's brilliant deduction, the rest of the solve was actually quite doable. I think Simon was a bit tired after finding that amazing break-in, which slowed him down slightly. As an enthusiastic solver and an aspiring setter, this was a both an inspirational and a humbling experience. Hats off to both Simon and Gliperal!

[@metricsystempaulemploi5687]

I often do about as well as Simon on unusual ruleset, but I'm very proud of my time on this one. I solved it in 57:18. The beggining was tough but I got lucky and found the trick relatively early, and then everything flowed nicely. Congratulation to Gliperal. It's a truly beautiful puzzle, maybe the best I've solved.

[@dicebar_]

If Simon's postpones trying to do that other Gliperal puzzle until Halloween next year, he could dress up as a zombie and make the solve a Halloween special. Simon could corpse to his heart's content because it'd be _on_ _theme_ , and I'd happily watch the full five hour video!

[@andrewcook4873]

An hour and forty seven minutes is almost at least the time it takes me to do anything other than a GAS puzzle!

[@Wecoc1]

Once you start trying numbers, the red line looks a bit like one of those numbered mechanisms on safes, and it sure feels like cracking one

[@kf6eml]

Nah. I can Crack a safe. Not a chance I'd manage this puzzle.

[@clausewitzianwar]

The beleaguered "woohoo!" at 1:30:14 means everything to me

[@margaritashcheglova8670]

Gliperal's a legend, A legend of his time, He'll never be forgotten, His star will always shine! What a puzzle!..