The Lost Phistomefel

[@RedBarchetta2019]

Simon: "Outrageous making me do sudoku in a sudoku puzzle." Also Simon: Ignores the special rulesets and just does sudoku. Classic Simon!

[@highpath4776]

wish comments like that could get a double like

[@iabervon]

It would have been amazing if when he resolved the 57 next to the given 5, he'd said "This must be 7. Otherwise, it would add up to 10."

[@DiMono]

There were actually two Guess The Setter puzzles that didn't get solved on the channel - the second was a sandwich sudoku, created by me. I hope you decide to go back and solve that puzzle too, because it got very good feedback from the testers and I'm excited to see what you think of it. I remember solving this puzzle and thinking it was among the hardest in the pack, even as an 8x8. Phistomephel's ability to discover and utilize new logic is out of this world.

[@Ffxfan197]

Welcome to 2024. Thanks for being a big part of my 2023. Finding refuge in the logic of a puzzle and Simon’s pure passion and positivity was something I look forward to every day.

[@johnnyw4life]

Simon: we have to choose a new color for this gray: let’s make it black. Also Simon: let’s give these purples a red and green flash 😅 Happy New Year everyone!

[@felemiah]

The reason why he did that was because the purple/red and purple/green cell still had a connection with the two unresolved purple cells in column 2 whose order couldn't be pinpointed yet (eventually one of them would become light green and the other would become red). If he had changed the purple cells in row 3 to entirely light green and/or red, he would've lost that connection to the other purple cells. For gray and black, he had all the necessary info and logic to pair them up without any "leftovers".

[@siddharth_desai]

@@felemiah Yes, but he could have turned the purple cells in column 2 into green/red cells, since the usual meaning of having two colors in a cell is that there are two options. The "flashing" makes things more confusing.

[@johnnyw4life]

But there are also the yellow-green and yellow-blue uncertainties as well 😮 it’s just something I thought was silly, no big deal 😊

[@bernardrapson6083]

The colouring was helpful … until Simon opted for GreenPurple and RedPurple which wasn’t the normal split colouring convention. Leaving one Purple as Purple and changing the other Purple to Red would have been more elegant.

[@HunterJE]

Yeah Simon does love an unnecessarily complicating flash...

[@stephenbeck7222]

I have no idea what was in Simon’s mind when he decided his various color combinations. And I’m sure if you asked him, he wouldn’t know either. But it’s all a part of the madness.

[@GeekRedux]

More elegant and more consistent.

[@ReapZ1373]

My OCD isn’t happy about the decision…

[@averygaron994]

Yeah, I have it when he double-colors a digit

[@esti369]

Me: Judges people for shouting at sport on the TV. Also me: “6 IS YELLOW!!!”

[@Jodawo]

Almost an hour for an 8x8 puzzle. I think the reason it got lost is because they thought Simon would easily figure out who the author of this one was.

[@Urroner]

The logic which goes into solving a Phistomefel puzzle is just so freaking slendiferous! He comes up with so many great puzzles.

[@andremouss2536]

I find that odd that Simon looks at the worm-shaped region to find the two available places for the green digit, but then only looks at the column instead of the cactus-shaped region at the bottom, which would give immediately the location of the green digit there.

[@riffclown8909]

I was very happy seeing this puzzle finally in the light of day. It's such a great puzzle and was tendered specifically for Simon to have a go. This gives me (and I hope Phistomefel) a positive final note on the "Guess the Setter" event. You've helped me be a good steward of the trust that was given me. Thank you.

[@GeekRedux]

Flagging the purples when all the others got unique colors made things quite confusing, especially since dual colors in other cells meant we didn't know which color belonged in the cell.

[@brianj959]

He’s so chaotic with colouring, it amazes me he manages to solve puzzles like this at all lol!

[@martysears]

That was joyous! What a break-in. I reckon this Phistomefel character is gonna be the new Icy Fruit

[@MaritWatery]

Towards the end I started to feel really bad for 2s because Simon would constantly ignore that a 2 couldn't be next to a 3 or an 8, but he would spot 3s not being allowed next to 7s fairly quickly 😅

[@azpcox]

My favorite rule set - All X’s and V’s are given, with no X or V’s on the board. :) Happy 2024!!!

[@longwaytotipperary]

😄

[@awebmate]

Yes! It finally happened! Lots of missed opportunities, and i think this is the first that actually does it?

[@LithmusEarth]

Happy New Year Simon, good start to the year. Phistomphel is great.

[@Pathogenus]

saw the thumbnail thinking "wait, that looks familiar". it was one of the few puzzles from "guess the setter" pack that i solved back in the day

[@crookedspin]

The purple color stuck around for moral support in this one 😂

[@EchoMirage72]

Starting off the new year with Phistomefel puzzle. Nice. Want to see more of them as it's been a while.

[@jasond4084]

Sometimes I find it very difficult to see the marked regions. It’s probably just me. Wondering if Sven could lighten the grid lines? Just a suggestion. That being said, let me get cracking! 😅

[@xnisfuzzy]

Instead of coloring digits like Simon, you can color the boxes individually, then use the letter tool to replace the initial coloring idea. That's what I've been doing and it helps my brain sort out the irregular boxes a lot (and I find letters easier to track than multiple colors

[@xnisfuzzy]

To add though, I do really like the idea of either lightening the base lines, or thickening the box lines

[@KevinAnnLowery]

Turn on dashed grid lines in the settings. Makes it quite easy.

[@David_K_Booth]

@@KevinAnnLowery I endorse this suggestion! Someone mentioned it just a day or so ago, and I've found it very helpful.

[@stupidas9466]

@@KevinAnnLoweryAgreed. And for those more myopic, using the pen tool to trace around the "region" borders helps a lot…i usually use a combo of red and black, making them jump out.

[@Paolo_De_Leva]

Yeahhhh, Phistomefel is the best possible way to start 2024. Thank you Simon. By the way, I already solved this using the link provided by CTC in their second "Guess the setter" streaming video, but I enjoied a lot solving it again beacuse I did not remember the logic path.

[@emilywilliams3237]

What a pleasure to see you have so much fun on New Years Day, Simon! Thanks to Riffclown and the Guess the Setter concept for this gem of a puzzle.

[@davidrattner9]

Happy new year Emily!!! Wishing you and family/friends a joyous healthy 2024

[@emilywilliams3237]

Thanks, David! Same to you.@@davidrattner9

[@longwaytotipperary]

@@davidrattner9 @emilywilliams3237 ditto! 😊

[@prahas777]

This is such a brilliant elegant break in. My goodness. Phistomefel just takes my breath away at times.

[@erichvereen1988]

Happy New Year to Simon, Mark, and the entire Cracking the Cryptic family. May this one be a darned sight better than the last one! 🎉

[@inspiringsand123]

Let's Get Cracking: 07:13 Simon's time: 41m37s Puzzle Solved: 48:50 What about this video's Top Tier Simarkisms?! Phistomefel: 8x (00:45, 00:50, 01:50, 02:00, 03:41, 05:10, 14:57, 49:33) Three In the Corner: 1x (06:00) And how about this video's Simarkisms?! Ah: 13x (11:08, 11:48, 11:48, 14:51, 17:29, 17:55, 20:52, 26:34, 26:59, 26:59, 33:03, 35:50, 41:04, 46:47) Naughty: 12x (17:37, 17:39, 19:34, 19:40, 22:31, 23:07, 29:54, 34:07, 34:09, 36:48, 38:04, 46:19) Beautiful: 8x (03:44, 15:35, 19:49, 27:48, 28:55, 36:31, 49:17, 49:53) Hang On: 7x (00:50, 06:38, 11:08, 11:08, 26:37, 26:37) Sorry: 6x (14:51, 18:29, 20:45, 30:05, 33:43, 40:39) In Fact: 5x (11:54, 21:00, 22:08, 23:36, 27:43) Obviously: 5x (02:56, 07:33, 07:56, 09:48, 10:37) What Does This Mean?: 5x (09:52, 12:53, 14:16, 19:55, 27:31) Weird: 4x (08:47, 29:11, 48:28, 49:50) Goodness: 3x (13:16, 35:50, 48:59) Lovely: 3x (49:38, 50:04, 50:04) Cake!: 3x (04:50, 04:54, 04:58) Stuck: 2x (14:51, 15:01) Incredible: 2x (03:41, 03:41) By Sudoku: 2x (07:37, 48:13) Nature: 2x (12:42, 27:55) Pencil Mark/mark: 2x (08:41, 10:27) Bother: 1x (42:21) The Answer is: 1x (32:31) Brilliant: 1x (04:43) Gorgeous: 1x (38:11) Shouting: 1x (04:24) Approachable: 1x (02:49) Surely: 1x (23:19) I've Got It!: 1x (42:26) Doesn't get a Song: 1x (06:06) We Can Do Better Than That: 1x (42:13) Let's Take Stock: 1x (29:32) Bar Humbug: 1x (09:52) Most popular number(>9), digit and colour this video: Fifty Six, Seventy Eight (6 mentions) Two (82 mentions) Green (36 mentions) Antithesis Battles: Low (11) - High (9) Even (2) - Odd (0) Black (11) - White (0) Column (21) - Row (19) 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!

[@jonnevitu4979]

Another intro that reminds me of Life is Strange

[@Sandra_and_Nala]

Happy new year!😊

[@R..O..L]

Love a video like this where Simon gets 35+ mins into the video with only four digits. I just know the break, when it comes, is going to be glorious.

[@herbststern2378]

Simon I know you like to forget about negative constraints, and I love negative constraints, so I knew you would overlook some that I would immediately spot. And I was in for a treat. You are just too brilliant and overlook little stuff, cause you focus on the big stuff ❤ happy new years

[@Kholgarus]

74mns but I solved it. I solved my first Phistomefel puzzle. Happy new year

[@DanStadler]

I wonder if Mr. Phistomephel left a hint of his identity around the midway point of the solve: around 30 minutes in the video. It looks a bit like a Phistomephel Square, slightly zoomed in on the upper left corner.

[@gombospatrik]

Me: Would be so cool to finish puzzle in 43 minutes like Simon! Also me: *finishes in 143 minutes* Simon 2 minutes before the video's end: Oh let's finish the highlighting.

[@longwaytotipperary]

Beautiful guitar intro!! Simon’s excitement at solving a Phistomefel puzzle is like sunshine breaking through on a gloomy day!! 🌞Happy 2024 CtCers!!

[@davidrattner9]

Going to be a great year on this channel and in this community!! 💙💚

[@longwaytotipperary]

@@davidrattner9 😊❤️💕

[@Anne_Mahoney]

@@davidrattner9 Yes, because people like you, and @longwaytotipperary and @emilywilliams3237 and the rest, will be doing your part to make it a great year! If it was just Simon and Mark, it would be fun, but it doesn't become a community until we all start, well, communing! 😺💚

[@xChikyx]

"No domino can add to 5 or 10" would have been way easier to put ahhahaj

[@virtuous-sloth]

Me thinking "how does Simon know that renban is 5678 after eliminating 1234 from it, when it could also be 6789" for *far* too long. Sigh...

[@Hetpust]

9😃

[@xyphic]

Equal parts amusement and frustration when Simon gleefully spots a trick then immediately forgets it and doesn't apply it anywhere else in the grid... (Never change, Simon!)

[@RomanPer]

I can’t believe I solved Phistomefel puzzle all by myself. Just over 50 min. Wow, I guess I’m progressing 😂

[@pairot01]

A tip for colouring in puzzles line this. Once you solve a colour (e.g. you found that gray is 4), you can delete all of that colour.

[@pairot01]

Also, purple ended up not meaning much, could have just used the red/green.

[@Anne_Mahoney]

Yes, some people do that (for ex. Mark) -- but Simon seems to *like* the colors! 😸

[@Xiuhtec]

Solved in 61:02 with no help, which I find a huge win for my experience level and a Phisto puzzle. Very fun logic too! Took me about 25 minutes to notice the key things needed to get the ball rolling beyond a little coloring but once I did it really flowed. Surprised it could have enough information for a unique solve at first glance!

[@ruokothyan7658]

Happy New Year and a big Thank you for introducing me to your Discord Community. I solved yesterday with joy a star battle puzzle.

[@arturslunga4226]

Easy, I guessed the setter correctly in only 20 seconds

[@SuperPlienie]

Happy new year everybody! Thanks Simon and Mark for being there everyday for me in 2023, here's to many more years!🎉

[@iambicpentakill]

Why did he change the 1/4 pair to black and grey, but then do the 2/3 pair with split colors? Aren't they the same logic? Like couldn't they have just been pink/red with no light green faffing about.

[@RichSmith77]

I too found this infuriating. He often subdivides "flavours" of a pair of digits by adding colour flashes to them, and it always results in a mess of colours. In this instance, as you point out, he wasn't even doing it consistently. Purple with a red flash and purple with a green flash. Arghhh! Just use red and purple, and cells that you don't know whether red or purple, flash them with both colours. You know, like how you have already done with green and yellow! Let's have some consistency, please!

[@boman987]

I expected “What a better way to start 2024 than with The Devil.”

[@the_Ghost_Owl]

I guess "Naughty Dominoes" is now the 2024 version of a "Cheeky Nandos" for me

[@noahvale2627]

I'm tempted to take up quilting just so I could use this puzzle as my pattern.

[@daniellemetz1433]

Happy New Year! Thank you for many many years worth of entertainment. Truly you have changed my life 🎉

[@leftysheppey]

One of the hardest Sudokus I've ever solved was puzzle 18 on your dominos pack by Richard Stolk. It was a full XV sudoku with no X or V in the sudoku. I found it fiendishly difficult, and despite it only being 5*s, it did take me 141 minutes to solve. I would have solved a similarly difficult puzzle in around 20-30 minutes.

[@bibliopolist]

"We can color this in later..." *argh* it drives me mad when Simon doesn't just remove coloring that has done its job, and confuses him and us unnecessarily

[@ChespinCraft]

The purple coloring is driving me crazy!! The red/purple boxes should just be red and the green/purple boxes should just stay purple, same as the grey and black 😭

[@anaayoung9142]

A Phistomefel puzzle that I almost was able to do! Nice way to start the year! 😊

[@stevesebzda570]

@15:43 I'm not getting why "we're picking numbers from 2-7." It's clear, we don't have a 1 on it (the 1234 not working needing the 1&4 diagonally - which is going to be adjacent in one of those other two), but I'm seeing we're looking at "2-8." (8765 is going to involve the "5" as is 2345) Is Simon saying (with that "2-7") that there's a guaranteed "2" on it at that point?? I see "2-8" (of which, there's a guaranteed "5" on it). What's with the "2-7?" Thanks

[@kapochung9990]

That's the 2nd phistomefel puzzle i can solve w/o help. Good start of 2024❤

[@wordling720]

Took me two solid hours, and I never looked at Simon's video for "hints"! I feel like I found the logical break in, but I did engage in a bit of bifurcating in the middle of the puzzle. I'm just happy I finished it without irredeemably breaking it! Will watch Simon's solve to see how I ought to have done it...

[@titusadduxas]

1:40:28 - Phew! I struggled with that though I appreciated the logic when I finally found it! I was convinced I had to colour the grid before I started getting digits! WRONG

[@neokart2660]

Now that I think about it, I've been doing puzzles for a year now and I think this is the first time I've beaten Simon's time on a Phistomefel puzzle. I mean (and I don't know how to make it sound good), Phistomefel's puzzles always reminds me that I'm an amateur.

[@Dojak1981]

at 29:51 me: being happy that I spotted that orange and blue can't be 4 simon: "ok yea, that is the worlds worst deduction" Thanks simon for ruining my self-confidence 😛

[@aylakherif]

simon, please be careful with your guitar hold. this might be unintentional, but if you keep holding your guitar this low, you might experience problems on your left fingers.

[@janerobson2297]

'Where does 4 go in the bottom right region, not next to 6' then fails to spot that there at two BRIGHT YELLOW 6s looking at 3 cells (not just 2) and so the 4 can be placed

[@patrickmuller7334]

After banging my head against the wall for hours here, including two or three false starts that forced me back to square one, I found it amazing to see you solve it in a completely different way. I actually started with the rings, discovered early on that the v and x rules severely limited their possible digits, which in combination with the high low divide gave me the 8 inside the Diamond-shaped ring as my first digit.

[@danielwolters9082]

Needes 2 hours to solve it but I enjoyed it very much. What a brillant puzzle and what a great solve from Simon. Thank you 🎉

[@BayleyGreenGaillard]

Simon and Mark: it would be helpful when talking about videos you've done int he past (like the guess the setter contest) if you linked to the relevant videos in the bio, that way it's easier to find them and binge. Thank you for all you do!

[@MORISENSEIISGOD]

I was stuck on this for 5 days... until I realised the negative xv constraint. Then I finished in just under an hour.

[@elle.mack.wednesday]

The pure joy you radiated while solving this really made my day.

[@MattYDdraig]

57:08 Always love a good colouring puzzle and that renban in the top left was a thing of beauty.

[@rafaelrust3561]

38:20 simon:"so that's a 5 or a 7 now" the given 5 in the cell right next to it: hm, yes definitely! 😂😂

[@MichaelGreen831]

My only confusion - if I missed it in the beginning or somewhere - is how is this a "guess the constructor" puzzle if it says it's by Phistomefel and Simon never tells us differently?

[@StephenStaver]

I understand the confusion. So basically the puzzle was originally made for a game where they had to guess the constructer. But that was over a year ago, and the puzzle wasn't done during that stream, so they're doing it now. But there's no longer a need to keep it a mystery so it is revealed who it is.

[@buzzly108]

The fact that you keep neglecting the negative constraint is maddening! :)

[@rosscoyates]

Over 2 hours. I had a tough time with this one.

[@Akatsuki69387]

The idea of a lost tome containing a Phistomephel puzzle is quite fitting for the theme

[@shccer2]

Saying "all possible Xs and Vs are given" and then giving no Xs or Vs is so rude. I love it.

[@tsbit]

What a way to start 2024! Happy New Year CTC family!🎉

[@Gonzalo_Garcia_]

19:05 for me. Fantastic puzzle!!!

[@zoharalon]

Wow truly enjoyed this one - took me just over 2 hours without peeking

[@robertcousins2274]

38:11 for me. started and ended fast but got stuck in middle...

[@Uncover48]

36:28 so sweet to see a middle aged man this excited 😄😄

[@bait6652]

Dont mix up the 5-6 halfway thru the solve

[@ajreukgjdi94]

How do you know the 'cells separated by X or V' must be dominos? Couldn't an X or V go on a point where 2 lines cross meaning the diagonals could be included as well. I know the finished puzzle proves this false, but how do you know starting out?

[@RichSmith77]

Familiarity with X/V puzzles helps. They're a fairly standard sudoku variant type that have featured on the channel in many previous videos. Like kropki dots, the standard is for them to appear between orthogonally connected cells. I guess if you're not familiar with them, then that could be a problem.

[@MartinFindon]

Happy New Year Simon!

[@shixish]

The purple is bugging me way too much 😂

[@thomasreuter1614]

This took me a while, almost 2 hours!

[@magnus_norgren]

Took me 03:03:45, still very proud i managed. (Not in one sitting of course, multiple evenings before bed i spent on this 😅)

[@magnus_norgren]

I see now that i couldve solved this much easier 😂

[@LivelyLinnea]

beautiful solve of a beautiful puzzle!

[@przemekmajewski1]

Spotting dominoes' definitely not Simon's strength... xD

[@przemekmajewski1]

3 sixes and one Simon staring at a cell... "where can 4 go in this region" :D

[@MrJeezey]

Hello! I just wanted to say, I cant even solve a sudoku! :p but, I find myself watching your videos, not knowing or understanding all that much. But the excitement and joy you have for this is making me coming back wayching more. Your content makes me happy and it is really relaxing. There is so much positivity on this channel. And you have become my favourite channel!!

[@deszeldra]

43:47 but it felt like maybe 20 minutes! What a wonderful puzzle! It's the first Phistomefel I've ever solved too, so very, very happy with that. Ironically Simon focused way more on the sudoku while I focused on the XV constraint. I got about halfway through and started deleting all the colours - they helped to get started but after a while they were just confusing for me.

[@markheisler5118]

Doing so much sudoku already! Do you dislike negative constraints even more than normal sudoku?! Happy new year!!

[@peringerszilvi]

It was one of my favorite puzzles. It took more than an hour to solve it, but it was just beautiful, enjoyed it so much. We almost had an argument with my husband, to watch Simon or think more about it, and finally got the breakthrough. Thanks so much Phistomofel and Simon. It was a great way to start the new year. 😊

[@davidrattner9]

Great way to ring in 2024 Simon with a Phistomefel!! Beautiful rendition of the song by the famous ABBA to group to get us started!

[@DecisionAvoidant]

This is the very first puzzle where I saw so many numbers before Simon did - I know you've talked abour people shouting at the screen in the past, Simon, and I felt it today! Nice work on this one 🙂

[@RubikSolver64]

Starting the year off right with a Phistomefel solve. 115:12 for my time and the logic was amazing.

[@levb258]

I love hearing statements like "'A' must be yellow or green" being about a Sudoku puzzle.

[@highpath4776]

Simon seems to have problems adding 4 to 6 and 3 to 7, it may be his dislike of region puzzles (as the logic of where 4 goes in the bottom left region seems to have passed him by

[@MC-ny8cc]

loved that laugh 32:34 😂😍

[@steve470]

40:06 for me. Great to see Phistomefelian subtlety on the channel again!

[@doncook4097]

I call this a fun puzzle.

[@joelstevens5670]

Beautiful puzzle and a great way to start the new year. Well solved Simon. :)

[@srwapo]

46:23, got the break in kinda quick, but was stuck for about twenty minutes in the middle.

[@dr_pepsi_4831]

I’ve been watching CTC for over a year now and I must ask…why do they have satan in many of their thumbnails?

[@chessw1]

I don't know their personal reasons, but culturally, as people believed less and less in traditional religion, Satan was seen less as a spirit of evil and more as a trickster, like Loki, using cunning to score off the establishment--also, of course, as an outcast who is interested in strange things that don't interest most people. People atheistic enough to kid around with this whole Satanic conception could easily associate him with secret messages and puzzle solving.

[@RichSmith77]

Usually appears on puzzles by Phistomefel. The name Phistomefel is a corruption of Mephistopheles, a German folklore demon.

[@biaberg3448]

Happy new year to everybody and special happy new year to Simon with a lot of 🍫🥮

[@skasperl]

38:25 Ah, yes. Almost.