The Sudoku With Only 2 Given Digits

[@staylor5990]

I appreciate how Simon always says "We did this" and "then we did that" like I was there helping him. 👏

[@user-xw4mu6nz4t]

k

[@adolfomotanavarro6553]

Like we were there

[@Capataro]

Yeah it’s so cute

[@brekezek]

We did so much mates, I can't believe it

[@jimmyc00l]

it's a common thing by content creators to make people feel like they are part of something increasing the likelihood they come back.

[@SimonWitt]

29:31 "This square here is a...something". Happy to see Simon using my logic there

[@Memz23]

The pattern is "1, 5, 9, 4, 8, 3, 7, 2, 6" looped and shifts along the diagonals in the different laterals. I noticed this shortly after you got the main diagonal, and it's beautiful

[@artiomboyko]

It's also nice how it's just 123456789 if you read the sequence going backwards jumping over a digit (First, second from left, fourth from left, etc)

[@joaovaltrig3587]

Basically you try to find the closest number available otherwise you'll eventually softlock yourself and have to rearrage the puzzle from 0

[@hyoryo]

yea, enforcing the number cycle for all diagonals with those rules is nice. but the real beauty comes from the 1 and 2 which not only clamp the cycle and set its direction. they also define the shifting for all diagonals, by sodoku.

[@coreyyuhas6764]

It’s “+4 modulo 9” (leaving 9 instead of making it be a zero) which is really a beautiful pattern to be enforced by the ruleset and placement.

[@arthena2130]

Then you pretty much solved the puzzle in no time. Since you could complete a majority of it just knowing that.

[@samthomas1945]

"4, 8, 3. So again confirming OUR opinion about cycling". Feels lovely to be included even though im sitting here absolutely bloody dumbfounded by you 😂 what a mesmeric watch

[@SourabhDas95]

Simon, when you spot a deduction using a more complex technique than needed, it really speaks more to the massive toolkit that comes from a lot of skill and experience. A bit like how a professional photographer might have a dozen lenses they carry around. If something happens to be best captured by a default 55mm lens, than he might take longer than most as he has to find and setup his 55mm lens compared to an amateur who doesn't have different lenses to switch to. But if there's a situation where a 55mm won't work, an amateur will get stuck, while the professional with the entire array of lenses will be a lot more equipped to find a lens that works. EDIT: wow, this comment blew up way more than I expected it to! Thanks y'all! Although I didn't expect such deep passionate arguments about what a beginner photographer may or may not have. 😄 Perhaps I could've made this a lot easier by just writing 17-55mm lens rather than being lazy. I was mainly thinking about equipment for things like astrophotography or wildlife photography, where your starter zoom lens wouldn't really cut it, no matter the focal length you used, so I didn't think whether it's a fixed lens or zoom lens would have much impact on the analogy I was actually trying to make.

[@tusmester]

Interesting how he keeps forgetting about normal sudoku rules and also the uniqueness in the diagonals - and still manages to solve the puzzle with more complex techniques :).

[@Voron_Aggrav]

@@tusmester he has used a broad array of methods so often to crack difficult over the years he's been doing it that the basic tools have become a fall back instead of something he'd think about always expecting they'd be less useful than more complex ways, which in turn leads him to go hmm I guess I should've seen it using the basic

[@garingdahl]

He actually figured out the trick without realizing it as soon as he noticed that 2 was always below the 6 and 1 above it...if you then look at the whole puzzle, you immediately see the patterns emerge.

[@ClutchOuya]

Holy s*** that was a great analogy

[@juliabachmann2682]

That’s an amazing analogy

[@shimonbanana6973]

I can't believe I watched a sodoku puzzle at 1 am, it was an half hour video and I enjoyed every bit of it. I don't even play sodoku but it was brilliant! That pattern was beautiful. Absolutely brilliant stuff, thanks for KZbin to recommend it. I had no problem following your logic and you included us the audience amazingly Wonderful video!

[@LunarPogo]

I did the same thing tonight (1/19/2024). But at 2:30 AM. And it was my first watch of the channel. And I enjoyed it. Very calming voice while working the solution/problem

[@niekvanwensen]

@@LunarPogo same, but at 4 am😎

[@go_golden]

it's "sudoku".

[@mike1024.]

I... just watched this at 1 am when I couldn't sleep.

[@le_malooo]

@@mike1024. dang me too......

[@Intrebute]

This puzzle felt like loosening a rusty bolt. The first twist is super tough, each subsequent one gets easier and easier, though only near the very end does it feel like it's just coming off on its own. It was fun!

[@aryan_bo.x]

that's pretty much every sudoku

[@QuantumFeldspar]

Thats every puzzle ever

[@Seal_pup]

What a fantastic comparison!

[@chrstfer2452]

Such a great analogy despite it applying to all sudoku

[@mowvu]

@@oskarfjortoft you just had to ruin it Oscar didn't you? 😂

[@ammaraboamra]

Just found this video by chance.. and wow 32 minutes went by and I didn't even notice .. thank you sir for this beautiful content.

[@f.f.s.d.o.a.7294]

Can confirm time travel.

[@kathrinrades]

He has such a calm, soothing voice, and just his fascination and respect for sudokus is just so good. I’m no sudoku genius, anything above a “medium” level is a no go for me, but these videos just remind me how great sudokus are and how smart people can be

[@kathyjohnson2043]

Welcome! Be sure to keep watching daily and check out the 100s of previous puzzles!

[@hanahime5734]

Same 🥰

[@ohth8047]

Refound this channel and am transported back to being locked in an apartment room in Madrid for 3 months in 2020 with only a newfound obsession with Sudoku to keep my company. An absolute gem of a channel. Love the loop of: 1. Simon deduces a digit using multiple levels of logical inference. 2. Simon explains this in a way that almost makes me believe that I could do it without him even though I absolutely couldn't. 3. Simon completely misses a digit that is a write in based on normal sudoku rules. Repeat.

[@MikeJorge100]

this is so relatable, thank you for this comment lol

[@DonPedroTheDude]

This was my exact lock down experience 😂

[@erictfbat]

I'm in personal lockdown with possible Plague symptoms, awaiting a PCR test result, and watching this as a deliberate 2020s nostalgia kick. Who'd'a thunk you could have fond memories of 2020!

[@k_slyons7346]

Then all of us who saw it think we are so smart because we saw something he didn’t 😂

[@surferriness]

I think he sees the obvious numbers, he just doesn‘t instantly yield

[@lacivertumutkazankaya2042]

I don’t really play Sudoku, but the KZbin algorithm recommends me one sudoku video from this channel about every three months so here I am. Enjoyed it as usual.

[@bonnieomeara4877]

Facts

[@果従莞友]

The algorithm didn't start giving me these kinda of videos until I'd watched a few V Sauce videos

[@raistlin_dourden]

I noticed the pattern around 21 min in. Absolutely genius setting. Also, I very much appreciate Simon's professionalism to continue to use logic after he saw it.

[@krixlp]

you can deduce the pattern by logic btw. a 5 has to be flanked by 1 and 9 so you have 1-5-9, a 6 is flanked by 1 and 2 so 2-6-1-5-9, 4 has to be flanked by 9 and 8 so 2-6-1-5-9-4-8 and then you have to add 3 and then 7 at the end to make the 2-6-1-5-9-4-8-3-7 which is cyclic but there is no particular direction to it.

[@42Yarik]

@@krixlp That's all good for deducing the pattern of the large diagonal line which contains all 9 digits, but it is a bit tougher to deduct that the lines which do not contain all digits must follow the same pattern. Naturally it seems to be the easiest way to adhere to the sudoku rules by doing so, but that goes into guesswork territory.

[@sofiasofia-em]

@@42Yarik yes, but then you only need to deduce one number per diagonal.

[@JBakermans]

@@42Yarik This follows from the fact you can take box 1 4 and 7 and place them after box 3 6 and 9. this is true for all sudoko so it also applies here i guess.

[@B.Ies_T.Nduhey]

@@42Yarik To me, that seems inevitable...

[@marionrochas5424]

Don’t know why KZbin recommanded your video but I’m glad ! I haven’t done sudokus for years but I like watching people use their own logic to solve things ☺️

[@EntirelyPointlessContent]

I got a bit confused by the second rule. Didn't realise that meant adjacency also specifically along positive diagonals, rather than any touching corners. So I thought the first cell couldn't be a 5.

[@zaydmerhab6167]

Ooooh I was also very confused

[@sleeptwitch8950]

I also thought.. why does Simon ignore the given 2?

[@Aerialdan1]

Rules weren’t clear enough. It ruined the puzzle for me.

[@misofac]

@@Aerialdan1 Sorry, but this is your carelessness, not Simon's fault. If you read the rules in the video carefully, it's clear that "Along each positive diagonal:" applies to both conditions. Your way of reading the rules isn't consistent with the punctuation and numbering used in the video. (It would have been "1) Along each diagonal ... and 2) adjacent digits must differ" if it were the other case.)

[@EntirelyPointlessContent]

@@misofac Obviously 53 other people agree so maybe some wording can be tweaked. I've done almost 100 puzzles from this channel and have basically never been duped by the rules until this one It could have just opened with "Along every positive diagonal (i.e. ONLY southwest to northeast) , the following two rules apply", or "these rules do not apply to the mirror / negative diagonal"

[@kennymeier1]

I always say the digit in my mind a microsecond after Simon does, like, 6, yep, has to be a 6, correct, Simon! But that is because Simon is the most hospitable host and makes his audience feel like we're helping solve something I could never EVER solve. This is like watching gymnastics, truly astounding. Bravo, Simon.

[@philippeflores5287]

The cycling you found can mathematically help to design the puzzle thanks to modular arithmetic. If you consider that as soon as a number is greater than 9 you subtract 9 to it, the sequence of numbers comes very easily : 1+4 = 5 5+4 = 9 9+4 > 9 so it's equal (in the modular sense) to 13-9 = 4 4+4 = 8 8+4 = 12 --> = 3 3+4 = 7 7+4 = 11 --> = 2 2+4 = 6 6+4 = 10 --> = 1 And there you have the sequence : 1-5-9-4-8-3-7-2-6-1 That is why a 3-whisper rule is not sufficient to solve the puzzle. Indeed, you can't reach all 9 digits by adding 3 to numbers as you can with 4. 1+3 = 4 4+3 = 7 7+3 = 10 -->1 and so on I'm stopping here maybe it's too long and probably not understandable

[@spelldaddy5386]

I understand that you have a modular sequence, but can you prove why it has to be that way? Is there no other way to sequence the digits along a Dutch whispers line?

[@user-me7hx8zf9y]

@@spelldaddy5386 you could also do it in reverse by subtracting four, but these are the only ways to uniquely sequence the 9 digits.

[@user-semenar]

@@spelldaddy5386 Let's just imagine that the sequence is cyclic. Consider a 5; it must be flanked by a 1 and a 9, so you have 1-5-9. Now, 4 is next to 8 and 9, so the sequence goes 1-5-9-4-8. Repeat the same with 3 and 2. Since the sequences on actual diagonals are not cyclic, and are allowed to contain less digits than the full set, other possibilities could potentially arise.

[@meinkanta]

Yeah it clocks 4 5 4 5 4 5 on the positive diagonals from SW to NE

[@NolePTR]

This is perfectly understandable! The whisper needs to be coprime with 9. That leaves 1, 2, 4, 5 and 8 whispers.

[@joleneonyoutube]

still loving these videos 3 years on,what a great idea for a channel and excellent, soft, cosy delivery. still makes me feel safe and warm and gives my brain a little massage!

[@inspiringsand123]

Rules: 04:00 Let's Get Cracking: 05:22 Simon's time: 26m13s Puzzle Solved: 31:35 What about this video's Top Tier Simarkisms?! Bobbins: 1x (08:52) Cooking with Gas: 1x (21:54) And how about this video's Simarkisms?! By Sudoku: 8x (23:01, 25:15, 26:35, 28:58, 29:38, 29:40, 29:40, 31:09) Ah: 6x (08:55, 14:32, 15:24, 17:33, 17:56, 18:29) Clever: 3x (31:58, 32:01, 32:03) Beautiful: 3x (06:09, 24:45, 32:36) Hang On: 3x (19:47, 21:31, 23:14) In Fact: 3x (00:50, 13:38, 26:19) Good Grief: 2x (16:10, 25:22) Sorry: 2x (14:36, 24:47) I've Got It!: 2x (18:59, 18:59) Stunning: 2x (31:36, 31:38) Obviously: 2x (09:00, 26:17) What on Earth: 1x (00:31) Apologies: 1x (00:19) Stuck: 1x (03:01) Lovely: 1x (11:39) Brilliant: 1x (00:46) Fascinating: 1x (01:21) Ridiculous: 1x (31:40) Discombobulating: 1x (00:28) Shouting: 1x (02:24) Approachable: 1x (02:50) Surely: 1x (21:25) Progress: 1x (05:32) Wow: 1x (13:02) Almost Interesting: 1x (15:08) Have a Think: 1x (20:11) Cake!: 1x (02:29) Unique: 1x (04:59) Most popular digit and colour this video: Six (96 mentions) Yellow (5 mentions) Antithesis Battles: Low (9) - High (5) Even (3) - Odd (0) Lower (4) - Higher (2) Row (7) - Column (6) 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!

[@logantakach6113]

Damn that was fast

[@kiwii3278]

Impressive

[@DBCooperSan]

No secret this time 🤫

[@TheMano33]

24:15 Bobbins

[@akikomikikunojo]

You missed bobbins

[@TheFormerTeam]

19:19 That 6 could have been found by deducing that the 6 couldn't go into the top corner of that red diagonal due to the 6 in box 3 and that 6 couldn't be anywhere else along that diagonal due to the 2 at the bottom corner of the same diagonal because putting a 6 anywhere else along it would require you to repeat a 2. Really just an amazing puzzle, thanks for sharing!

[@thanderhop1489]

When the pattern gets to the end of a diagonal, it picks up on its complementary diagonal: the diagonal on the opposite side of the main diagonal whose length brings them up to 9 total cells together. For example: the main diagonal from the bottom goes 159483726. The lower green diagonal goes 4873 then the gray diagonal on the opposite side continues 26159.

[@Coyotek4]

I colored my diagonals to see this more clearly.

[@Adrian_Grey]

I had a suspicion at the start that it was going to work like this, but I couldn't figure out how to prove it. I'm still not sure why my brain thought it had to be that way.

[@olivier2553]

@@Adrian_Grey On an infinite grid, diagonals would circle through digits 1 to 9, so if there is truncated diagonals on the 9x9 grid, their truncated part should be somewhere. Human brain is very good at picking patterns (even patterns that do not exist).

[@alexsinclair5358]

This is easier to see if you make an 18x18 grid and write the sudoku in all 4 9x9 sections. Each diagonal repeats through a loop of 159483726 at different offsets. Interestingly, if you try to measure the offset of each diagonal by how many cells it takes for it to reach 1 from a line, you get 2 seperate repeating strings of digits. If you measure from the X axis, you get 042586137 and if you measure from the Y axis, you get 061723845. I don't know if any of those have any significance but it's mildly interesting to note

[@maljamin]

Very cool, yeah -- it wraps around then, like if you rolled the top to the bottom like a tube, with diagonals wrapping around as spirals. Right, I'm going to have to try coloring this in my grid.

[@globetrotter2126]

Went to do it myself, took me 104 minutes! After doing the first diagonal myself I got stuck and came back and used your 6 method, so smart!!

[@raineca]

This immediately reminded me of a puzzle Mark did a while ago, where he noticed the pattern and solved it based on the pattern, but did explain the logic. These puzzles are fascinating.

[@Lord_Volkner]

I never noticed the pattern. After reading your comment, I went back and looked at my solve and was like, "oh yeah, duh!" ... but it was an easy puzzle today, even without noticing the pattern.

[@thelogicalflamingo]

it’s 3 in the morning i have no idea what half the things he’s on about mean but i love simon very much i’m just glad to be here

[@s.grey.k]

I found this channel yesterday and am so glad I did! Very interesting to solve alongside and relaxing to watch everything fall into place

[@tank2045]

Welcome aboard...If you want to see the "Miracle" that started all "Miracle's" search for "cracking the cryptic the miracle sudoku"

[@davidrattner9]

Indeed welcome to the community Sarah. You will be amazed and what this channel brings to us. Tons of other puzzles to go back and watch. You will see some astonishing ones by zetamath, jovial, totally normal cat, tallcat , qodoc..just to name a few. Hope you enjoy it all going forward. Also Sarah, every Wednesday and Saturday Zetamath does a live stream of sudoku on his channel. Times are 10 am pacific, 11 am Mountain, 12 central, 1 pm eastern Check it out if able to.

[@sicoles]

Prepare for a big ride...

[@LithmusEarth]

oh boy i started fall 2021 (not that long ago) and there are some treats you have missed, some really stand-out ones. If I can figure them out I'll send them, but I suspect others with give you some suggestions.

[@tremkl]

Welcome to the community. If you ever get VERY bored, you’ve got a huge back catalogue ahead of you! (I’ll recommend a personal favorite, “Is This Sudoku Impossible?”)

[@someone3011]

I try to watch these as I fall asleep sometimes because I find the atmosphere so soothing, but the clever puzzle solutions always end up keeping me awake because I simply must know how it turns out in the end! So satisfying! ^^

[@erikbreathes]

the pattern, at least for the central few diagonals, can be explained as follows: if we take a 5, it has to be accompanied by 1 and 9 so we get 159 (the direction is not given). as 6 has to be accompanied by 1 and 2, it must join the pattern to create 26159. the same logic applies to 4, which has to be accompanied by 8 and 9 and therefore must join the 9 to extend the pattern to 2615948. since 9 is already used up on both sides, 3 must be flanked by 7 and 8 to create 261594837, at which point the pattern loops (the last derivation also works the other way around, 7 being joined by 2 and 3 because 1 is no longer accessible). in more abstract terms, if we make a jump greater than 5, we use up low digits that are needed to join the lower high digits and vice versa. as to why the shorter, much more unrestricted diagonals obey this pattern as well, i don't know about that edit: fixed brackets

[@Aurarora]

Thank you for this explanation!

[@chrisluke7786]

We can take the 1st 3 columns or rows and move them to the other side without changing the puzzle, or the last 3 to the other side. This causes the less restricted diagonals reveal themselves as part of the more restricted diagonals.

[@Hugh_Jas]

The shorter diagonals have the restrictions vicariously imposed upon them by rule of sudoku.

[@AFastidiousCuber]

This is only true for the longest diagonal. The length 8 diagonal could have been 16294837 which doesn't come from looping a segment of the 261594837 sequence. I think the fact that every diagonal follows this pattern is essentially a coincidence, the setter wanted it to work out like that.

[@emdivine]

An explanation for why the smaller ones do this as well: Since this rule produces a looping pattern, try drawing the pattern on an infinite grid and then pick out a random 9x9 area from it. (Or to do it practically you don't need infinity, just any size larger than 9x9.) All valid sudoku grids under these rules I'm quite sure are necessarily represented on this infinite grid (if you allow rotation, because it could be reversed) and no invalid ones are (they were produced by the rules themselves after all). And since in infinity all diagonals are also the same looping pattern, these smaller ones in this cutout have to be as well. Somebody else also pointed out that the diagonals complement each other: take any diagonal on one side of the central one, and find the one on the opposite side so they add up to length 9. The loop continues through both of them seamlessly. Makes sense since in any given row or column in the infinite grid, a number repeats every 10 cells so that makes the complementary diagonal in the 9x9 "lead into" the other one just outside

[@sfcpudding]

Cracked this in about 80 minutes between calls at work! Hell of a puzzle, SUPER fun. Thanks for sharing it!

[@SannevandenHurk]

Simon, many compliments on your pronounciation of Aad’s full name! I even feel you have been practicing? We have been watching for a little over a year now and enjoy your content immensely. As a Dutchie it is a huge compliment when people put effort into speaking Dutch as we realise it’s not the world’s most popular language :) Groetjes uit Eindhoven

[@Rose01bloom]

Yes, I'm so impressed! :)

[@markasiala6355]

This was one of the most fun puzzles I've done in a long time. I watched just up to around 9:15 (where he starts to fuddle with the 1-5-9) and paused the video there and then worked on it. Fun to watch the video afterwards to see how he approached it.

[@GreenMeansGOF]

Theorem: The only string of 9 distinct digits(up to reflection) which satisfies the Dutch Whispers constraint and is repeatable is 2,6,1,5,9,4,8,3,7. Proof: 6 must be surrounded by 1,2 and 5 must be surrounded by 1,9 so the first 5 digits are forced. To the right of 9 can only be 3 or 4. If we place 3 next to 9, then the next digit is either 7 or 8. If 7 is next to 3, then neither of 4 or 8 can be placed next to 7. If 8 is placed next to 3, then 4 is placed next to 8 and we cannot place 7 next. Thus, 3 cannot be placed next to 9. Thus, 4 must be next to 9 and the rest of the sequence follows. The repeatability of the sequence is clear and allows us to place the first 5 digits. We were not forced to surround 6 and 5 but if we are looking for a repeatable sequence, then the “surrounding argument” is not invalidated. Q.E.D. Now as to why this pattern repeats on all diagonals, I am not sure. Sharing of insights would be appreciated. Perhaps the repetition comes from the constraints of normal sudoku rules as well as non-repetition on the diagonals.

[@linnoff]

It's the normal sudoku restriction of unique digits in the rows and columns that forces the repeating of the pattern on the diagonals (given the rules for diagonals) There are lots of puzzles that end up with these sorts of loops if the rows/columns/diagonals are sufficiently restricted.

[@meiliyinhua7486]

I would imagine that it could be related to the classic sudoku "unique solution symmetry" rule: if all the givens of a sudoku with a unique solution have a symmetry, so must the solution But it's not perfectly clear *where* you would begin using this, unless one could prove that you can generate a classic sudoku's givens for a unique solution with some symmetry

[@PubicGore]

A more elegant statement might involve mention of permutations. Anyway, I'm a mathematician, so I found this quite funny to see here on a Sodoku video. I've never seen anything like this before, so I am quite ignorant, so sorry if it's common.

[@GreenMeansGOF]

@@PubicGore I’m a mathematician too lol. Yeah maybe we can use different terminology but the statement is still correct.

[@meiliyinhua7486]

@@PubicGore I don't know what the exact statement of the sudoku symmetry proof is, I think it's along the lines of "if there exists a unique solution to the soduku, and there is an automorphism (naturally, preserving the structure of the sudoku) of the givens constructed from some combination of rotations, reflections, and sudoku-preserving row/column/square permutations that is equivalent to a mapping of digits, then the solution has this property"

[@RobPizzaSauce]

I never realized there were other rules to sudoku that you could follow. This was so entertaining. Seeing the joy you felt while figuring out the puzzle was amazing. Whenever I figured a number out right before you did made me giddy. Thanks for introducing me to a new version of one of my favorite logic puzzles.

[@praalgraf]

very much enjoying watching simon and mark solve incredibly complex sudokus while i solve a regular average sudoku in the same time

[@therocknrollmillennial535]

Hey, we all started somewhere! I noticed I needed a change of scenery, so to speak, when I realized I could solve the "Expert" level sudokus that are in those newsstand books in under 10 minutes, so I'm thankful to have found this channel. Just keep working on your skills and you will improve! I've been doing sudoku for almost 20 years now, so, in time, that skill will develop.

[@justinpeterson7246]

Was blown away at how quickly you were solving this, then remember i was on 1.5x speed! 😂 Seriously though, brilliantly done and fantastic entertainment. Thank you!

[@m.m.8518]

I like how there were obvious Sudoku solutions yet he was so fascinated by the special rules that he overwhelmingly went for that approach

[@Nathanr016]

Never seen this before but I’m so glad it popped up on my recommendations. Calming to watch someone just do sudoku 😂

[@xskyzel]

The pattern clicked for me really quick! In every diagonal row is the same pattern and order! If you put one digit, you'll be able to put every digit on that diagonal! That's beautiful!

[@identity5481]

did this one myself and even though I had to brute force at times, I'm really proud to have done it under 2 hours. love your content for showing me these fun puzzles

[@donnaanderson8775]

I love following your logic, I understand it but not enough to duplicate it since I am a newbie. Would never have figured out how to start but I saw the pattern just before you and would have solved it that way, right or wrong. Thanks for explaining all the way to the end.

[@Nate_Allen]

This popped up on my timeline. I believe my brother showed me one of your videos a couple of years ago. He recently passed away and this helped me feel connected to him. We used to do Sudoku growing up. Thank you. I'm glad this showed up.

[@Fortaker]

I had a very vivid dream about Simon the other night. He invited people from all over the world to do sudoku puzzles, and got really mad when anyone wasn't busy doing them - very different from the warm personality we see in real life! He also had a beard for some reason.

[@LazerWulf]

He must have been from the mirror universe...

[@pjbrady47]

Mirror universe Simon from Star Trek. Mirror universe Mark has a full beard and starts all his sudokus with everything pencil-marked 1 thru 9. Plus he had all the construction people executed for their insolence.

[@JaymanOttawa]

@@pjbrady47 hahaha! I would pay money to watch Mark start a video by pencil marking the entire grid with 1 to 9... :P

[@JrrToking]

I’ve never really been into sudoku but I’m really into watching smart people complete difficult tasks and this was fascinating to watch! Well done sir!

[@klausku3285]

I love Aad‘s puzzles. Everyone of them ist marvelous, this one is no exception. How on earth could this grid yield an unique solution. And how on earth can you set (or discover) this.

[@rashkavar]

Randomly stumbled across this, and it's amazing how it snowballs and creates that perfect pattern. I see why the creator of this went with the name "Dutch Miracle"

[@Thubanshee]

This was beautiful. And now I’m doubting my sanity because I just watched 20 minutes of puzzle solving (1.5x speed) and loved every second of it.

[@bilabrin]

Just as 6 must be flanked by 2 and 1, 4 must be flanked by 8 and 9. 5 must be flanked by 1 and 9. With just those 3 rules any digit other than 3 or 7 gives you a clear diagonal run and the boxes make it easy from there.

[@HunterJE]

"The Dutch Miracle" sounds like how Aad would be announced as he entered a boxing ring...

[@notsure2312]

I am so impressed by the people who can come up with the rules for puzzles like these so that there is actually a workable solution.

[@musative]

I had so much fun solving this! Currently ill in bed with the shingles and been learning how to do cryptic crosswords with the help of your channel. I'm much better with sudokus than I am with crosswords but this one was a challenge for sure! I managed to get the first diagonal and figured out that 6 was the key by using a bit of trial and error. I was quite pleased that I only had to come back to the video once, to figure out what to do next. What a beautiful puzzle. Thanks for running this channel, it's such a helpful learning tool to be able to follow along with somebody else or hear the logic behind a solution when you get stuck. I'm sure I'll be doing lots more puzzles along with you while this illness lasts!

[@Fan_Lidla]

This is such a cool puzzle and what made it even more enjoyable is Simon explaining everything he does so you can process it by yourself while still keeping up with the puzzle

[@andrewnelson2525]

Classic Miracle in that it looks completely intractable to start with. A couple of minutes of pencil marks seems to go nowhere, then digits start to fall into place. Once you get so far as to fill in a complete box there are a half dozen ways to get your next digits and the solve accelerates. But that first transition from nothing to an actual digit is quite nice. I checked the clock and had several digits after six minutes so the blank period wasn't actually very long, but there's no way to predict that when you start. And it seems long.

[@Waggles1123]

I feel like most miracle sudokus tend to involve solving one set of 1-9, then shifting that sequence to fill in the next set of digits. I think it's a requisite to having a solution that a) consists of rules about the relationship between digits in a fixed group, and b) gives you two digits to start. One of the two starting digits helps you define the cycle, the other one tells you how to offset it for the remaining sequences.

[@18mg43ad]

I just watched this after midnight, the whole video without even skipping to the end, because I found it so mesmerizing. Love how you explained every thought. I'm bad at math and logical thinking, but I love doing Sudoku and this was great. Thanks.

[@martinator_videns]

Hello! This is the first time I watch a video about a sudoku, albeit a very fancy one. I want to say that while I didn't find much before you I did have fun watching you solve it. Initially I had to rewind to understand your reasoning, but eventually I started to get the hang of it, and had a genuinely good time. Thank you for recording this puzzle and have fun with future ones!

[@eply995]

I recently started playing sudoku and I grew almost addicted to it very quickly. Understanding how sudoku works, this video is mind blowing.

[@jambers8171]

This is ABSOLUTELY fascinating, love the way you explained the puzzle in a way that was easy to follow

[@chaoslimits]

It’s very interesting that after figuring out the 261 pattern, you didn’t begin to look for that elsewhere, or assume the entire thing would be repetitions of the same rule set. I’m impressed that you brute forced it instead.

[@tooky1341]

I've never done a sudoku before, only watched my mum do them. I have Dyscalculia which makes it really hard for me to process numbers, but somehow the way you explained it got me hooked! I loved this, and felt like I could follow your logic. Thank you, I'm not quite sure how this landed in my recommended but I am eternally grateful.

[@sierra5065]

A nice thing about regular sudoku is the numbers don't matter. There's zero maths only logic. You can replace 1-9 with letter/words, colours or even emoji. As long as it's 9 unique items the game is the same.

[@CardinalDXMP]

Thank you for thoughtfully explaining along the way. I don't play but I enjoy understanding puzzles in general, so it's been fun to learn the game through your commentaries.

[@aristizle8797]

Video starts 3:55

[@udyturner4746]

What a beautiful puzzle and you executed this perfectly!

[@sannekram9623]

And so after a year or so, we are back at finding a random video of this amazing guy on my home page of youtube

[@mezzogal]

KZbin recommended this video for some reason. It was fascinating! I didn't understand your thought process... . It reminded me a bit of maths class back in my school days - the teacher always sounded logical and clear, but I couldn't explain anything back to you later. But I enjoyed watching you solve this puzzle. Half an hour went by without me even realising it.

[@robinjones5874]

sedoku starts at 3:56

[@samroyer1081]

I started watching this to fall asleep to... But found myself very seriously interested in watching him solve the puzzle. Love his voice!

[@emersonarriety]

Every so often I find myself back on your channel watching you solve a Sudoku. I have no idea why it's so enjoyable to do so. Some combination of your charm and the beauty in the way the puzzles unfold I would imagine.

[@Zowers111]

Holy crap! I did not understand a thing in this video. I am not even sure how I came across it but dude, you are a genius!!

[@KingJH0510]

After the 25 minute mark everything just unravels so beautifully

[@mbgdemon]

Cracked it myself in an hour... I am always humbled by your efficiency

[@leojs5673]

I think a more aptly titled video would be “ANOTHER sudoku with only two given digits”, AKA one of the more generous grids in recent memory!

[@SamuelCardinal-ih7kn]

it's the first time i tried a sudoku from one of your videos and i am happy to say i got it in 2 hours, thank you for helping me discover a new passion

[@QueenBean19]

Been playing sudoku for a while now and never thought of any strategies like this. Fascinating to see that there is so much more about this game than I thought

[@cjtam7091]

I never heard of those rules

[@kingsley.]

@@cjtam7091thats because this is another variation

[@ksomzd4593]

This is so beautiful. Not only following your stream of thought, but also the puzzle itself.

[@coppertop9894]

I have no idea how the KZbin algorithm found this for me, but I’m glad I could spend 33 minutes furthering my casual knowledge of sudoku.

[@TechnoL33T]

The beginning was so intimidating, but after a minute and a half or so, I was done everything before you did. Good job getting over the hump where I would have just given up!

[@TBNAfrangsYT]

The pattern is basically counting up by 4 starting at 1, and if the number exceeds single digits, add the sum of the each digit. (1, 5, 9, 13 => 1 + 3 = 4, 8, 12 => 1 + 2 = 3, 7, 11 => 1 + 1 = 2, 6, 10 => 1 + 0 = 1, and it repeats itself.)

[@XOnetyOnex]

I did it in 68:51 and was like omg this took forever then I saw he did it in 66:15. I feel much better about that time now lol. Found myself nodding off from time to time too.

[@phoenixfreefall]

The breakthrough for me on the solve was realizing that 4s are just as restricted as 6s, and must be flanked by 8 and 9. So then with flanking restrictions on 4, 5, and 6, along with the normal sudoku rules, the pattern becomes inevitable.

[@gabrielzorrilla8000]

I never learned how to really play soduku but the way you explained every move you made made me understand what was happening and I could catch up easily. very nice puzzle!

[@stink6974]

me if i was medicated

[@craigjones2075]

You could probably play the original Myst game as for that version each move just goes a little bit and then stops each time.

[@djgulston]

I loved this one. Simon helped me with the initial nudge then I found myself ahead of him at times while watching the video. Good puzzle!

[@patchworkdragon2588]

Once I saw the looping diagonal pattern after you mentioned it I was shouting at the screen going “put a five there!” and “it’s a two, it’s right there!”. It was the closest I’ve ever got to being an armchair pundit 😂

[@real1963]

this is so interesting, being my first sudoku video I ever watched

[@Nekomancer_Evei]

I'm proud of myself for getting this in just under 27 mins (3 seconds under in fact), it took me a few times looking at how to do it, but once I gotten the idea of what was needed, limiting the rest of the positions was a lot easier, and it ramps up in speed to the end.

[@cameronmueller-harder3916]

Very fun puzzle! Worked through it in tandem, using Simon to get me unstuck (especially at the beginning, as I've never done a puzzle like this and had no idea where to start). Was very proud to notice the pattern before him, and ultimately got it in 30 minutes! Loved the video as always :)

[@ragnkja]

I did suspect that the new version of Myst would make you motion-sick. You'll probably love the point and click version if you can get a version of that to run properly.

[@zakxyz2813]

The new versions of Myst also have point and click mode

[@MithrilFist]

I just appreciate how smart this guy is. Don't even care about the puzzle.

[@masu33]

This was new and honestly fantastic. I mean I like how new the mechanic and the implications are. I'd reserve a green dashed line or something for this one.

[@SkatohGleason]

Don’t know how I got here on KZbin, but something about the logic and his voice drew me in. Now I’m hooked.

[@Fluffster93]

I would suggest looking for the original or masterpiece edition of Myst. Perhaps the slideshow style would work better with motion sickness than the free roam version? I would love to see it on the channel - it’s my favorite puzzle game series of all time. I wouldn’t want you getting ill just for our entertainment, though.

[@happycamperinc.]

For very long time i didn't understand sudoku. But since I figured it out. I am loving it

[@felixpetrar]

that's nothing. Once I solved a sudoku with no digits.

[@bahadirkeles.]

Once? Bro this guy makes them

[@mr1880]

Once I solved a sudoku with no digits OR boxes OR lines OR rules.

[@theneekofficial8829]

@@mr1880 did you just fill the board up with 9's or?

[@mr1880]

@@theneekofficial8829 you just gotta get lucky

[@cyrilthesquirrel4755]

What? Killer sudoku, that's a relatively easy form of sudoku to score 0 digits with, also, did you watch the video. It's clear its a quite difficult sudoku

[@randallmwalker2776]

A beautiful pattern. I couldn't help smiling once I realized it while solving

[@josephsalley1920]

This is what I'm talking about! You don't need a million rules to make a puzzle fun and interesting.

[@FeliXtreme]

Never have I imagined how entertaining it is to see someone solving sodokus. Bet many have said the same but it's simply fascinating

[@lostlife62]

This man’s like a Bob Ross for sudoku.

[@heymorado4372]

You were explaining the process so fluently that i understood the sequence of numbers halfway through the video. I doubt i would have logically thought within the confines of the rules on my own.

[@Richard_A._Watson]

Simon, thanks for another great solve! You are always a joy to watch! I am sorry to hear that the version of Myst you tried gave you motion sickness. As others have said, there are several different incarnations of Myst. I am certainly biased, since I worked on it, but I hope you give the one of the older versions of Myst a try. I guarantee the original Myst or Myst: Masterpiece Edition will not give you motion sickness! :D

[@straightupanarg6226]

You worked on it? My dad (may he rest in peace) _loved_ the original Mac version of Myst. You brought him a lot of happiness😃

[@Richard_A._Watson]

@@straightupanarg6226 That is awesome! I am thrilled to have been a part of something that gave him joy. I hope it has given you some pleasant memories as well. :)

[@-ion]

When I get motion sickness from a first-person game, the fix is to increase the FoV, or if that is not possible, decrease the size of the game window which is equivalent except for the area not rendered outside the window. For the combination of my brain, screen size and sitting distance, a FoV of 110 degrees tends to work.

[@jaimekatz6645]

This is the first video of yours I have ever seen. I love all sorts of Sudoku and logic math puzzles. Well done! I couldn't stop watching.

[@asterozoo]

I'm sick, my brain is practically like mashed potatoes at this point but I somehow ended up watching a 30 min video about a complex sudoku 🤔 Congratulations about making it so understandable and relaxing

[@indiahaze]

this is my fave puzzle i’ve done so far (mostly because i was able to successfully complete it independently lol)! love your explanations

[@thomasidzikowski1520]

You might try the old version of MYST which has static movement instead of full motion. Just a thought. Cheers!