This Might Just Be The PERFECT Sudoku

[APOLOGIES BUT THE RULES IN THE VIDEO THIS EVENING ARE INCORRECT. PLEASE USE THE RULES BELOW!]
** TODAY'S PUZZLE **
We've been urged to have a go at Rolling Wave by Lizzy01 and we're very grateful to all those of you who've recommended it - it's magnificent. There are so many lovely interactions across the grid to the extent that one comment deems this to be the 'perfect sudoku'.
Play the puzzle at the link below:
sudokupad.app/...
Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply. The 3x3 box borders divide a blue line into segments, each of which has the same sum. eg r4c8+r4c9 = r3c9+r2c8+r1c8. Different lines may have different sums. Along a thermometer, digits must increase from the bulb end.
** NEW SUDOKU HUNT BY PAWS RELEASED 1 JULY **
We've just launched a brand new competition - a sudoku hunt by Paws featuring lots of smaller-sized sudokus. It's intended to be a bit easier than usual as July is a holiday month for many of us so do have a go, especially if you're new to variant sudoku!
We've also got a new series of linked sudokus from rockratzero just out!
/ crackingthecryptic
Other treats on Patreon include:
- The Lord Of The Rings Sudoku Hunt by Blobz (and Simon's solve videos)
- Simon's solve of Sky-Skyscraper by Phistomefel has just been uploaded for our patrons.
- Mark's latest solve of The Times Club Monthly cryptic crossword
- Mark's latest series of solves of Connections, the daily New York Times puzzle based on the Only Connect wall game.
** BRAID STREAM **
You can watch our recent stream at this link:
kzbin.info...
▶ SUDOKU PAD - Use Our Software For Your Puzzles ◀
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:
apps.apple.com...
Steam: store.steampow...
Android:
play.google.co...
ALSO on Amazon: Search for “SudokuPad”
▶ Contents Of This Video ◀
0:00 Theme music & puzzle intro
1:33 Join Our Sudoku Club
1:50 Why our apps are different...
2:25 Happy Birthday
3:12 Rules
4:53 Start of Solve: Let's Get Cracking
▶ Contact Us ◀
Twitter: @Cracking The Cryptic
email: [e-mail]
Our PO Box address:
Simon Anthony & Mark Goodliffe
Box 102
56 Gloucester Road
London
SW7 4UB
(Please note to use our real names rather than 'Cracking The Cryptic'.)
**************************************************************
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▶SEND US PUZZLES TO SOLVE/CONTACT US◀
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▶FOLLOW US◀
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We also post the Wordle In A Minute videos on TikTok.

[@lizzyvv447]

Thanks for featuring my puzzle! This is one of the rare puzzles of mine where it is both one I am very happy with how it turned out, AND it has gotten a lot of solves even before being on CTC. In many cases, it's the other way round: The happier I am with it, the fewer solves and vice versa. It always makes me extra happy when a puzzle I spend a lot of effort on and/or am proud of gets some recognition!

[@skiesofarcadia4885]

I really enjoyed the puzzle! The comment about the nice flow of logic before cascading at the end was sppt on :)

[@tessabrisac7423]

Beautiful puzzle, and so enjoyable!

[@ruminator2943]

Loved this one, Lizzy01. Thanks! I'm not an expert solver, so it took me about an hour. But I enjoyed making steady progress without needing help and without getting stuck. 🎉

[@FrancisFjordCupola]

Well done, Lizzy! Sounds like it is harder to make an easier puzzle with a good flow than a hard puzzle that needs a lot of brute force applied before it cracks.

[@grantfraser5430]

Superb setting. I love how the partial deductions are just enough to lead you to the next step of logic in the puzzle. For a while I thought I was going to get to the end with the only digits entered being a few 9's. But now to watch Simon and see where I could have shaved 30-40 minutes off of my time.

[@henrymarkson3758]

I met Simon at a party. He is interesting.

[@JohnSmith-vz2cp]

Oops. Wrong rules there Simon.

[@CrackingTheCryptic]

Yes apologies. Please use the rules as explained at the start of the video (or the ones in the video description).

[@Squishy3757]

Yeah those look like yesterday’s rules.

[@chrisjones2878]

@@CrackingTheCrypticwe all goof up from time to time. I only noticed half way through! Keep up the great vids!

[@aleksapupovac]

I didn't notice before seeing this comment

[@youngms7971]

I rewinded the vid twice i thought i was bugging😂

[@TurquoizeGoldscraper]

25:28 for me - One trick I previously learned from CtC is on a 2-5 region sum line, none of the digits can be the same. If you try to put the same digits on each side, then the other digit on the 2 side (a maximum of 9) must equal the other four digits on the 5 side (a minimum of 10).

[@scottrosenberg2461]

You have instructions for the wrong puzzle on screen. Was a bit confused until I tried for myself!

[@emilywilliams3237]

I really enjoyed watching this video, Simon, and did try the puzzle first. But I decided that I would rather watch you first, and then maybe give it a try. Thanks so much - a beautiful solve of a beautiful puzzle. I do wish that the dozen or so people who noted that the rules are wrong had looked to see whether anyone else had already said that - and really, of all the things that can be said about this video, to focus only on that is missing a lot of beauty. Thanks, as always, for all that this channel brings!

[@Bunchofrandomsymbols]

This may be the first time I’ve solved a 3 star puzzle without having to bounce back and forth to the video. It may have taken me an hour and forty five minutes but still.

[@ellymm7566]

Clark here!! Thank you so much for reading this, it really made Nixon's whole day. And I did mean bean 😂 really cracked us both up though. Gonna watch this video another time, love your stuff and thank you again!! ✌️💜

[@lunardancer6047]

Delightful puzzle. Finished it in 25 minutes and the logic just had a wonderful flow to it.

[@chocolateboy300]

I finished in 37:08 minutes. This puzzle flowed so well. I really liked the play where I had to analyze two different region sum lines and see how they interacted with each other. The puzzle continued that whole way throughout the entire puzzle, which is impressive. Great Puzzle!

[@TomMalufe]

Anyone who enjoys watching these videos would also enjoy meeting Simon at a party. I find it silly that he always makes that joke whenever he says something in the puzzle is interesting.

[@mcs131313]

wow - one of my favorite. Definitely my favorite kind for a quick solve - not rocket science, but keeps you moving around and felt interesting and consistently paced the whole way through.

[@MarkBennet10001]

Hadn't seen it, just solved it - what a great puzzle - now to see Simon do it better than I did. The first Lizzy01 puzzle I did was Whispering Worms - still there on LMD - a bit harder than this I think, but memorable in my early solving career.

[@inspiringsand123]

Rules: 03:30 Let's Get Cracking: 04:56 What about this video's Top Tier Simarkisms?! The Secret: 5x (05:19, 05:21, 05:24, 05:32, 07:02) Bobbins: 1x (10:44) Knowledge Bomb: 1x (25:52) And how about this video's Simarkisms?! Ah: 10x (10:07, 11:41, 11:41, 19:17, 21:33, 21:54, 28:03, 28:33, 33:46, 33:46, 33:49) Beautiful: 7x (00:44, 12:40, 12:43, 23:51, 23:54, 28:03, 32:14) By Sudoku: 6x (20:00, 20:02, 20:29, 22:01, 23:09, 32:34) Lovely: 5x (00:55, 01:45, 18:55, 25:21, 35:55) Hang On: 5x (11:37, 17:42, 17:42, 18:06, 19:55) Sorry: 3x (20:09, 20:14, 22:50) Clever: 3x (02:47, 26:18, 26:22) Brilliant: 3x (32:23, 32:25, 36:08) I've Got It!: 3x (21:40, 26:15) What Does This Mean?: 2x (19:40, 21:00) Symmetry: 2x (00:44, 24:01) Triangular Number: 2x (12:03, 13:04) Goodness: 1x (35:13) What a Puzzle: 1x (35:55) Naked Single: 1x (34:31) First Digit: 1x (13:57) Gorgeous: 1x (22:08) Whoopsie: 1x (34:46) We Can Do Better Than That: 1x (29:12) Phone is Buzzing: 1x (15:40) Fabulous: 1x (01:20) Nature: 1x (23:16) Pencil Mark/mark: 1x (14:01) Cake!: 1x (03:09) Most popular number(>9), digit and colour this video: Fifteen (16 mentions) One (74 mentions) Yellow (31 mentions) Antithesis Battles: Low (10) - High (9) Even (3) - Odd (0) Row (12) - Column (11) 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!

[@frankjiang1857]

Finished in 23:51. Fairly approachable for region-sum line puzzles. For those struggling a little, look for lines which are very limiting. Fun puzzle!

[@dannstarrjp]

One of my favorite puzzles recently, not too hard but very enjoyable 😊

[@Paolo_De_Leva]

When highly praised by solvers on LMG and/or CTC testers, it is always stratospherically brilliant and unforgettable. Sometimes even a *cosmic-class* construction. I am 150% sure this one is no exception. ...That's the reason why CTC is the best sudoku channel on KZbin.

[@Paolo_De_Leva]

Solved. And I was right, of course. I believe it has been already published on *Cosmic Tube.* 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@pavva317]

13:53 for me. I have to agree that this puzzle had one of the most pleasant solves flows I have encountered.

[@VeritasUnae]

Took me a bit longer than yourself, Simon, but I really enjoyed solving this one for sure. Some really interesting deductions from the interplay between different lines!

[@BetrayedCow]

Something I really found interesting about this puzzle and Simon’s solve of it is that more than any other sudoku I’ve done alongside the channel, I’ve had more information (from making deductions and cleaning up pencil marks) throughout the entire solve, and yet Simon and I still had the exact same solve path. Like, I had tidier pencil marks in the left three columns from interesting deductions and play between the digits, and like an early 3 digit written in, yet it basically did nothing for the flow of the solve. And not in a bad way, in a really cool way to me. Because we both were still having to make the same deductions to solve it out mostly the same way, even with different amounts of information on the puzzle. And I just loved that because it was enjoyably difficult for me, and there was like one overall path (or at the very least Simon and I shared our overall path) to solve, but you could still have your own unique fun journey along the way. Great video and incredible puzzle!

[@DarkChasm]

Buttery smooth puzzle, like a rolling wave :) ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@Orenotter]

On this weekend of summertime yules A puzzle with all the wrong rules. At the time you and I Have Christmas-in-July, Simon serves up July April Fools!

[@davidhughes7174]

Quite brilliant. The puzzle and solve. Thank you Simon

[@David_K_Booth]

That's a very elegant puzzle! Simon considers using high / low colouring early in the video, and in fact that was the approach I had used. It made some insights a little easier.

[@zhoppa]

these middle box deductions... wow. brilliant!

[@RecreationalCynic]

Took me a little over 100 minutes. I'm proud of myself for spotting an arithmetic SET: I colored Boxes 2, 4, and 8 one color (blue) and Boxes 1 and 7 another color (peach), and removed the colors on the region sum lines that crossed into both colors. What was left were 8 blue cells and 7 peach cells. The blue cells had to add to 45 more than the peach cells, which was forced by maximizing the blue cells and minimizing the peach cells. I needed help from the video recognizing the logic in Row 8.

[@srwapo]

32:24, definitely glad I have experience with these lines, there are a few tricks with how much multiple lines can sum up to due to being in the same box.

[@Raven-Creations]

The more efficient way in is to look at box 7. The right-hand line segment is at least 15, so the most the left-hand segment can be is 15. In box 4 there are six cells on a line, so they sum to at least 21, but that means the right hand segment must be at least 6, and cannot be more. A lot of sudoku flows from that. When you spotted this, what you failed to do was connect box 1 with box 2, because as soon as R3C3=6, you know that R2C5=9 and the two empty cells in box 1 are a 12 pair. When you got this, you failed to remove 1 & 2 from the other 12345s in the box, which would have given you more sudoku to do, making the rest of the puzzle much slicker. By the time you got the 456 triple in box 5, you could have got 3 in R6C1, making R6C7/9 a 12 pair, ruling out 3 from R7C9. This was a really beautifully set puzzle. It has lovely logic, a great flow all the way through, and some surprises along the way. Your title is correct, it might just be the perfect sudoku.

[@phuybrechts6875]

Neglected the 1/2 pair in box 1 to get the 345 🤫

[@zoicon5]

I don't usually enjoy region sum puzzles but this one was a fun one to solve.

[@leftysheppey]

This looks like the perfect puzzle for mark, with all those markings 😂

[@gibbbon]

i've got to stop trying those so late at night and falling asleep on my desk, it ruins my completion time, i finished this one with a time of 7 hours and 48 min..

[@David_K_Booth]

"Human bean" is a reference to Mary Norton's children's book "The Borrowers".

[@daveturner5305]

? Roald Dahl's BFG too.

[@David_K_Booth]

@@daveturner5305 Fair enough, that might be a better known book now. The Borrowers was published thirty years earlier..

[@riluna3695]

The phrase is also present in a kid's book called Catwings.

[@Anne_Mahoney]

I used to love that book -- delighted to see that somebody else still remembers Pod, Homily, and Arrietty! 😺

[@francoisduez601]

23:48 for me. I struggled a bit at first but it goes quite smoothly after having looked at the right lines 😊 To sum up, great puzzle ❤

[@NaHBrO733]

39:57 for me Awesome puzzle, every deduction along the way feels like a miracle.

[@piarittersporn]

Brilliant puzzle.

[@TheClawNinja]

Fantastic puzzle!

[@titusadduxas]

1:13:52 - Wow! I made hard work of that. Time to watch Simon!

[@Drew-mr6tr]

Confused . Seems that the wrong rules are in the video.

[@chipsounder4633]

It would be cool to show a puzzle with the wrogn rules but have influence alongside the actual rules. i.e. an xv and kropki puzzle has sandwich rules. Fantastic puzzle ❤

[@AtOhm-VOD]

It hurts seeing how simon makes fun of himself about being the one you don't want to see in a party... because i'd enjoy it so much (perhaps i'm not fun in parties either, but whatever)

[@Cthulhus_Mum]

Us somewhat-socially-awkward-nerds tend to enjoy each other’s company at parties 😅 We’re also frequently quite good at spotting each other at a distance 🤣

[@AtOhm-VOD]

@@Cthulhus_Mum makes sense we're all gathering here then 😉

[@ajreukgjdi94]

10:40 I remember when someone asked a cybersecurity specialist what the worst virus theyd ever seen was and the answer was "Norton Antivirus."

[@daanperelachaise]

15:26! That just clicked, great puzzle!

[@Gonzalo_Garcia_]

12:52 for me. Very nice puzzle!

[@glum_hippo]

Congrats Lizzy01!!

[@MattYDdraig]

27:23 Magnificent puzzle. Beautiful interaction between line after line after line.

[@grimsqueaker5333]

Thank you for the secret. You are definitely one of my favourite people too.😊

[@VacantPsalm]

I got up to the point you did at about 22:15 (with a bit more on the bottom and left side) and had to throw in the towel. I peg legged my way through with math that was far more inelegant and exhausting, and I've had as much as I can take.

[@A_CC_K]

Yay another video, a million times better than the football that is on. Who else completely disagrees will Simon when he says he would not be interesting to meet at a party, I would love to meet him at a party.

[@glum_hippo]

Same here but I’m also quite um party-incompatible

[@A_CC_K]

@@glum_hippo same here, I'm typically the person who is not invited.

[@navster100]

What wrong with football

[@AndreAy1975]

Solved it with help from the video.

[@robert36902]

It had a nice flow indeed!

[@RhiannonAgutter]

33:10 for me with quite a different solve path, but I will always ignore lines and thermos if there’s plain sudoku to be done 😂

[@tBagley43]

1:11:11 probably didn't solve it as elegantly as I could've but still pretty fun

[@sharmilisharmili472]

Awesome!

[@ericpraline1302]

I wouldn't call it perfect, but it is very good and quite smooth.

[@onfire4godjj9]

Raise your hand if you'd love to meet Simon at a party!! 🙋‍♀️

[@mudscuffer]

50:33 for me. Couple tricky spots.

[@MarkWiseTechno]

I clocked in at 67:40 on this one. Tough but fair!!

[@muskyoxes]

Should have started by marking the two-cell thermos 12345678 and 23456789

[@awilliams1701]

Can you update the steam apps? The android apps use the CTC app interface. The steam apps use the old interface (and only 3 colors). Classic and sandwich don't have smart hint. Or could you re-release all the old apps on the CTC app? I wouldn't mind purchasing them again.

[@legitimatebusinessman5537]

I’m actually curious how to get in touch with the app developer. A year or so ago, something broke on the iOS app where it no longer works with the iPad magic keyboard. Navigating the puzzle was so much easier when I could use the arrow keys, plus keyboard shortcuts to change between center mark, corner mark, and large digits. Now I have to do everything with the touch screen which is a lot slower than it was before.

[@awilliams1701]

@@legitimatebusinessman5537 I didn't have much luck with that. The old UI didn't work on my galaxy tab a. But the CTC UI does. The issue was only sandwich and killer sudoku candidates would overlap the board and you couldn't get rid of the candidates. At least not in landscape mode. In portrait mode (which sucks balls on a tablet) it was fine. The CTC UI fixed that on all the apps. And some puzzles are easier to solve with multiple colors as an option. The old UI couldn't do that.

[@Kirbyfan87827]

Finished in 21:48 by following along with the video.

[@notthatseanbean]

Shout out to the wonderful human beans. I live with six!

[@PauxloE]

Hmm, that took me a while. I guess I didn't find the proper way of doing this? (149:00, spread across one night and an afternoon a few days later.)

[@user-kt9vr1wj6y]

41:52 for me nice puzzle

[@10prozenthimmel]

I think the rules in the video are yesterday’s yin-yang puzzle rules

[@six_5000]

109:11 cuz I'm too dumb to do grade school math in my head

[@Arcessitor]

21:48. Not sure if this is a 3-star, tho.

[@gingerscholar152]

I think yesterday's rules are in the video. Kept waiting for yin-yang to start

[@danecarter5454]

Chococo! (Winchester?)

[@theredstoneengineer6934]

17:50 for me

[@MichaelPaine]

22 minutes before I realised the rules were wrong lol. Thought he was doing very well without needing the shading rule..

[@titirenee]

52:09

[@nathanmays7926]

Puzzle: perfect Rules: not so perfect

[@robertcousins2274]

29:07 for me

[@Ratzfaz]

10:40 Bitdefender is complaining abut the rules ^^

[@LednacekZ]

29:09 for me. slow but i am happy.

[@SergioMartinez-ms9hl]

I was so confused until I saw the comments and saw that rules were wrong, he must be angry because of England lost and went to bed

[@zobososhizion6478]

01:00:09 You'd think I'd be better at this by now; I should devise a style easier to scan.

[@jonathanwest6266]

dunno why Simon doesn't do the easier thing with boxes 1 and 2 and look at the cells NOT on blue lines

[@glum_hippo]

? But that’s exactly what he did do

[@Anne_Mahoney]

@@glum_hippo Eventually. I mean, it took him a whole entire minute to get to it! 😺

[@thandolwethu3430]

You have instructions for the wrong puzzle on screen. Was a bit confused until I tried for myself

[@biggerinofudge]

Not during the game 😭😭😭😭

[@alexliu8003]

24 mins， not coloring anything.

[@nonagrey3422]

Perfect Sudoku? sees the time and nope... way too short.

[@tessabrisac7423]

😂

[@dertigerbauch]

Very strange... This one felt more like a duty than fun. Definitely not a perfect puzzle for me.

[@TPH250290]

thanks for the info

[@dertigerbauch]

Thanks for the comment

[@williambarnes3868]

Not the right rules for this puzzle! Switched off!