This Seems Like a Miracle to Me!

Here's where you can play Irregular Miracle by GBPack: app.crackingthecryptic.com/JJ...
Place the digits 1-6 in each row, column, and region. No orthogonally adjacent pair of cells, read as a two-digit number left-to-right or top-to-bottom, can be a prime number or a perfect square.
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This month’s Patreon reward is a fascinating collection of puzzles based on snake eggs by the great Philipp Blume. You don’t already have to be an expert on the genre to enjoy this one, as the earlier puzzles will help you build toward success in the later ones. Join us for $2/month for the monthly reward, $3/month or higher to have access to solution videos. All members have access to a Patreon-only discord channel to discuss the puzzles and get help! (Lots of other great content on Patreon includes past rewards, cryptic crossword solves, more!) We really appreciate your support!
Recently released on our Patreon site (completely free) is a new, beautiful pack of Fog of War puzzles by Sandra & Nala called ‘Joyful Moments.’ Go to our Patreon link above to access the puzzles.
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Did you miss the Kickstarters for our books and e-book? You can now order them here: coffeebean.games/product-cate... Cracking the Cryptic’s Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and Vol 2, as well as the e-book editions of Fog of War (regular and deluxe editions), are all available!
▶ Cracking the Cryptic App ◀
Our main app (which is itself completely free) contains packs featuring Domino, Lines, and GAS puzzles, with a few special free sets as well! All the puzzles are hand-crafted by us and some of the best constructors in the world, with hints by Simon and Mark.
AppStore apps.apple.com/us/app/crackin...
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▶ ALL OUR OTHER APPS ◀
All our apps contain handmade sudoku puzzles by ourselves and many of the best constructors in the world, tested and hinted by Simon and Mark. Links are ALL here: crackingthecryptic.com/#apps or search for Cracking the Cryptic and the app name on your favourite app provider: Classic, Killer, Chess, Miracle, Thermo, Arrow, Sandwich, Domino and GAS 1 and 2, and brand-new Lines.
▶ SUDOKU PAD ◀ Input classic sudoku puzzles into our software. With 12 free puzzles:
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[e-mail]
Snailmail: Mark Goodliffe, Box 102, 56 Gloucester Road, London SW7 4UB
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▶Credits◀
Music: Tim McCaskey (Guitar) or Lucy Audrin (Piano): Mozart's Sonata no 16; and Mark’s outro music by Riffclown.
SOFTWARE: Thanks to Sam Cappleman-Lynes and Sven Neumann
Logo: Melvyn Mainini
Opening Credits: Joel Blundell
▶ABOUT US◀
Hi! We're Simon Anthony and Mark Goodliffe, two of the UK's most enthusiastic puzzle solvers. We have both represented the UK at the World Sudoku Championships and the World Puzzle Championships. We're also "cryptic crossword" aficionados. Mark is the twelve-time winner of The Times crossword championship and twice Senior World Champion in Sudoku, and Simon is the former record holder for most consecutive correct solutions to The Listener crossword. We hope we can help your puzzle solving while also introducing you to some of the world's best puzzles.
Thank you for watching!
Simon and Mark
▶ Contents ◀
0:00 Theme Music & News around the channel
3:45 Rules of today’s puzzle
4:39 Start Of Solve - Let's Get Cracking!

[@the29monkeys]

Mark, your usual signoff is short and sweet. I don't know what brought about this eloquence at the end but it touched me, all the more so for being the exception.

[@77kaczka77]

Mark solves the puzzles so easily and smoothly that I could be under the illusion that it is easy. With each new puzzle I find out that this is not the case.

[@johnpauladamovsky86]

This is the kind of puzzle which Simon typically gets the first try at, because it's a work of art... It's a 6x6, so maybe the testers decided to see if Mark was able to come up with enough fresh superlatives while formulating his summary remarks. I like to see happy Mark, so this was a great solve...!

[@Daymickey]

I’ve launched a party in the corner, sorry. 😂

[@emilywilliams3237]

It was absolutely fun to watch you solve this, Mark. Thanks so much for bringing the joy of these puzzles to all of us every single day.

[@longwaytotipperary]

Ditto! 🙂

[@randomnpc445]

What a shame, I was so close to figuring out the first step. Had all the primes and squares written out, I recognized the uniqueness of 3 and even how it related to 6 but I just didn't know how to work it into the puzzle itself. Usually when I run into a wall like that I'll watch the video and see if I can glean some nuggets of info from either the commentary or just by looking at the puzzle again in the video that'll teach me something new and help me finish it. But with puzzles like this I feel like that very first step is such a crucial part of solving it that it spoils the fun if it's given away. Regardless, loved watching the full solve! The way everything falls into place is just so satisfying.

[@MMN-pt8il]

I'm just an ordinary man. I see a new video, I click on it but I solve the sudoku first so I won't get mad at spotting a digit before Simon/Mark does. I think on my head: "It must be easy, the video is only 20 minutes long!", only to give up and watch the video because I'm not able to solve it on my own.

[@mynameishindubob]

I'm glad to hear you say this because I'm in the same spot. I try and can never seem to figure out how to get started and then I need to watch the video

[@zachpekarsky6905]

As a packer fan, i think you did concise justice to the aaron rodgers storyline. No major errors whatsoever

[@puritan7473]

I Love that analogy Mark! Many times on this channel Sudoku has approached me in a dark alley with a sandbag and clonked me on the head! (most often perhaps with Marty Sears' puzzles) Thank you so much for sharing these experiences with us!!

[@joana_drb]

That was an Amazing solve! It was absolutely beautifully executed and such a brilliant mechanic! Truly a great puzzle 😌

[@matthewkaseman7457]

Very cool puzzle - it's symmetric over the negative diagonal too!

[@sampathkumar-ej7xl]

Mark it is amazing that you found the pattern with 6s and 3s so quickly. I had to resort to some level of bifurcation to solve it. You and Simon are so good to solve these originals live so quickly.

[@MattYDdraig]

7:26 Good use of the irregular shapes for this and a clever idea.

[@dogberry20]

This was an absolute delight. I thoroughly enjoyed solving the puzzle, and I almost enjoyed watching Mark solve it even more.

[@Elezshar]

Loved it. Cleanest miracle in quite some time.

[@bennypmo]

14:22 beat me by 20 seconds... I'll get you next time, Gadget.

[@suspicious_door]

18:04 for me. Took me a little while to see the break in but it solved quite interestingly from there. Felt like a pretty unique solve path

[@markp7262]

09:42 finish. A very nice little puzzle, and quite approachable once you find the break-in. Fun fun fun!

[@DanMcKillop]

I live puzzles like this, and people like Mark

[@Kirbyfan87827]

Finished in 28:08. Most of that time was writing down the constraints for each number and then working out where to place the first 3; after that, everything fell into place quickly.

[@Yttria]

Loved it. Very easy once you recognize the two constraints on singable digits. What can precede them and what that means geometrically in the puzzle. Spent the first 15-20 minutes figuring out the constraints and coloring cells based on the leftovers. Finished quickly after that with a total time of 24:14.

[@frankjiang1857]

Finished in 14:43. Just had to enumerate all the things you couldn't have next to each other, and it became obvious what the main constraints were. Definitely not approachable, but if you know the constraints, it becomes pretty straightforward. Fun use of irregular boxes to force certain combinations to a certain area. Also, fun use of prime numbers and squares to constrain the puzzle. Fun puzzle!

[@jeffreyrosas1784]

Beautiful puzzle and wonderful logical explanation.

[@anaayoung9142]

THAT was an amazing solve!! I really had no ideia on how to solve this. Pure logical, but at the end you finished so fast, incredible!! 😀

[@ItsmeAndy123]

Very interesting puzzle, once the primes and squares are worked out it becomes quite simple. lovely idea. Time: 7:47

[@Gonzalo_Garcia_]

8:44 for me. Interesting idea.

[@NicoLeDahut]

Being French, I’m amused by Mark telling many times aide-mémoire. But now it makes me wonder if English has a proper word for it. I thought about memory-note, but seems not right!

[@RichSmith77]

English does have a proper word for it. It's "aide-mémoire". (We steal words from other languages all the time. It's ours now. 😂)

[@grahamania]

00:06:44 for me. Wonderful puzzle with a simple and interesting rule! Kind comment.

[@Rach881101]

19:28 for me. Interesting puzzle!

[@chitraagarwal8259]

Mark take a bow! You did a phenomenal job on this

[@missioncardiac7599]

What a terrific solve!

[@darthrainbows]

What a refreshing change to have a 6x6 sudoku that isn't an absolute gorgon of a puzzle! Solved in 11:10.

[@michaelhoffman2011]

I drew diagnonals across the board and was able to see which ones could or couldn't be the 3/6 combo.. Pretty fun puzzle.

[@mipsuperk]

I don't know if he pulled it off, but KNT was trying to build a chaos construction that could be uniquely solved with just question mark clues outside the grid. It feels like the ultimate holy grail to not even provide region boundaries.

[@titusadduxas]

37:53 - It took me nearly 25 minutes to get the break in but once I did it all went well. Time to watch Mark show me how easy it was!

[@jdyerjdyer]

Super easy puzzle! After making a list of what can follow each digit, which honestly took longer than putting in the numbers, the solution literally falls out of the sequence. Spoiler: 63 opens, then all the 1s fall into place, then all the 4s, and finally the 5s followed by the 2s. I'm sure the video will show the same, or similar path. Cool striping for the solution. Surprised the rules can be this simple. Fun 10 minute diversion! Thanks!

[@juggernaut93]

Wow! This puzzle was so good and so fun to solve

[@chocolateboy300]

I finished in 34 minutes. I quickly realized that 3s were quite restricted in this puzzle and tried to see if row 1 or 6 would give anything. I tried to calculate that for some time, before realizing that central cells are more powerful. Once I did that, the puzzle broke open and I smoothly made my way to the finish. This was a nice puzzle with cool restrictions. Great Puzzle!

[@jonasl7323]

What a wonderful solve!

[@TorstenWerner]

I was able to solve it by myself but it took me much longer. Very nice puzzle!

[@davidh.4944]

I fluxed around with it for about 45 minutes, spending more time just working out the possible combos than actually looking at the grid. I then recognized the key restraint with 3 and 6, and played around a bit with possible placements. I noticed the diagonal pattern pretty quickly, but I am not good enough to actually place them with any certainty. I finally decided it was a bit above my pay grade and bowed out.

[@dodgydarryl]

Wonderful stuff. Thanks Mark

[@jaredbitz]

I spent a solid 30 minutes staring at the puzzle unable to find anything because I somehow thought it was acceptable to use digits 1-9 instead of 1-6, and so 93 would have been an option instead of just 63. After a massive facepalm, everything flowed really nicely :)

[@mikepictor]

I was ready to nope out of this puzzle, but gave it a whirl after all, and I did it. I did use Google gemini to give me a list of all 2 digit primes and squares for convenience, but with that aide memoir, I did the puzzle itself.

[@michaels4340]

34:15, but once it went going it really went going! :D

[@hazzmando]

14:26 to complete. The first 7 mins were spent thinking the puzzle was broken because i assumed 32 was a perfect square 😆

[@vezonn8010]

14:04 for me, just like Mark 😂

[@piarittersporn]

Lovely puzzle.

[@spatulamahn]

Just yesterday I was thinking how much I enjoyed seeing puzzles with less than 30 minutes video time, because I have been able to solve them on my own. This one, I had it down to 3 being always paired with a 6 before it, but couldn't figure out how to use that info. Oh well, guess I shouldn't have gotten cocky! LOL

[@vulcandj]

Where was Mark when I was struggling with math in high school? Great solve!

[@coreydixon9713]

When working out the 3’s and 6’s, I just happened to plop them in the correct spot, but because it worked, I thought there must be a different constraint I hadn’t concidered and spent way too long trying to find it, just to realize what I had done 😂

[@brianmcadam443]

I only bring this up because you were laughing when you said "there was probably at least one egregious error" in your NFL knowledge... Rodgers didn't wreck his knee. He blew his Achilles tendon. On the 4th play of the season. Other than that, you were spot on, which is honestly pretty impressive.

[@bristolrovers27]

Exceptional setting

[@dudbike]

Brilliant!

[@cryam6428]

Had tripped myself up after forgetting that the anti-pattern is not just horizontal but also vertical. So I over thought the break in rather then seeing that the symmetry was forced.

[@murrayty]

It took you a little bit to figure out the initial logic (only because you noticed law of leftovers and spent time investigating it first) but once you did it was impressive how you were able to visualize that the constraints caused 63 to occur as side by side diagonal toruses.

[@adrianhead6272]

Completed in 6m13s.

[@Vic-hy2ml]

it was quite easy i enjoyed it!

[@angec9908]

I’m impressed that you know so much about American football including that Aaron Rodgers got knocked so early in his first game for the Jets. All I can say is you say Aaron like a Brit :)

[@nightwishlover8913]

Probably 'cos he's a Brit...

[@michaeldew7904]

That may be the crossword puzzle solving version of Mark.

[@puritan7473]

You mean he says Aaron correctly 😆

[@VacantPsalm]

Spoilers: > "And obviously we don't have to worry about 11, because Sudoku..." ... UHHHHH, wait! I didn't remove duplicates like that from my lists! Gosh dangit, that was a lot more simple than I thought it was going to be.

[@nicocost33]

11.52 for me.

[@RADZIO895]

20:49 for me

[@_-_-Sipita-_-_]

11:26 for me.

[@wibblywobblyidiotvision]

28 minutes, that was fabulous. I really enjoyed that

[@theredstoneengineer6934]

25:05 for me

[@mxpxorsist]

forgot about the perfect square rule this could have been a 5 minute solve haha

[@bigmacdaddy68]

Go Pack Go

[@f.b.jeffers0n]

🤯

[@RoderickEtheria]

Only took about 13 minutes to track the location of 63s and solve the puzzle.

[@mudscuffer]

Creating a sorted table of two-digit prime numbers and perfect squares sounds too much like work for me to keep any excitement for this puzzle unfortunately :/

[@JOHNWYATT42]

Too me way too long at the end to notice the 25 as how to resolve the deadly pattern !

[@missioncardiac7599]

Two mistakes, neither one egregious. Aaron had an Achilles tendon injury, and he is reported to be recovering well and is expected to play the coming season.

[@bruceh8043]

14:16 for me and solver #3158.