Artisanal Sudoku, Volume 130
1. Wind Up
Normal sudoku rules apply (fill each row, column, and 3x3 box with the digits 1-9 once each), and all clues are standard.
Killer cages: the sum of the digits inside each cage is equal to the small number in the top left corner.
Digits in cells separated by a black dot have a 1:2 ratio.
Very rough difficulty estimate: 3/10
Play online: SudokuPad | unshaded | F-Puzzles
New to variant sudoku? Check out these beginner-friendly guides to killer cages and other popular rulesets.
2. Framework
Normal sudoku rules apply (fill each row, column, and 3x3 box with the digits 1-9 once each), and all clues are standard.
Arrows: the sum of the digits along an arrow is equal to the digit in the connected circle, and these digits can repeat if allowed by other rules.
Thermometers: digits on thermometers increase from the bulb.
Digits in cells separated by a V sum to 5.
Digits in cells separated by an X sum to 10.
Very rough difficulty estimate: 5/10
Play online: SudokuPad | F-Puzzles
3. Slumber
Normal sudoku rules apply (fill each row, column, and 3x3 box with the digits 1-9 once each), and all clues are standard.
Killer cages: the sum of the digits inside each cage is equal to the small number in the top left corner, and digits cannot repeat within a cage.
Quadruple circles: a digit inside a white circle must appear in at least one of the four cells surrounding that circle.
Digits in cells separated by a (smaller) white dot are consecutive.
Digits in cells separated by a black dot have a 1:2 ratio.
Very rough difficulty estimates: 7/10, 5/10
Play online: SudokuPad | unshaded | F-Puzzles
Extra clues: SudokuPad | unshaded | F-Puzzles
Non-paywalled bonus puzzle! (Some commentary, with mild spoilers, below.)
Subtraction Game, by sujoyku
Normal sudoku rules apply (fill each row, column, and 3x3 box with the digits 1-9 once each), and all clues are standard.
Digits cannot repeat on the indicated diagonal.
Killer cages: the sum of the digits inside each cage is equal to the small number in the top left corner.
Arrows: the sum of the digits along an arrow is equal to the digit in the connected circle, and these digits can repeat if allowed by other rules.
Very rough difficulty estimate: 6/10
Play online: SudokuPad | F-Puzzles
I like this puzzle a lot, but I think it has a bit of an either-you-get-it-or-you-don’t quality to it, which is something I prefer to avoid in the regular weekly set of free puzzles (this quality also makes it even tougher than usual to rate the difficulty). But I still absolutely wanted to share it because I think if you do get it, it’ll be very rewarding. And if you don’t, think about the title 😁
Speaking of sujoyku, here are some other puzzles I enjoyed this week:
Three little burgers, by sujoyku
Double Helix, by voldemortensen
Coloring 18 Sandwiches, by RockyRoer
Also, this has nothing (well, not a lot) to do with sudoku, but I wanted to recommend the Now I Know newsletter, by Dan Lewis. Each week, Dan delivers four fascinating, well-researched true stories, and then on Friday he shares some interesting things from around the internet. In fact, it’s very possible that Artisanal Sudoku would not exist without Now I Know—years ago, Dan shared a link to a Cracking the Cryptic video, which is how I first discovered the world of hand-crafted variant sudoku.
Thanks for subscribing to Artisanal Sudoku! Feedback is always appreciated, just leave a comment, reach out on Twitter X, or reply to this email. If you liked these puzzles, you probably know someone else who’d like them too, so please spread the word. If you’re interested in submitting a puzzle, click here for more information. And if you want to try more of my puzzles—including several that are tougher than the ones you’ll find here—check out my page on Logic Masters Deutschland.
This week’s meta-description:
Six puzzles this week! And I’ve already committed to six next week, with the return of the Prime Week Bonus Puzzle, so, setting a dangerous precedent here…
For premium subscribers, two more bonus puzzles and hints for all six (!) puzzles are below. If you like chess-based constraints, this would be a good week to sign up.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Artisanal Sudoku to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.