1. Ships in the Night
Normal sudoku rules apply (fill each row, column, and 3x3 box with the digits 1-9 once each), and all clues are standard.
Thermometers: digits on thermometers increase from the bulb.
Quadruple circles: a digit inside a white circle must appear in at least one of the four cells surrounding that circle (if a digit is repeated, that digit must appear in *two* of the cells surrounding that circle).
Very rough difficulty estimate: 4/10
Play online: SudokuPad | F-Puzzles
New to variant sudoku? Check out these beginner-friendly guides to killer cages and other popular rulesets.
Two quick announcements: first, check out Craven, from Volume 128, on Cracking the Cryptic. I’ve been lucky enough to have a few of my puzzles featured there, and it’s still a real honor every time.
Also, without taking anything away from this week’s slate (which includes an absolutely delightful submission from NotSoMagnifique), I wanted to start building some hype for next week—135 may not immediately spring to mind as a multiple of 45, but it is a multiple of 45, which means, like Volumes 45 and 90, next week’s Artisanal Sudoku will be paywall-free, bonus puzzles and hints and all. I’ve already got the puzzles picked out, and I can’t wait to share them.
2. German Beetles, by NotSoMagnifique
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.
Thermometers: digits on thermometers increase from the bulb.
German whispers: along green lines, digits must differ from their neighbors by at least 5.
Palindromes: gray lines (without bulbs) are palindromes, which contain the same sequence of digits in either direction.
Digits in cells separated by a V sum to 5.
Digits in cells separated by an X sum to 10.
Digits in cells separated by a white dot are consecutive.
Very rough difficulty estimate: 4/10
Play online: SudokuPad | F-Puzzles
3. Allision
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.
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.
Digits in cells with a shaded square must be even.
Very rough difficulty estimates: 7/10, 6/10
Play online: SudokuPad | unshaded | F-Puzzles
Extra clues: SudokuPad | unshaded | F-Puzzles
Some other puzzles I enjoyed this week:
Color me stoked, by Chris Napolitano
Modular Shhhtaples, by FullDeck and Missing a Few Cards
Single Ten Line, by AFrayedKnot
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This week’s meta-description:
Relatively easy slate this week, I suppose. But don’t worry, there are plenty of tough ones in the pipeline.
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