1. Fireworks
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.
Digits in cells separated by an X sum to 10.
Very rough difficulty estimate: 3/10
Play online: SudokuPad | unshaded | F-Puzzles
For an added challenge, ignore the X’s. The puzzle has a unique solution and is solvable without them, I just thought it was a little tougher than I was going for (without the X’s I’d probably put the difficulty at 5/10).
New to variant sudoku? Check out these beginner-friendly guides to killer cages and other popular rulesets.
2. Steerage
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.
Thermometers: digits on thermometers increase from the bulb.
Digits in cells with a shaded square must be even.
Very rough difficulty estimate: 5/10
Play online: SudokuPad | unshaded | F-Puzzles
3. Quarters
Normal sudoku rules apply (fill each row, column, and 3x3 box with the digits 1-9 once each).
Correctly placed digits clear the fog around them.
Dutch whispers: along orange lines, digits must differ from their neighbors by at least 4.
Renban lines: purple lines contain a non-repeating set of consecutive digits in any order.
Quadruple circles: a digit inside a white circle must appear in one of the four cells surrounding that circle. Each circle contains four distinct digits, which are listed in numerical order (left to right and top to bottom) but can appear in any order around the circle.
Very rough difficulty estimates: 7/10, 5/10
Note that the rules above don’t say “all clues are standard”. This is because the quadruple circles are more restricted than they usually are (albeit in a way that wouldn’t need to be pointed out in a puzzle without fog). Normally a quadruple circle can contain fewer than four digits and/or repeated digits, but that’s not the case here.
Play online: SudokuPad
Extra clues: SudokuPad
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This week’s meta-description:
Those of you who like grids with rotational symmetry will probably enjoy this week’s second puzzle. As for those of you who like *solutions* with rotational symmetry—well, I’m not going to spoil anything…
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