Artisanal Sudoku, Volume 164

1. Covalence

• Normal sudoku rules apply (fill each row, column, and 3x3 box with the digits 1-9 once each), and all clues are standard.

• Cages: the sum of the digits inside each cage is equal to the small number in the top left corner.

• Quadruple circles: a digit inside a white circle must appear in at least one of the four cells surrounding that circle.

• Very rough difficulty estimate: 3/10

Play online: SudokuPad | unshaded

New to variant sudoku? Check out these beginner-friendly guides to killer cages and other popular rulesets.

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Just wanted to quickly mention two relatively new* YouTubers:

• ChattyKathy, who recently featured last week's third puzzle, Handle With Care, and

• Timotab, who has featured a few of my puzzles (including this very old one) and also happens to be the author of this week’s third puzzle.

Having tried it a handful of times, I can confirm that solving a puzzle on-camera while talking through the logic is not easy, and these two are both very good at it, so please check them out 😃

*Well, not *that* new, but in both cases less than a year, I think.

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2. Dumbbell

• Normal sudoku rules apply (fill each row, column, and 3x3 box with the digits 1-9 once each), and all clues are standard.

• 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 circle are odd (note: this does not necessarily include the digits in the thermometer bulbs).

• Digits in cells separated by a white dot are consecutive.

• Very rough difficulty estimate: 6/10

Play online: SudokuPad | unshaded

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3. Whirligig, by Timotab (YouTube, LMD)

• Normal sudoku rules apply (fill each row, column, and 3x3 box with the digits 1-9 once each), and all clues are standard.

• Region sum lines: box borders divide each blue line into segments with the same sum.

• Digits in cells separated by a white dot are consecutive.

• Digits in cells separated by a black dot have a 1:2 ratio.

• Very rough difficulty estimates: 8/10, 6/10

Play online: SudokuPad

Extra clues: SudokuPad

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Some other puzzles I enjoyed this week:

• c.dot, by arctan

• Every Which Way, by Gerhard1963

• Shikaku Killer, by Ennead

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This week’s meta-description:
Been getting some really good submissions lately, and this slate features another one.

For premium subscribers, hints and two more bonus puzzles are below. This week: the long-awaited (?) return of counting circles!