Artisanal Sudoku, Volume 165

1. Block Party

• 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.

• 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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2. Westerdok

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

• Correctly placed digits clear the fog around them.

• Thermometers: digits on thermometers increase from the bulb.

• Dutch whispers: along orange lines, digits must differ from their neighbors by at least 4.

• Very rough difficulty estimate: 5/10

Play online: SudokuPad | version without fog

I’ll concede that this one doesn’t have the best visual presentation, but I hope the logic is nice enough to make up for it. Just keep in mind that in some parts of the puzzle, including the cell that’s visible at the start, there are overlapping Dutch whisper lines and thermometers.

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3. Slow Burn

• 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.

• 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 are even (note that there is an even square in r2c2).

• The digit in the cell with a shaded circle is odd.

• Very rough difficulty estimates: 9/10, 6/10

Play online: SudokuPad | unshaded

Extra clues: SudokuPad | unshaded

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Some other puzzles I enjoyed this week:

• A Flurry of Leaves, by Matt Tressel

• Willis Tower, by LMDemasi

• Mirror Paradox, by Graggle

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This week’s meta-description:
One of this week’s puzzles is among my favorites in recent memory (and the rest are pretty good too, I think).

For premium subscribers, hints and two more bonus puzzles are below. This week: some complicated renban geometry and a negative constraint!