Artisanal Sudoku, Volume 186

Read the rules carefully for this one!

1. Quartets

• 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.

• Quadruple circles: a digit inside a white circle appears in one of the four cells surrounding that circle (if a digit repeats in a circle, it appears in two of the surrounding cells). Each circle contains four digits, which are listed from lowest to highest (left to right, top to bottom).

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

• Very rough difficulty estimate: 4/10

Play online: SudokuPad | version without fog

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

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2. Whiplash

• 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.

• German whispers: along green lines, digits differ from their neighbors by at least 5.

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

• Very rough difficulty estimate: 5/10

Play online: SudokuPad

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3. Tentacles

• 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.

• Quadruple circles: digits inside the white circle appear in the four cells surrounding that circle.

• Digits in cells separated by an X sum to 10.

• Very rough difficulty estimates: 7/10, 5/10

Play online: SudokuPad

Extra clues: SudokuPad

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Some other puzzles I enjoyed this week:

• Utah 03, by RedBarchetta

• Kropki Diagonals, by Md88keys

• Gross Misconduct, by Marty Sears

And for a different kind of puzzle challenge—specifically, one involving rebuses formed with emojis—I’ve been really enjoying Romulus and Rebus 😀

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This week’s meta-description:
Special thanks to quad circles for this week’s slate.

For premium subscribers, hints and two more bonus puzzles are below.