Artisanal Sudoku, Volume 202

1. Buccaneer

• 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.

• Very rough difficulty estimate: 2/10

Play online: SudokuPad | unshaded

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

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Here’s something cool: I recently appeared on the Hey, Good Game podcast. It was a lot of fun to record, and I think that comes off in the episode, which covers a range of topics. But I’ll go even further: whether you care about my interview or not, I’ll encourage you to go to wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe. I’ve listened to a bunch of episodes, and they’ve all been engaging and fascinating looks into how different types of games and puzzles are made.

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2. Midstream

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

• 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 at least one of the four cells surrounding that circle (if a digit repeats in the circle, it must appear twice).

• Very rough difficulty estimate: 5/10

Play online: SudokuPad

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The Artisanal Sudoku book will be available March 17*, 2026! Pre-order now from Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, or any number of other outlets.
*Apologies to everyone who has already ordered, but the publication date had to be moved back two weeks (it was originally March 3). Supply-chain issues, I’m told.

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3. Paddleboat

• 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 the cage is equal to the small number in the top left corner.

• 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.

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

Play online: SudokuPad | unshaded

Extra clues: SudokuPad | unshaded

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Some other puzzles I enjoyed this week:

• Complementary, by Palpot

• Fool Moons, by billybeth

• Numbered Corridors 5, by Alaric Taqi A. (Crusader175)

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Thanks for subscribing to Artisanal Sudoku! Feedback is always appreciated, just leave a comment, reach out on Bluesky, or reply to this email. If you liked these puzzles, you probably know someone else who’d like them too, so please spread the word. If you’re interested in submitting a puzzle, click here for more information. And if you want to try more of my puzzles—many of which are tougher than the ones you’ll find here—check out my page on Logic Masters Deutschland.

This week’s meta-description:
In which I’ve finally appeared on a podcast.

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