Normal Sudoku rules apply, each puzzle says. What does that mean?
Every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9 once each.
Those are the rules of sudoku. 81 cells, 81 digits.
On one side of the Atlantic, spun sugar is called “Cotton Candy,” while on the other side, it’s called “Candy Floss.” Both names seem silly, but so does eating spun sugar! Also, don’t those pink lines look sweet?
Sometimes different constraints are identical, at least under some conditions. For example, these are all two-cell thermometers, which could be replaced by greater-than or lesser-than symbols. So I don’t create puzzles with greater-than or less-than symbols. I use two-cell thermometers instead!
Arrows have been outclassed by bullets in terms of ranged weaponry, but how many digits fit on a bullet? Besides, I’m not sure efficiency should be a goal in weaponry of any kind. I’d prefer the opposite, in fact. Is there a less-efficient ranged weapon than marshmallows?
I came across this one while perusing puzzles by Clover from a few years ago. Semi-killer, she called it, and it should be easy. Instead of X in N digits, it’s X in N-1 digits. Only then there’s the question of any given digits. Are they in or out? Maybe it’s obvious, maybe it’s not.
Not very fun fact: The very day I created this puzzle, a few hours later, my daughter was in a traffic collision that ended up relying on her comprehensive car insurance coverage to resolve. Everybody was fine, though only one car drove away from the scene. And no, she didn’t know I’d given this puzzle this name. Just an un-lucky coincidence.
Between Lines are very logical. The cells physically between the circles have digits with values between the circle digits. Simple. Clear. Surely every puzzle with Between Lines is easy, right?
I find lockout lines strange, and struggle to develop intuition about them. They were launched with a packet full of puzzles, and I think I solved the the dozenth with the same timid squint as the first. Still, I think this puzzle might help, relying as it does on cages.
Keep smiling, keep shining / Knowing you can always count on me for sure // That’s what friends are for // In good times, in bad times / I’ll be on your side forevermore // Oh, that’s what friends are for // – Dionne Warwick
I don’t know what the punch line to this joke would be. Not a newspaper, not a penguin. Well, penguins are a bit odd, I guess. Could still be a penguin. I mean, literally the answer is this puzzle, right? Except I color odd and even cells, undermining the whole “black and white” part.
The challenges in creating these larger puzzles are multiple. I could have created more than four single-grid puzzles in less time than it took to create this one, in part because each change required me to re-solve the puzzle from the start, to be sure I hadn’t broken anything unexpectedly. Still, the satisfaction of a working gattai that also follows the rules I’ve set for myself, it’s worth spending the extra time on one out of every dozen puzzles or so.