Jigsaw Sudoku
Jigsaw Killer Sudoku
Mar 2nd
I’ve recently been working on refreshing the content for PuzzleMix.com, my play-online puzzle site, and one of the puzzle types I’ve been making is Killer Jigsaw Sudoku, where you not only have the jigsaw-shaped Killer regions but also jigsaw shapes instead of the regular 3×3 Sudoku boxes.
So I thought it would be a good idea to post one of these puzzles here – they can be quite tricky, at least until you get your head around the difference between these and regular Killer!
The rules are simple:
- Place 1 to 9 in each row, column and bold-lined region
- Place numbers in the dashed-line cages that add up to the given total for that cage
- No number can be repeated in a dashed-line cage
Good luck! 
Inequality Sudoku
Dec 4th
Inequality 2-grid Samurai Sudoku
Inequality jigsaw 6×6 Sudoku puzzle
On the Sudoku Xtra forums Marilyn suggested the great idea of an inequality Samurai puzzle for issue 2, so I’ve been having a look at doing this. And here’s the first result!
I’ve started off with a regular 6×6 jigsaw Sudoku, but have added inequalities, just to get you warmed up, then I’ve included my first ever Samurai Inequality Sudoku puzzle, albeit a 2-grid one for now.
You’ll notice in both puzzles here that I have included all inequality arrows, so you have far more information than you need – this is deliberate, to make them easier! On the 6×6 puzzle there are five really nice diamond shapes in the centre area, but in general I think having all the arrows is ugly (or lazy!) so I don’t plan to include them again in future (just as I’ve never included them in past published inequality/Futoshiki puzzles).
The rules of Inequality Sudoku are pretty simple – just place the numbers as you would in a regular Sudoku (or regular Jigsaw Sudoku in the 6×6 case), but obey the less-than (”<”) and greater-than (”>”) signs between squares. These indicate that the value of the number in a square is either less than or greater than its neighbour. And that’s it!
Good luck!
Jigsaw Sudoku
Oct 30th
I’m adding features back in to my new puzzle assistant front end code so today I thought I’d post the standard Jigsaw Sudoku puzzle that was my test subject – just fit 1-9 into each row, column and bold-lined shape.
Two-away Jigsaw 8×8
Jul 20th
Continuing with Two-away puzzles, I thought today I’d post a somewhat smaller challenge – an 8×8 Jigsaw Sudoku version.
The rules are pretty much what you’d imagine: place 1 to 8 into each row, column and bold-lined jigsaw piece. Numbers with a grey bar between them must have a difference of 2 (e.g. 1&3) and numbers without a grey bar between must have a difference that’s not 2. (This is important to ensure a unique solution!)
Good luck!
Double Toroidal Killer Sudoku Pro 8×8
May 13th
Double Toroidal Killer Sudoku Pro 8×8 puzzle
This puzzle certainly won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but it’s a double toroidal killer sudoku pro. Why double? Because there are toroidal jigsaw-shaped Sudoku regions, and there are toroidal jigsaw-shaped Killer Sudoku Pro cages. In other words, some of them wrap around the edges of the puzzle. It’s also an 8×8 puzzle, just to keep the Killer Sudoku (Pro!) logic fresh.
The rules are as you might expect:
- Place 1 to 8 into each row, column and bold-lined shape – some of these shapes are toroidal, so wrap from the end of one row/column to the opposite end of the same row/column
- Place numbers into the dashed-line Killer Sudoku Pro cages so that when the given operation is applied the result is the stated number. For ‘-’ operations start with the highest number.
- Numbers can’t repeat in dashed-line cages, and some cages (just one in this puzzle actually) are toroidal, so wrap around the rows/columns as described above
And that’s it! Good luck!
Hints: As always with this sort of puzzle, if you shade in the 8 bold-lined regions first with different colours you’ll find it much easier to keep track of what you’re doing. Also, all of the regions (both killer cages and bold-lined regions) have rotational symmetry order 4 – in other words, the same pattern repeats 4 times; this might help!
Shape Sudoku
Apr 23rd
3-grid Shape Jigsaw Sudoku Samurai Stack
I needed to create one of these for a project elsewhere, so I thought I would post a couple of them here too – since I’d gone to the effort to make one at all! It’s not a new Sudoku variation, but just a very simple replacement of the digits 1 to 6 with shapes. None the less, it does make the puzzle notably harder to solve (or maybe that’s just me!). Unless there’s demand I won’t post this variant again, but I thought it would make an interesting change just for once!
I’ve created two examples – one is a simple 6×6 jigsaw, and the other is a 3-grid 6×6 Samurai Stack. In each case place one of each symbol into each 6-square row and column of each underlying 6×6 grid, and also one of each symbol into all of the bold-lined jigsaw shaped pieces.
Good luck!
Skyscraper Jigsaw Samurai Sudoku
Apr 16th
Skyscraper Jigsaw Samurai Sudoku puzzle
I’m pretty confident that you won’t have come across one of these puzzles before – I certainly haven’t! It’s a Samurai Skyscraper Sudoku puzzle with Jigsaw regions instead of regular 3×3 boxes.
The aim is to place 1 to 9 into each row and column of each of the two overlapping 9×9 grids, and also place 1 to 9 into each of the bold-lined jigsaw pieces. On top of that, you must also obey the Skyscraper constraints, which are the numbers outside the main puzzle grid. They specify the number of digits you can ’see’ from each point, where higher digits obscure lower digits (so a 7 obscures 1 to 6, and a 9 obscures all other digits, for example) – see yesterday’s post for a slightly longer explanation of how these constraints work.
Good luck!
Jigsaw Gap Samurai
Apr 12th
This is an interesting puzzle! It’s similar to yesterday’s Gap Samurai puzzles, except that the 3×3 box regions have been replaced by jigsaw regions – and not only that, but also some of these regions stretch across the empty areas of the puzzle.
The rules are:
- Wherever you see a continuous row or column of 9 squares from a bold line to a bold line then you must place 1 to 9.
- Rows or columns that cross gaps have no restrictions (numbers can repeat on the other side of the gap).
- Jigsaw regions must also have 1 to 9 in. Those jigsaw regions without bold lines next to a gap continue on the other side of the gap, by following a direct line across the gap. They do not flow around to the left or right, but only straight across. (If you’re familiar with Toroidal Sudoku, the regions connect in a similar way, except without actually wrapping around the outside of the puzzle too).
Confused? It isn’t actually that complex in concept, but keeping track of all the regions when solving might require a clear head! You might find it easier if you lightly colour in the different cross-gap regions in different colours in order to help keep track of them. (Sorry I haven’t coloured the PDF – I eventually will for future puzzles!)
If you’re still confused, and to clarify the regions further, count 4 across and 2 squares down from the top-left of the puzzle. This jigsaw region continues into the square below (obviously) and then across the gap to the square four below that (i.e. cross the gap whilst staying in the same column). It does not continue around the corner into the square that is 3 across by 4 down from the top-left – that’s part of a different region that continues in the centre of the puzzle (where the ‘8′ is, 8 across by 4 down). Returning to the first region, it then continues down to the ‘3′, and the ‘9′ and blank square to its right, and then down to the next square, across that second vertical gap, and then finishes in the two squares directly below (so that’s 4 across and 2/3 up from the bottom-left corner).
Phew! Good luck!
PS None of the Samurai puzzles I’m posting require complex solving logic – just an organised approach! (So you don’t need to consider naked or hidden sets, or anything more complex, although of course they might occasionally help anyway – but you can solve these puzzles without them).
PPS If you want to see solutions for any puzzles, just post a comment and ask! Also if you’ve solved one, please let me know how long it took – I’m interested to know!
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