Thank you so much for featuring this puzzle! Thrilled to see that you and so many others have enjoyed this wacky ride! AnalyticalNinja and I certainly had a lot of fun making it, and all the more so that we pretty much managed to incorporate every single funny and ridiculous ideas we could think of XD I have yet to watch this behemoth of a feature in full, but I know there are many things that I am very much looking forward to see!
AnalyticalNinja here, just wanted to say thank you so much for featuring this puzzle! I honestly think this was probably one of the most rewarding creations I've made in some time and working with Kafkapharnaum on it was so much fun! Also, I was pleasantly surprised that you were able to quickly deduce the possibility you'd missed partway through the solve, backtrack, and remedy it once seen. Amusingly, that exact deduction was one of my own personal favorites from the whole puzzle! 😆
@@eefaaf Whoa, nice to see someone who even knows that band! Although to be honest, it was certainly about 50-50 with just the meaning that this name ended up taking, it just seemed to fit well with Kafka XD (A1 music playlist by the way -- strangely now I have an urge to put Thick as a Brick hehe)
When I put a 3 in the body snatcher cell in box one I stared at it in horror thinking "oh my god where did I go wrong?" for a full minute before realising the 3 could still be itself. It was terrifying.
@SirJefferE I experienced the same horror! Dejected, I came to look at the video to find where I went wrong. I saw Simon had the three where I had it and I stared for a minute until I realized what was happening.
Really nice puzzle. Solved it in 79 minutes, although I did rely on the conflict checker to get me back on track after one error half way through, so not an entirely clean solve. I was hoping Simon would see there was only one place 2 could go in row 4 for the longest time. From around 58:30 in Simon's solve, I labelled A further around the grid, and found that the only green body snatcher cell it could go in was r1c2, in box 1. Then, using the renban it was on in box 1, I worked out it would have to body snatch it's own digit value, and was therefore a 3. So I got A as 3 before seeing the relationship between B and C on the eleven cell renban, giving them as 2 and 4.
In theory, you can have a double 5 off the line, snatch that to create 11, allowing you to also snatch 9 to make 10. But in doing so you would need a snatcher in 7 boxes, and the line only visits 6.
Best renban puzzle ever? I think it might be. The 20 cell renban, necessitating all possible values on it, was right up my street. it’s so amazing how every variant sudoku puzzle has its own little storyline and journey it takes you on, and boy what a journey this solve path is…
I agree this is one of the most astonishing Sudokus, ever. I was shouting: "Where is C in box 5?", but you didn't hear me, I know. About the body snatcher 2, that could have been in r4c9 or r7c1: If r7c1 would be 2, the natural 2 on the left (second longest) line would have been in r6c2 and therefore r6c9 would not be 2 and r4c9 - the other candidate for the 2 body snatcher, would also be 2, and that doesn't work. Those were the two deductions you were missing and the first one took you a long way before you bravely reverted a lot. Well done!
This puzzle was far too clever for me, but what a stunner! And what an entertaining video. The absolute joy on your face Simon when describing the "Vampire Snatching Nonsense Creature" absolutely made my day. Many thanks.
Great job solving this Simon!! Truly masterful puzzle. AnalyticalNinja and Kafkapharnaum thank you both so much for colloborating on this and setting with such flair!!!!
My first 5/5 difficulty solve, took me 147 minutes. Got badly stuck twice, but other than that it was fairly straight forward, not sure I would personally rate it 5/5, maybe 4/5.
I hovered over the scroll bar to see when he would enter it and was a bit baffled that it took him so long to get it. But it somehow was the most Simonesque way possible, i.e. not asking this question at all but doing some weird complicated stuff xD
This superb construction is _"absolutely worth its place in the pantheon of truly"_ *cosmic class* masterpieces. Innovative, impressively smart, challenging but never brutal and purely mono-thematic, as it contains nothing else than *renbans.* Magnificent achievement❗ I am certain it will be included in the next *CTC Cosmic Hits* book. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Thank you *AnalyticalNinja* and *Kafkapharnaum* for designing it. Thank you *Simon* for featuring it and presenting it so thoroughly and enthusiastically both in the introduction and in the video-description.
Somehow I got that done in 122 minutes. It seemed to flow really well and I never felt like I was totally stuck anywhere, which could be me missing possibilities or something but it went really well for a puzzle with that rating.
Wow I love these puzzles where the logic is so beautiful and I need someone like Simon to elucidate it for me. Thank you so much for sharing these with us Simon they bring a heap of joy. Thanks also to the constructors who set Simon these challenges 😊😊.
49:04 For me, I was half expecting to get stuck on something just because getting all the special cells approximate location in the first 10 minutes felt suspiciously easy but it just went smoothly from there
1:02:49 finish. I made an early error labeling my 2-3-4 triples, which eventually broke. Fortunately, the penciling was independent of the coloring, and I just wiped the numbers and restarted that part. It was easy enough to pick back up once I realized where I had made the error. An awesome idea for a puzzle, excellent job!
What an absolutely gorgeous puzzle. I actually had to talk through the logic of the long renban to my wife (who doesn't like variant sudokus) to understand how it worked and then that gave me the first digit at 12 minutes. Solved in what felt like a very fast 61:27. I just didn't feel the time pass on that one: the hallmark of a beautifully crafted puzzle.
This turned out to be more do-able than I thought. Took me 100 minutes, which is at least under the video time. I really enjoyed figuring out the logic on this one!
At 1:29:15, you just got through identifying two cells, both in column 2, that could be the 2 on the renban, and then you immediately pencil mark a 2 in r4c2! There's only one place in row 4 for 2, and it's in the body snatcher cell in box 6. And that then fixes 2 in box 7.
About 2:25:00 - I restarted after an hour as I’d finally realised one if my deductions was flawed! What a brilliant puzzle though - really chuffed to have got the break in unaided.
I solved it but my brain hurts. Its a good pain though. So many little things in this puzzle, it fights you the whole way but no one thing was monstrously hard. I dont think I can pick one favorite part. Fully deserving of both the 5 stars AND the 100%. You can't hear me but I am applauding.
01:12:08 for me. I’ve been a subscriber for almost 5 years now, this might just be the best puzzle I’ve solved. I’m gonna do something I’ve never done before and watch the video of the puzzle I solved myself. I want to see Simon mesmerized. 😅
Just watched the video. It is a difficult puzzle but let’s admit it, a Simon who’s on his day could solve this in half this time, easily. He was on it on the first crack but then a lot was missed. :/ This puzzle deserved a better video. :(
I think people underestimate how taxing is to record oneself explaining every decision, talking for 2 hours. I didn’t feel Simon different than his usual self. It might be that, since u knew the answer, you were more anxious than usual regarding moments where he was stuck?
Wow, what an epic Sudoku! I was shouting internally about the 2 for most of the video (which Simon could place on the line the first time he looked at it) but other than that, and excellent solve!
41 minutes and i just placed my first digit, I was curious if I could even figure out the break in, and I did - which is huge. I don't think I can solve this puzzle, I'll give it a few more turns, but that's a win for me.
Me: ok, that 2567 quad means that r4c9 is the only place for a 2 in row 4 Simon 15 minutes later: "How can it possibly be the case that I don't know which of these digits is a 2?" Amazing puzzle.. No way I would have worked through it all on my own, very nicely done.
Really glad to see a video here on this, both because it's a great puzzle, and because it makes me feel better about my 3 hour solve time, which it turns out is actually still pretty close to my average time of 1.5x the video length of your solve of the puzzle lol.
And as Simon was touching on, I think that B has to be twice on the line, once it was doubled. It is the only doubled digit on the line and the snatcher are 0 and 10.
I've just got to the hour mark in the video, and I was wondering whether Simon got lucky pencil marking C in box 4 on the line as a natural C. I agree with you, all Simon knows is that either A or C is 4, and appears on the renban as a doubled B, which is 2. No-one else seems to have mentioned it, and I was beginning to doubt myself until I saw your comment. I'll keep watching... Edit: Ok, he wasn't getting lucky, and it breaks, so he will be forced to fix it. Phew.
At 1:14:22 Simon correctly says that 8 or 9 can't be values on the renban in box 1, but why can't they be in the green cell. I feel as though it could be done with something like a 789 triple in R1C2, R3C2, R3C3, a 2 in R2C2 and the rest of the cells being 3456 to create a 123456 renban (doubled 1 body snatched 2) Edit: It doesn't end up mattering because the 3 takes the green cell in box 1 because if 3 in box 1 is in R2C1 or R2C2 there will be no 3's in any green cells
Here is what pieguy recommended: "The recipe follows. I'm omitting the recipe for pie crust but I can provide it upon request. For the filling: 1.5 cups sugar 6 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup lemon juice 2 cups water 3 yolks, beaten 3 tablespoons butter zest of 1 lemon For the meringue: 3 egg whites 4 Tablespoons sugar (optional) 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar a splash of vanilla extract First, pre-bake your pie crust. Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Add lemon juice and water, and whisk until no lumps remain. Add egg yolks while constantly whisking. Bring to a boil while gently stirring and let simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat, then stir in butter and zest. Pour into crust. In a very clean bowl, mix egg whites and sugar (and cream of tartar) until sugar has dissolved. It's important that your whites not have even a drop of yolk in them, or else the meringue will not form properly. Beat the whites until stiff peaks form. Careful not to overbeat. Stir in vanilla extract, then spread over top of pie. If you want to get real fancy, you can use a piping bag, but I usually just use a spatula to shape the top after it's on. Bake at 350F for about 10-15 minutes, or until the meringue just starts to turn golden. Let cool completely and refrigerate before serving. For best results, serve to someone who enjoys eating good lemon meringue pie."
this was difficult. but was not as hard as i thought it was going to be. i thought i would get stuck and need to revert to the video but it was approachable. i made some errors along the way but i did manage to get through it. just over 2 hours for me. i havn't watched the video yet but the break through for me was noticing the 234 pairs and figuring out where they go.
SImon‘s talent to use a piece of logic just to abandon it instead of re-using it for the logical implication a second later is, once again, a bit uncanny. The way he disproved 2 from r2/3c2 by the interference of bodysnatcher (or green) 2s on box 4 (and the 11-cell renban) works exactly identical for placing 2 in r7c2, as the only possible natural 2 on the line: every other constellation puts 2 in green in r7c1, displacing it from green in r4c9 and putting it in r6c9, removing the last natural 2 from the line
I know this is not how it works, but seeing the chaos in the grid 15 minutes before the end of the video, I can't help but wonder whether Simon is going to be able to finish his solve in time :)
BHUNTER47 here - this legitimately is one of the greatest puzzles I've ever solved. A masterpiece. Downloaded this to work on during vacation and it was just an absolute blast to solve.
I identified that it must be 0-19 and not 1-20 way before Simon. That however is the full extent of my ability with this puzzle. But I’ll take any win I can get.
At 58:52 you’ve assumed that C has to be on the line - but could it not be the case that C or A has to be on the line (with the other being double B) - have watched on a bit more so understand that one doesn’t have to be - but not sure if I’m missing how you know it’s A and not C Love the videos!
*20-Renban* Body Snatcher: 19, 17, 15, 13, 11, 0 Doubler: 18, 16, 14, 12 Possible for both: 10 Because Renban goes through 6 Boxes and we already used 6 Body Snatchers, the 10 has to be a Doubler. Body Snatcher: 19, 17, 15, 13, 11, 0 Doubler: 18, 16, 14, 12, 10 19 and 18 (2x9), 17 and 16 (2x8), 15 and 14 (2x7), 13 and 12 (2x6), 11 and 10 (2x5) have to be in the same Box. Because in Box Column [3,6,9] there has to be 3 Body Snatcher and all on the 20-Renban, we have a Body Snatcher in Box 9 forced in column 8. This results in a Body Snatcher in r4c9 in Box 6. Because the Body Snatcher in r4c9 is not adjacent with a possible Doubler on the 20-Renban, it has to be Body Snatcher 0. 19:40 Continue
57:34 for me. Gotta say, it got really clustered after I just started to extensively use the letter tool.😅 It wasn't too hard, it needed a lot of concentration tho. :)
*sigh* ... Too tough for me, but not by much. I ended up making two errors in my solve: (1) I had forgotten that either 8 or 9 could occupy the 'bodysnatcher' cell in box 2 (2) I had forgotten that the 'bodysnatcher' cell in box 1 didn't have to be adjacent to either the 2 or the 4 Pity, as I found the break-in and was making good progress ... just didn't have the stamina to figure out my errors on my own.
I think the logic in the early part of the solution to place doublers on the long line is flawed. It is certainly the case that there are 6 body snatchers and (at least) 5 doublers on the line, and the initial placement of body snatchers is correct. But the conclusion that the body snatcher in r4c9 MUST snatch a 1 and become a 0 is premature. It may very well snatch a doubled 5,6,7,8,9 from r5c9, and one of the other body snatchers on the line can snatch a 1. This also means that the conclusion that the snatcher in box 4 is in r5c3 is invalid: it might be r5c2 and snatch a 1 that's not on the line. (I don't know how to properly deduce this; I gave up and started watching the video...)
The green cell in box 7 could of had 2 removed as a pencil mark significantly earlier by looking at what effect in boxes 6 and 4. Not certain how much that would have changed the solve though
Implicit nature of getting high odds....just don't get fooled by thinking 2 parasitic 0s is an error... In my mind 2 parasitic mapped to 2 1s and was an error...but that's ok per rules
I have a question ... . . . ... how is this a valid solution? The 3 at r1c2 ... it can't have a value of 3, can it? [EDIT - I did miss a possibility, as pointed out below]
45:05 Would be useful here to do sudoku on the BS cell position in box 7, that would separate it from the 1 in that box, which lets you pencil mark 9s around it and place the 1 in box 8 by the previously discussed logic
How did he know the double 5 was on the line? He proved that 11 had to be from the double 5, but that doesn't put the double 5 on the line. He can still get a 10 on the line from a bodysnatched 9? I can't figure out how to prove this. I had made the same mistake but now watching and realizing and going back I can't prove it
The line passes through six boxes, so there's at most six body snatcher cells on the line (one per box). You need six body snatcher cells for the values 0,11,13,15,17,19. You cannot fit another body snatcher cell on the line to make 9 into a 10, so the 10 value has to be a doubled 5.
