I watched this entire video while sitting on an intercontinental flight to -- fittingly -- Japan. Not only did it help pass the time, it was an absolute joy following along with the logic, finding little things before Simon did, and then watching him find big things long before I ever would have.
My favorite puzzle of 2023 so far, probably. This was such a fun solve, would love to see more Japanese Sums on the channel- they’re my favorite to solve and set, and many setters have been making them recently. Looking forward to watching this :)
@@pouletbelette Can't recall exactly, but judging by the LMD page, Phistomefel posted the puzzle at 8:00PM EST on February 13th and I submitted my solve at 9:33PM, so I'd guess around 70 minutes or so.
i've just paused the video at 1:50:25 and seen some of the most creative and insane logic (regarding the 9 sum at the bottom of col 4), and for maybe the 5th time this video i've thought to myself, "wow, phistomophel is really showing off here." this puzzle is simply other-worldly, this man's brain has surpassed what a human should be capable of. thank you phistomophel, for constantly bestowing upon us new puzzles to feast on. and thank you simon, for always being our guide. edit: shortly after unpausing, simon somehow comes to the conclusion that it has to be a 135 triomino, using completely separate logic than i did. how is that even possible this late in the puzzle? (it's possible my logic was a bit bifurcatey, but still wow)
58:10 Simon: "9 can't go in a 2 cell domino adding to a single digit" 59:20 Also Simon: attempts to put a 9 in a 2 cell domino adding to a single digit. Finds a complicated way to prove the 9 doesn't go there. Simon, you should listen to yourself as closely as we do. 😂 Joking aside, this was brutally hard. Simon's ability to find a logical way through is absolutely mind-blowing and I am constantly in awe.
I love the mental image of Phistomefel sitting in a tower somewhere thinking up places to put * clues 😆 but what a puzzle. This feels like it should have earned a 6/5 stars for difficulty on Logic Masters Germany. This needs to be in the next book! Also, very late you found some stunning logic (I don't even remember what logic it was) that you claimed wasn't actually that hard, and I think I audibly swore at the screen because this puzzle was very hard to wrap my brain around (even just watching it 😅) I give your solve 11/10 Simon, amazing work 👏👏👏
This reminded me of one in his puzzle pack. I had to go back and look because it seemed so familiar! The regions certainly add a new dimension and fun ways to play around. My favorite part was the 126 at the bottom that sat there unresolvable for so long, then suddenly jumped up and started doing karate all over the grid once you found the region to the right. I feel like Simon is maligning the star clues unfairly. They do give you something. They just need the lack of them to translate a little. I enjoy them, and find they bring depth to this puzzle type. Phistomefel is not only a genius, but also so good at telegraphing that despite the complexity and difficulty of this puzzle, I never really felt stuck. Kudos to him and to Simon. Happy cracking!
OH my goodness. Very "guided" solve for me on this one: trying to make progress myself, and when nothing happens for a while, watch Simon to see the next move (or sometimes just where the next move should happen). I'm pretty sure I couldn't have done this on my own even over several evenings. But enjoyed the puzzle and the solve this way!
I saved this video in my WL for a month, because I didn't know what Japanese Sums were, so I've been practicing puzzles of this type for the last month and finally today I decided to face this one. I got it in 4 hours, I am very satisfied.
So I spent 3 hours of doing this puzzle, made few mistakes so I had to backtrack and do some parts again. It's so easy to make mistake with so many different clues. That's why it took so long. Then I watched Simon's 2,5 hour video about it. 5,5 hours very well spent. Thanks for this extraordinary puzzle!
Ah yes, I wasn’t wrong when I predicted that this one will make for another 2h+ video if it’s featured, and man oh man was it a good one to experience. Better grab some snacks, get some good couch/chair and prepare for another great treat (after such a crazy experience with the puzzle a week ago) ;)
@@tfh535 Yeah no, UX was not the problem here: It presented the 3 important things pretty clearly: (beyond the red-dot, this is something you should read, it is not a clear 'all ok') - ! the reason we can't confirm this is the correct solution, is because the puzzle didn't come with a solution ! - this is the time you took - you can copy the time you took: which would be a useless action, if we could confirm the solution was incorrect. The hard to read / location of least importance, info is the statement. 'And on top of not having provided a solution (shared more prominently), the reason we couldn't handle the confirmation via plan B, our built in confirmation for standard rules, is because this puzzle doesn't use standard rules. So our *workaround* for someone submitting a puzzle that doesn't meet the specs requested for submission, doesn't negate the *warning we shared* ' That's not remotely the 'most important information'. Classic example of 'Person refuses to accept the possibility of user-error, blames software.' This is why software companies have customer-support departments instead of customer-support people: 50% user is unwilling to check possibility of own mistake, someone needs to de-escalate miss-assigned blame 40% management pushes through incomplete functionality 'we have a CS department, they'll solve that. Now back to creating new billable stuff' 10% actual issues, where the skills of support people is actually required.
@@user-jn4sw3iw4h Firstly, yes the software is the problem. If you are allowing your software, which was designed for a certain set of rules, to be used without those rules being enforced and instead rely on 'workarounds', its not a feature complete application. It is missing intended features for its use cases. Hopefully, the backlog has some stories to add those features. But that is besides the point, I'm not talking about the technical shortcomings of the application, We can both agree that all the information is there, the issue is the way in which that information is presented to the user. That is why there are entire UX/UI teams in software companies who go through rounds and rounds of iteration to develop frameworks to present information to a user in a way that is immediately readable and understandable. There is no reason why Simon, who completed a 'valid' puzzle with a valid solution should not feel like he got it wrong. "the reason we can't confirm this is the correct solution, is because the puzzle didn't come with a solution" is shrouded in completely ambiguity. The first 2 lines are meaningless fluff, they are ambiguous and the use of the red dots, instead of color like yellow which indicate a completely different meaning and tone, only served to tell Simon: "oh no you got something wrong". The next 2 lines are implied to be taken completely separately because of their visual hierarchy, but they are equally important and need to be understood together to extract the appropriate meaning. The easy fix is just make them the same font-size (with the bonus of better ADA compliance). If you really wanted to get fancy you just include an extra step in your logic that puts out a more clear meaning when both conditions are true. If you want to your company to have customer-support people instead of customer-support departments you invest the time and resources into developing and executing good design that disambiguates the information you are trying to present to your users.
@@tfh535 short answer - @Matt Williams was correct: Simon did not act on *the content* of the (error)-popup. Solely on the fact *that he got one*. Neither the fact that Simon's assessment, that he could figure this out without reading the message, was correct. Nor the detail, the popup can be slightly improved (though not nearly as much as you claim) Changes that fact. The fact the first thing Simon said after closing the message, was that he was going to assume something, the message clearly and unambiguously stated, makes that very clear. - No, that a 'mistakes do not result into casualties (or even a miniscule loss in revenue)' type application. That exists for 'the entertainment of sudoku and sudoku-like puzzels, both the playing and creating thereof. And the discovery/invention of interesting 'sudoku-adjecent' mechanics' Allows for the upload of puzzels with 'not (yet) standardized mechanics' and 'a slightly different solution requirement, therefore not giving that' (In case the solution can't be expressed as merely 'these numbers need to be in these places, all colouring, lines.... are irrelevant') *is not a bug, it is a feature* The 'user error', that this puzzle had a solution expressed solely in the numbers (or lack thereof, no need to check the shading). Yet the uploader chose not to provide one, does *not* change this fact.
Two and a half hours?? No way I'm going to watch all of that. And yet here I am, at the end once again - intrigued cell by cell, discovery by discovery. Great job, Simon.
I was unable to watch this on Wednesday but I am very pleased to have watched it today (Saturday). I love the longer videos and greatly enjoy each one even if I have to save it for later.
39:18 Simon told me to pause the video, because we'd be able to place a digit in Row 3. So I paused the video and managed to eventually place a 7 in it, even if it did take me a few minutes, great! And by 40:59, you've given up on your own idea, and my day is ruined. I'm sure he'll eventually come back to it and nail that 7, probably within the next minute, but still.
I tried it and got through it! It was steady and never felt like I got super stuck. I got tired at the end but pushed through and finished! Great puzzle!
2:34:00 Oh, Simon… you do realize we all just love to watch you get tormented by Phistomefel, don’t you? For hours on end, preferably. What an amazing puzzle & solve, once again!
I made it through this puzzle over the course of a couple weeks. Almost gave up during the "dog" region, but did find the 458 logic. Very happy to have finished it... in many hours 😉
Devilish devilish Japanese regions, Sums and irrelevant Stars that annoy: Subject yourself to those Phistomefelian Eighty-one shades of that Pain you enjoy...
I feel like Phostomefel is the shepherd and you are the sheep. The star clues are the sheepdogs guiding you expertly through a specific path (even though you hate the sheepdogs haha)
It is certainly true that there is no point where it collapses and becomes easy until at least halfway through the last nine. A puzzle like this I have to take in stages or my mind would be fried just watching the solve.
Simply amazing these are the videos I love to see, well worth the time to watch and to see those beautiful moments when Simon lights up and see's the next step. I wish I could solve puzzles as brutally difficult as this, but I enjoy just as much seeing them solved by one of my favorite people. Bravo Simon & bravo Phistomefel
Ruling out the 6 around 1:08 (forcing a 28 pair instead of a 37 pair into the 3rd column) was a lucky mistake, unless you saw coming that the 28 pair couldn't be used for the 10 clue from the 3rd column because it had to match up with the single digit 8 from the 2nd column.
Finally finished it! Had to get a couple of hints from Simon, and twice I made a mistake and had to restart from scratch; but well worth it. This puzzle is amazing! At 1:37:25, I used different logic to finish the r5c1 region (I hadn't actually placed the 8 yet at that point). If the region extends to the right to take r8c4, that cell is part of a 9-clue in the column, but the only digits it can use are 3 and 8, so the clue is broken. Therefore r8c4 is black and the region extends south to r9c3 (Simon's cell).
50:31 I have spotted maaaaaybe a handful of things myself so far in this puzzle. And Simon has deduced the most wonderful logic over and over. And yet, I'm still screaming "The ten is resolved!! How can it be a four with no six next to it!!", like I am the expert. This really is like watching football 😂
What beautiful craftsmanship. The wood choices are perfect. The detail work is excellent. I wish you might do is show a video of how to do something like that. You know, a "making of" video. You are truly a master of your craft. Can't wait to see more.
I’m the top comment on the puzzle! Kind of crazy to see my name on the screen of a channel I wwtch everyday almost religiously… So glad this puzzle made the cut!
Can't believe I solved that without the video!!! Just over two hours 😃 Thanks for all the things I've learnt from other videos which have massively improved my solving skills.
2:09:18 It is breaking the rule because u have to extend 2 more cells for that region but it will connect with 1 green cell at below and become 10 cells region.
🍿🤯🍿😎👀❤️🎉🍿🤯🤔🤯🍿❤️🍻🍷after i re-assemble my neurons after that 6/5 difficulty.this emoji marathon describes it popcorn, mind blown, popcorn, that is cool, obvious deduction, aaaah love that, progress, popcorn, wow! Mind blown, stuck!!, Genius at work, last of the popcorn(had to pause video to get more),on the cusp, beautiful solve beers and wine all round. Absolutely loved that from start to finish, would watch these long solves over any hollywood movie anyday.
The star cells help from fairly early on, in fact, as they are *not* japanese sum clues, so anywhere you can prove that horizontally and vertically a square is clued only by stars, the square must be black. This means at 2:17:50 the puzzle is broken.
LMAO at 50:00 Simon hits us with the disappointed posture and the comment that goes with it “even if it looks like it wants to be helpful it’s just being annoying”… the perfect mad girlfriend poster picture
at 1:28:23 simon finally concludes in a more complicated way that there has to be a 3 in the 3? clue, something you could've determined 10 minutes earlier by seeing that you couldn't have a 2 in it. 98653 = 31 or 98643 = 30 were the only valid sets of digits.
1 hour 59 minutes in. you can place the 8 down there. because if you have 261 on top you are blacking out the 48 spot. if you have 7 Black 3/5 you cannot add 8 to 3 or 5 and stay single digit. but you can add 4. so 8 can only be in the space you have marked as definitely in 3rd row from the bottom. It's just a matter of placing the 4 and the 9.
At 48:45, Simon pencil-marks the 14. He then notices that a 1 could work, says "bobbins" (in my head, anyway), and moves on. Was anyone else screaming at him to look at the 4 option, so as to realize it was impossible?
Cracking the Cryptic cinematic universe… 100% rating on Logic Masters Germany, with 5 out of 5 stars. Must be Phistomefel: Infinity War. With a triple helping 🍿 🍿 🍿
The * ?? * 4X5XX632 in the example means a star could be outside the grid? Or I don't understand something... The ?? Need something bigger than 9 so its 6+3+2 and then the star is outside the grid...
At 1:38:37 Simon blackens a cell because, he says, any digit makes it exceed 1? or 19. Couldn’t it be a 1 at that stage and the run be 9, 3, 6, 1 totalling 19 (or you can swap the 1 and 3)?
Oh my god, went to bed late today (2:20am here) and thought to myself "yey, now a ctc video and then time to sleep!" Well, guess it will be 5am when i head to bed, that sudoku grid looks like what i love to see, simon wont disappoint!
Utterly outstandingly beautiful. Wow. Phistomefel is a wonder. I agree Simon, the pacing was incredible. Also, that sort of solving takes great skill and endurance, very well done!
Simon marked the Star at Column 12 as red very early but by placing two green strings in column 12 that clue would be wrong. I mean dont get me wrong those stars are very useless but they atleast are important because of the "Every consecutive set of unshaded cells is accounted for by Japanese Sum clues". I understand that rule so that in a column with 2 clues you could a maximum of two strings of green. Pls correct me if i am wrong.
Am I missing something? Simon is ruling out possible numbers because they are in a column already, but are in a different green area. About 52 mins in general said if there was a 4 below the 7 in the 9th column, it would rule out a 4 in the domino in the 12 column. Just want to check if I'm understanding right on the rule or not
1:17:00 another way to prove the logic is consider the minimum size of the 2? cage going down in Column 11. Well the minimum it could be is 9+6+5 (8 and 7 are ruled out) but then any one of those breaks the 3 clue on R6. So that proves R6C11 is black.
"Sitting on the shoulder of a giant" is pretty much telling Simon he took too long to see the 4/8 disambiguation at col5, in the very end of the video. Sitting like a pigeon, I might add. Clothes could need a little bit of a wash because of that.
Have you guys considered making an app of GAS puzzles for children? I have 3 kids and they love watching your vids with me and trying to help me solve the puzzles but they are wanting to do their own puzzles. Thanks for all you do for the puzzling community! CHEERS!
I tried this one back when it came out, tapped out after three hours. Tried again just now, same result though I did get a bit further. It's amazing regardless, looking forward to watching the solve.
Remember Simon you can get yourself a delicious homemade chocolate cake and all you have to do is bend your morals a little bit and award me the glum hippo plushy.
