Dr. Sudoku Prescribes #83 – Thermo-Sudoku
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Three-leaf clover (there is not much luck to be had by guessing here….)
Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules.
Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th row from left to right.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:30, Master = 11:00, Expert = 22:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for more Thermo-Sudoku puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Thermo-Sudoku to get started on. More Thermo-Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2.
Wow, quite a bit harder than I expected. Took me awhile to break-in, and then proceeded to hang myself up forgetting about the Thermo after I had solved a good chunk of it.
Overall, good puzzle and I like the logical thinking and steps required to get to the solution. I especially like that the Thermo variation is required along multiple points of the solve.
Finished a long week at work, and get tomorrow off, so it felt like a Friday to me. Unfortunately, the puzzle agreed difficulty-wise. Broke this completely twice, and then tried hard to break it by transposing a 2 and 4 in the final fill-in. I usually seem to have really good luck at thermos, so I’m not sure why this one bit me so hard. Maybe I was taking it for granted.
Wow!Brilliant….
The X-wing in between the solve…amazing…took me a very long time to spot.I was so fixed on playing around with the thermometers that i did not use the standard sudoku rule until the very last.
This sudoku would clearly differentiate a top solver and a good solver.I have understood that it is really important to change the heuristics if a particular way of thinking does not work out.
I’m glad you noticed the X-Wing on the 1’s. It was a big part of my design and indeed something you must look at in a “sudoku” sense a not a “thermo” sense to make progress on.
6’25, but I wouldn’t consider my solving as the one of a Grandmaster; failing to see an obvious single for maybe one minute and a half nearly cost me the GM label.
Nice puzzle. I have seen harder thermo-sudokus, but there was quite an element of surprise in this one as it seemed at first that it would fall quickly, and only then it proved to be tougher than expected. Interesting.