Kurotto (Skyscrapers) by Prasanna Seshadri
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Couples
Author/Opus: This is the 185th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.
Rules: Standard Kurotto rules. Also, numbers outside the grid show the number of separate shaded cells visible in that direction. A segment of length N in a given direction is taken as a building of height N. Buildings of height N block the view of all buildings behind them of equal or lesser height.
See also this example:
Difficulty: 4 stars
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:30, Master = 9:30, Expert = 19:00
Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.
Note: Follow this link for classic Kurotto puzzles and this link for variations on Kurotto puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Kurotto to get started on. More Kurotto puzzles can be found in the ebook Kurotto by Prasanna Seshadri.
Took a couple of tries to get started on this because of something I assumed was a rule, but turned out not to be. Glad I finally was able to let go of a preconceived notion.
I have no idea what I was doing wrong, but I had to erase the grid like 3 times before I finally arrived at the solution.
Is it true in Kurotto that all black squares must necessarily be attached to a number clue?
That’s actually what I was alluding to above. I assumed it to be true, because it always was. A detached group in a straight Kurotto could either be filled or empty, meaning a non-unique solution. But once you introduce other ways of constraining cells, not being an explicit rule suddenly becomes important.
That part I didn’t have trouble with since it is in the example below the top 7. I still couldn’t figure out where exactly did I gone wrong on my multiple attempts, however, except that it was somewhere on the left side.
Thanks for the clarification, Roger, that was helpful to think through.
I came back to this after breaking it the first time around. So glad I did–what a puzzle! Really enjoying this Kurotto week.