The Twelve Days of Sudoku #9b by Thomas Snyder
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Variations on a Hungarian Sudoku in Five Minutes
Author/Opus: Unknown; varied by Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku, as his 545th puzzle.
Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:00, Master = 5:15, Expert = 10:30
Solution: PDF and solving animation.
Note: Follow this link for other classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More Sudoku including variations can be found in these books in our e-store. Also, visit this page to purchase all of the puzzles from the 16th World Sudoku Championship including classic Sudoku.
Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our The Twelve Days of Sudoku Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.
Note 3: Please check lesson notes from Dr. Sudoku on Google Docs.
4:47. Cool solve !
The puzzle pdf/image doesn’t seem to match the penpa grid or the solution pdf
It looks like you ran into an additional variation here. We’ve updated the art to synchronize things to the preferred grid which was the one you found in Penpa.
That’s an amazing construction, thanks for sharing! The way that last box resolves… I wouldn’t have expected such a puzzle to exist.
Am I correct to infer that essentially this puzzle was published in some Hungarian source in the past, some WSC maybe? I’d love some more info on the origin!
I’ll probably discuss this puzzle more in a future YouTube video because it has a longer history than I can share here. The original was at the 2005 WPC as a playoff puzzle, and is something I’ve been practicing to test my notation for many years. I’ve looked to make other puzzles like it with the same unusual ending with 6 or 7 “Snyder notes” but no numbers placed yet which this “variation” also does.