Difference Adjacent Sudoku by clover!
(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
Unlike a June GAS puzzle where the circled numbers marked the sums of neighboring cells, the arithmetic variation is reversed to refer to the maximum difference this time.
or solve online (using SudokuPad)
Author/Opus: This is the 33rd puzzle from Clover, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.
Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). A circled number in a cell must equal the difference between the largest and smallest values in the orthogonally adjacent (up to 4) surrounding cells.
GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 7:00; One party hat (🥳): 13:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: different Diceratops.
Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:27, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).
Solution: PDF; solving video with explanation to be added later from GAS team.
Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.
Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.