This cute Clone Sudoku by clover! gets not one, not two, but four + ratings from us for extending Classic Sudoku solving in a less common way.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Author/Opus: This is the 38th 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). Additionally, each shaded, connected shape (“clone”) in the grid must include the same numbers in the same positions with no rotations or reflections. Numbers may repeat within a clone.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 6:00; One party hat (🥳): 11:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: experimental Erketu.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:36, 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 and solving video with explanation 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.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
At times it may seem important to hide your intelligence, to hide the magic behind your tricks with smoke and mirrors. But when testing your Sudoku intelligence, whether as a solver or a setter, there may be places where there is nothing that you can hide.

PDF or alternate “Nothing to Hide” (the Snyder Cut)*

or solve online as shown here (using SudokuPad), or the Snyder Cut*

Author/Opus: This is the 596th puzzle from Thomas Snyder.

Rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each white cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:15, Master = 9:30, Expert = 19:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Special author’s note: This puzzle was highly inspired by a design from Serkan Yürekli even if so refactored, reworked, or otherwise changed he may not know which thing. You will always be more than a Puzzle Robot to us.

*Special editorial note: We had significant internal debate about whether to publish this sudoku as the author originally intended for the A Story of Self-Setting Sudoku series, or as appropriate as a proper Sudoku. We are doing both but want to make clear the author’s preferred starting point is the alternate link that disobeys design rules with extra filler for some reason.

We’re premiering a new Daily YouTube video series (Today in Sudoku) to help explain our Sudoku content, highlight other projects and news, and we’re going to release it daily around 8:45 AM so it can include a teaser for the upcoming puzzle and be a place we gather before solving that. Today it is ok if no one is here and watching on time. We are starting to do things, and find the roles we need to hire, so we can have “The Most Important Sudoku” every day at one place at one time, which is what a daily puzzle needs to have to be most valuable as a daily puzzle. The audience will be here eventually. We already have the best Genuinely Approachable (Variant) Sudoku and we are moving towards the same for Classics.

This does not replace “This Month in Sudoku” which is for longer themes and when we let Thomas have unscripted sections to say more big picture summaries and connect dots where people haven’t seen things. We are still planning the exact date for the second episode of that.

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
Today’s GAS puzzle by Philip Newman is an incredible play on Little Killer clues and we hope brings you three times as much joy as usual.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Triforce

Author/Opus: This is the 19th puzzle from Philip Newman, 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). Numbers along indicated diagonals must sum to the given total outside the grid.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:30; One party hat (🥳): 17:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Asthmatic Astigmasaura.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 4:21, 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 and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for more Genuinely Approachable Sudoku puzzles on this site. 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.discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
To learn more about how an AI solves and thinks about puzzles, we cover the majority of the grid and limit it to just a subset of the boxes. It is very curious how having 32 empty cells instead of 32 givens can lead to abrupt behavior changes when altering the attention mask.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Author/Opus: This is the 595th puzzle from Thomas Snyder.

Rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each white cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 8:30, Expert = 17:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

W-W-W-W-W-W-What are you doing today? Solving this fun Thermo-Sudoku from Bill Murphy, as we all do the worm.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Doing the Worm

Author/Opus: This is the 16th puzzle from Bill Murphy, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules. (Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region. Some thermometer shapes are in the grid; numbers must be strictly increasing from the round bulb to the flat end.)

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 7:00; One party hat (🥳): 13:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: OPENTHEDARWINSAURUS.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:02, 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 and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

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 these books in our e-store. Also, visit this page to purchase all of the puzzles from the 16th World Sudoku Championship including some Thermo-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.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
To learn more about how an AI solves and thinks about puzzles, we cover the majority of the grid and limit it to just a subset of the boxes. It is very curious how having 32 empty cells instead of 32 givens can lead to abrupt behavior changes when altering the attention mask.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Author/Opus: This is the 594th puzzle from Thomas Snyder.

Rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each white cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:45, Master = 3:45, Expert = 7:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

With only the given plus shape in the center, can you add more numbers from the Quadruples clues to complete this Sudoku by clover!?

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Author/Opus: This is the 37th 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). Numbers in white circles must appear in at least one of the four surrounding cells.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:00; One party hat (🥳): 15:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: touchy Torosaurus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 4:13, 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 and solving video with explanation 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.

(This post is part of: “A Story of Self-setting Sudoku”.)
To learn more about how an AI solves and thinks about puzzles, we cover the majority of the grid and limit it to just a subset of the boxes. It is very curious how having 32 empty cells instead of 32 givens can lead to abrupt behavior changes when altering the attention mask.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Author/Opus: This is the 593rd puzzle from Thomas Snyder.

Rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each white cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Difficulty (highlight to view): 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:45, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Twelve Months of Sudoku? post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
While the grid may look “classic” to you, you’ll need to know that no pairs sum up to 5 or 10 to make progress.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Two Deadly Givens

Author/Opus: This is the 18th puzzle from Philip Newman, 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). No two numbers in adjacent cells can sum to exactly 10 or 5 as in the Roman Numerals for X or V. (This is the same rule as in XV Sudoku, but there are no X or V clues given here so it is Anti- only.)

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:00; One party hat (🥳): 16:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Silent Seismosaurus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:20, 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 and solving video with explanation 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.