(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
In this puzzle, you’ll want to look near each of the X clues to find a “treasure” of logic and a path to the final answer.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: X Marks the Spot

Author/Opus: This is the 128th 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 marked with an X indicate how many different numbers are in the four cells diagonally adjacent to it.

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

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:29, 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.