Fortress Sudoku by Philip Newman
(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
Numbers 3 through 6 are trapped by higher digits on all orthogonally placed sides. Rescue these numbers in distress by storming this Fortress Sudoku.
or solve online (using SudokuPad)
Theme: Boxed In
Author/Opus: This is the 147th 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). A number in a gray cell must be larger than any number in an adjacent white cell that shares an edge. (To assist solvers, this is shown like a greater than/less than shape in how the gray cells are drawn.)
GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:00; One party hat (🥳): 20:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Lackadaisical Lavocatisaurus.
Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:59, 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
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.