(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.

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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 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 the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.
Returning again after several days, but with a slight orientation change showing another use of the sum arrows, here is Sum Detector Sudoku (Again) by clover!

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Author/Opus: This is the 32nd 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). Also, the number in each cell with an arrow must equal the sum of the values in one or more cells along the direction pointed at by the arrow, starting with the cell that the arrow points to directly. (For instance, R3C2 could equal R3C3 + R3C4 or R3C3 + R3C4 + R3C5.)

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 7:30; One party hat (🥳): 14:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: sharp-eyed Shamosaurus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:20, 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.

This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.
While this Sudoku looks like a proper classic, a special rule applies along each border between regions. Can you still find the one solution?

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Author/Opus: This is the 31st 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). Also, when considering the borders between two adjacent 3×3 regions, on one side all three numbers must be less than their direct neighbors across the border. (In other words, if adding < or > symbols to the three edges between adjacent regions, the three symbols must all point the same way.)

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

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:01, 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 the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.
Like a Little Killer Sudoku, the internal arrows in this Sum Detector Sudoku indicate the sum of some number of cells along their path, but the number of cells must be determined.

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Author/Opus: This is the 30th 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). Also, the number in each cell with an arrow must equal the sum of the values in one or more cells along the diagonal pointed at by the arrow, starting with the cell that the arrow points to directly. (For instance, R1C3 could equal R2C4, or R2C4+R3C5, or R2C4+R3C5+R4C6, and so on.)

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 6:30; One party hat (🥳): 12:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: additive Anzu.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:34, 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.

In this second puzzle in a Surplus/Deficit series this week, all the extras from puzzle one are leading to some less full spaces in this grid. Can you still complete this Deficit Sudoku by Clover?

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Author/Opus: This is the 29th puzzle from Clover, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Deficit Sudoku rules, with numbers from 1-8: Insert a number from 1 to 8 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row or column. Some regions appear with fewer cells than there are numbers in the indicated range. No number repeats in these regions, but not all numbers will appear in each of these regions.

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

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:19, 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.

Clover’s left room for something extra in every region of this Surplus Sudoku, the first of a two puzzle series this week.

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Author/Opus: This is the 28th puzzle from Clover, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Surplus Sudoku rules, with numbers from 1-8: Insert a number from 1 to 8 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row or column. Some regions appear with more cells than there are numbers in the indicated range. Some number(s) repeat in these regions, but all numbers in the indicated range must appear at least once within each of these regions.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 7:30; One party hat (🥳): 14:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: excessive Echinodon.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:28, 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.

While this may not yet look like a Sudoku, you’ll have to construct some regions while filling in numbers to find the unique solution.

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Theme: A Little Bit of Chaos

Author/Opus: This is the 27th puzzle from Clover, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Divide the grid along the grid lines into six non-overlapping, orthogonally-connected six-cell regions. Also, insert a number from 1 to 6 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or region. A number filling a circle indicates how many of the cells touching the circle (up to nine, including the cell with the circle in it) are in that region.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 5:30; One party hat (🥳): 10:30. All other solvers earn a 🦕: chaotic Kulindadromeus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 1:15, 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.

Clover wrote this Sum Adjacent puzzle that showcases a way to place mathematical constraints into a Sudoku grid in a simple but powerful way.

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Author/Opus: This is the 26th 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 sum of all orthogonally adjacent numbers to that cell.

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

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 1:41, 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.

Today Clover continues sharing appropriately-themed puzzles to mark the fifth year of GAS. In this Killer Sudoku variant, all the cage sums must end in five.

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Author/Opus: This is the (5×5)th puzzle from Clover, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.*

Rules: Variation of Killer Sudoku. Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region. Within each cage, the sum of the numbers must end in five (i.e., 5, 15, 25, 35, 45). Numbers do not repeat within a cage.

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

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:22, 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 more Killer Sudoku and this link for classic Sudoku. More Killer Sudoku puzzles can be found in Killer Sudoku by Serkan Yürekli.

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.

*Special Editorial Note: With this published puzzle, Clover has set a new record (likely never to be broken?) for fastest time to 25 posts on Grandmaster Puzzles (just 26 days). This breaks the previous record by legendary male puzzlemaker Thomas Snyder set on January 28, 2013 (29 days). While some may say that puzzles like Just One Cell Sudoku shouldn’t count as much, we think every diverse idea matters in this world and every one of Clover’s 25 record-setting puzzles has been a stellar display of hand-crafted Sudoku.

The number five proves to be a versatile clue in this mathematical GAS puzzle by Clover. Please continue the celebration of five years of GAS by solving this Sudoku.

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Author/Opus: This is the 24th 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 separated by a white circle either add up to 5 or have a difference of 5. Not all possible circles are necessarily given.

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

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 1:58, 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.