Today’s Genuinely Approachable Sudoku by Bill Murphy is a minor variation of a favorite style here at GMPuzzles: Outside Sudoku. Can you place all the numbers now that the outside clues refer to the second, third, or fourth cells in that direction?

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from Bill Murphy, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Variation of Outside Sudoku 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. Some numbers are given outside the grid. These numbers must appear in the second, third, or fourth cell in the corresponding direction.

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

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:35, 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.

Our World Sudoku Championship playoffs puzzle series continues with this “16”-themed Outside Sudoku by Thomas Snyder.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku entry modes and a shading mode to mark off clues.)

Theme: 16th WSC

Author/Opus: This is the 455th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Outside 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 numbers are given outside the grid. These numbers must appear in the first three cells in the corresponding direction.

Estimated Difficulty: 2.5-3 stars

Solution: PDF for all playoff puzzles.

Note: Follow this link for more Outside Sudoku puzzles. More Outside Sudoku puzzles can be found in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 4.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku entry modes and a shading mode to mark off clues.)

Author/Opus: This is the 99th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Outside 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 numbers are given outside the grid. These numbers must appear in the first three cells in the corresponding direction.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:00, Master = 10:45, Expert = 21:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for more Outside Sudoku puzzles. More Outside Sudoku puzzles can be found in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 4.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku entry modes and a shading mode to mark off clues.)

Theme: Extra Regions

Author/Opus: This is the 223rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Outside 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 numbers are given outside the grid. These numbers must appear in the first three cells in the corresponding direction.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for more Outside Sudoku puzzles. More Outside Sudoku puzzles can be found in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 4.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku entry modes and a shading mode to mark off clues.)

Theme: 69 Slices of Pi

Author/Opus: This is the 37th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: Standard Outside Sudoku rules. (Some digit clues are repeated but these behave no differently than single clues; 0’s can be ignored.)

Answer String: Enter the 3rd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th column from top to bottom.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for more Outside Sudoku puzzles. More Outside Sudoku puzzles can be found in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 4.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku entry modes and a shading mode to mark off clues.)

Theme: Almost all in order – two double 1-9 digit pangrams and two single 1-9 digit pangrams are on the outside of this grid.

Rules: Standard Outside Sudoku rules.

Answer String: Enter the 5th column from top to bottom, followed by a comma, followed by the 9th column from top to bottom.

Time Standard: Outside Sudoku Grandmaster = 6:15, Master = 10:15, Expert = 20:30

Solution: PDF

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku entry modes and a shading mode to mark off clues.)

Theme: A series of series (and a constant and a square) — The seemingly random numbers outside the grid actually have some rhyme and reason.

Rules: Standard Outside Sudoku rules.

Answer String: Enter the 7th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th column from top to bottom.

Time Standard: Outside Sudoku Grandmaster = 5:00, Master = 7:00, Expert = 14:00

Solution: PDF

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku entry modes and a shading mode to mark off clues.)

Theme: Four Nonets

Rules: Standard Outside Sudoku rules.

Answer String: Enter the 5th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th column from top to bottom.

Time Standard: Outside Sudoku Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

Solution: PDF