159 (Column Indexer) Arrow Sudoku by Philip Newman
(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
If you haven’t tried a 159 (or other Column Indexer) before, you might check out the previous GAS featuring this variant. Today’s offering adds Arrows to the mix!

or solve online (using SudokuPad)
Author/Opus: This is the 79th puzzle from Philip Newman, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.
Rules: Standard Arrow 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 arrow shapes are in the grid; the sum of the numbers along the path of each arrow must equal the number in the circled cell. Numbers can repeat within an arrow shape.
Also, the cells marked in red are column indexers. In this puzzle, 1, 5, and 9 are the column indexers. If the number X is in a red cell in column Y in a given row, then in the same row the number Y is in column X. (For example, if in the second row there is a 2 in column 1 in the red column indexer, then the 1 in that row is in column 2; similarly, if there is a 5 in column 7 of the bottom row, that would mean column 5 of the bottom row contains a 7 because of where the 5 would be indexed.)
GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 7:00; One party hat (🥳): 13:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Ocular Orosaurus.
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; 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.









