SudokuSolver Forum

There are three difficulties to choose from.
All three puzzles have the same solution.

A) Apprentice (mainstream edition).
B) Master (82 Intersections, 3 Naked Pairs, 4 Naked Triplets, 3 Naked Quads, 1 X-Wing in g2, 1 Skyscraper in g2). Select to view GRID numbers.
C) Guru (98 Intersections, 10 Naked Pairs, 5 Naked Triplets, 2 Naked Quads, 1 X-Wing, 3 Turbot Fishes, 3 Finned X-Wing, 2 Finned Swordfish, 3 XY-Wings, 1 XYZ-Wing, 2 XY-Chains up to 5 links, 1 XY-Chain).



Regular Clueless Special #8A (Apprentice)

Rating based on required solving techniques:  Barely Hard

100008300000040807086000200004000030700000050500000600001360700200900400000001000
500200030070000500100506709001000008700000004080000300008047600040000090010002000
020006408405700003000000000700000040090000000000000000506300004009100000000004037
000003200000800000709000030590000007000000106008000009100047800000200013903000000
000000020004200605700300000670000008050000000000000100320000900107004006000100000
000087430940005006000000008200000000005000000036000800800700309050160007000000080
800000007004058010000000600006000034200000800700000000050090008102005000080600001
000005090007000000450701002070000005936000000000000008209003084008007020000800000
070000490200030000009008003000000000701000000000000960602000010000096000040000020



Regular Clueless Special #8B (Master)

Rating based on required solving techniques:  Extra Hard

100008300000040807086000200004000030700000050500000600001360700200900400000001000
500000030070000500000506709001000008700000004080000300008047600045000090010002000
020006408405700003000000000700000040090000000000000000506300004009100000000004037
000003200000800000709000030590000007000000106008000009100047800000200013903000000
000000020004200605700300000670000008050000000000000100320000900107004006000100000
000087430940005006000000008200000000005000000036000800800700309050160007000000080
800000007004058010000000600006000034200000800700000000050090008102005000080600001
000005090000000000450701002070000005906000000000000000209003004008007020000800000
070000490200030000009008003000000000001000000000000960602000010000096000040000020



Regular Clueless Special #8C (Guru)

Rating based on required solving techniques:  Ultra Hard

100008300000040807086000200004000000700000050500000600001360700200900400000001000
500000030070000500000506709001000008700000004080000300008047600040000090010002000
020006408405700003000000000700000040090000000000000000506300004009100000000004037
000003200000800000709000030590000007000000106008000009100047800000200003903000000
000000020004200605700300000670000008050000000000000100320000900107004006000100000
000087430940005006000000008200000000005000000036000800800700309050160007000000080
800000007004058010000000600006000034200000800700000000000090008102005000080600001
000005090000000000450701002070000005906000000000000000209003004008007020000800000
070000490200030000009008003000000000001000000000000960602000010000096000040000020

_________________
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Normal: [D  Y-m-d,  G:i]     PM->email: [D, d M Y H:i:s]

I liked the Master puzzle this time around. Great work!

Thanks for the feedback and the praise. If possible to pinpoint, any details why you especially liked this Master puzzle compared to the other ones would be appreciated, i.e. was it just how the puzzle solved, the solving techniques required, etc. Then I know what to look for when creating future puzzles.

I have now gotten so far with the generation software that the base puzzle for all difficulties is created 100% automatically and absolutely randomly. I push Ctrl+M and 1 second later the base puzzle is finished. And the semi-manual process for refining the base puzzle into the various difficulties is by now also pretty much standardized. But during the semi-manual refining process I sometimes have several candidates for the Master puzzle.

_________________
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Normal: [D  Y-m-d,  G:i]     PM->email: [D, d M Y H:i:s]

i appricate your efforts

all of these in the least difficult seem to be a bit harder than any of Ruud's, it could be just my perception.

Perhaps im a list addict and not as motivated.

this particular one needed some triples, i guess thats barely hard.

They take me an hour or so.

ill stick ro the apprentice levels,
oh great master.

Correct. Minimum 4 Naked Pairs and 1 Naked Triplet were required.
To get some variation Regular Clueless Special (RCS) #8A was harder than the average Apprentice level RCS. The Apprentice level for #9 is a tiny bit easier. The Apprentice level puzzles for #10 and #11 should be quite a bit easier.

The last two Regular Clueless Specials did not have a Novice level puzzle. Do you want me to start including those again?
I could do so from Regular Clueless Special #12. I have already generated upto Regular Clueless Special #11 without including a Novice level puzzle.

_________________
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Normal: [D  Y-m-d,  G:i]     PM->email: [D, d M Y H:i:s]

[/quote]
I think it is better if you start including them again, not for myself, since for me the Apprentice level is ok.
But for those who work on paper-pencil and also for those just starting with Clueless variants, in those cases the Novice level is better!

_________________
Nothing can both be and not be

This may sound strange, but making a Novice level puzzle is more time consuming than any of the other levels, except maybe Wizard. This is the reason I stopped making them, and I will only start making them again if someone actually say that they solve them.

_________________
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Normal: [D  Y-m-d,  G:i]     PM->email: [D, d M Y H:i:s]

Well, don't count me in
I work only on Apprentice and, some times, with higher levels

_________________
Nothing can both be and not be

I was wondering where the Novice level puzzles went! I think I can handle the Apprentice ones, though.

Every week I try to make minimum a Novice, an Apprentice and a Master puzzle, but some weeks I am not successful accomplishing this, mostly due to lack of time. In addition to making the actual puzzles, also the images and the textual presentation have to be made.

_________________
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Normal: [D  Y-m-d,  G:i]     PM->email: [D, d M Y H:i:s]