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PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 4:53 am 
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Posts: 24
For this puzzle, I followed the same constraints as the puzzles in HATMAN's Human Solvable series. SudokuSolver requires trial and error to complete this puzzle, but a human can solve it without trial and error by making use of moves that the program misses.

ImageImage
SS Score: 4.15

Code: paste into solver:
3x3::k:5120:5120:0000:0000:2305:0000:0000:3074:3074:2563:5120:0000:0000:2305:0000:4356:3589:3074:2563:2563:0000:0000:4102:4356:4356:3589:0000:0000:0000:4102:4102:4102:2823:4360:3589:4617:0000:0000:4874:4874:4874:2823:4360:4360:4617:0000:0000:4619:4619:4619:2823:4360:5388:4617:3597:3597:0000:1806:4619:2319:2319:5388:0000:3597:2576:0000:1806:2577:0000:2319:5388:3346:2576:2576:0000:1806:2577:0000:0000:3346:3346:


Solution:
946513827
571682493
328947615
813726549
652894731
794351268
289165374
435279186
167438952


Especially as this is my first attempt at posting a human solvable type puzzle, any feedback or suggestions are appreciated.


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 5:13 am 
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Posts: 1893
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
Thanks ixsetf for a nice puzzle. It proved to be a fairly easy one, a lot simpler than I'd expected; easier than Ed's Assassin 346. I liked the way that so many cages could be quickly reduced to one combination.

Here is my walkthrough:
Prelims

a) R12C5 = {18/27/36/45}, no 9
b) R89C5 = {19/28/37/46}, no 5
c) 20(3) cage at R1C1 = {389/479/569/578}, no 1,2
d) 10(3) cage at R2C1 = {127/136/145/235}, no 8,9
e) 11(3) cage at R4C6 = {128/137/146/236/245}, no 9
f) 19(3) cage at R5C3 = {289/379/469/478/568}, no 1
g) 21(3) cage at R6C8 = {489/579/678}, no 1,2,3
h) 7(3) cage at R7C4 = {124}
i) 9(3) cage at R6C6 = {126/135/234}, no 7,8,9
j) 10(3) cage at R8C2 = {127/136/145/235}, no 8,9

1a. Naked triple {124} in R7C4, locked for C4 and N8, clean-up: no 6,8,9 in R89C5
1b. Naked pair {37} in R89C5, locked for C5 and N5, clean-up: no 2,6 in R12C5
1c. 9(3) cage at R7C6 = {126/135} (cannot be {234} because R6C6 only contains 5,6), no 4, 1 locked for C7 and N9
1d. R6C6 = {56} -> no 5,6 in R78C7

2a. 45 rule on N1 3 innies R123C3 = 15
2b. 45 rule on N7 3 innies R789C3 = 21 = {489/579/678}, no 1,2,3
2c. 45 rule on C3 3 remaining innies R456C3 = 9 = {126/135/234}, no 7,8,9
2d. 45 rule on N5 5(3+2) outies R456C3 + R37C5 = 19, R456C3 = 9 -> R37C5 = 10 = [19/28/46]
2e. 45 rule on C5 5 innies R34567C5 = 26, R37C5 = 10 -> R456C5 = 16
2f. 45 rule on N5 R456C5 = 16, 11(3) cage at R4C6 -> 3 remaining innies R456C4 = 18
2g. 45 rule on C4 R456C4 = 18, 7(3) cage at R7C4 -> 3 remaining innies R123C4 = 20 = {389/569} (cannot be {578} which clashes with R12C5), no 7, 9 locked for C4 and N2
2h. Killer pair 5,8 in R123C4 and R12C5, locked for N2
2i. R456C4 = 18 = {378/567}, 7 locked for N5
2j. 5 in N8 only in R789C6, locked for C6
2k. 9 in C6 only in R89C6, locked for N8, clean-up: no 1 in R3C5
2l. Killer pair 4,8 in R12C5 and R37C5, locked for C5
2m. 4 in N5 only in 11(3) cage at R4C6 = {146} (only remaining combination), locked for C6 and N5 -> R7C6 = 5, R78C7 = {13}, locked for C7 and N9
2n. R7C5 = 6 (hidden single in N8) -> R3C5 = 4
2o. R12C5 = {18} (hidden pair in C5), locked for N2
2p. R456C4 = {378} (hidden triple in N5), locked for C4
2q. 16(4) cage at R3C5 contains 4 in R3C5 = {2347} (only possible combination, cannot be {1249/1456} because R4C4 only contains 3,7,8, cannot be {1348} because R4C5 only contains 2,5,9) -> R4C345 = [372]
2r. 18(4) cage at R6C3 contains 6 in R7C5 = {3456} (only remaining combination, cannot be {1269/1467} because R6C4 only contains 3,8, cannot be {1368/2367} because R6C5 only contains 5,9) -> R6C345 = [435]
2s. R5C45 = [89] -> R5C3 = 2 (cage sum)
2t. 45 rule on N6 2 innies R46C8 = 10 = [19/46]
2u. R789C3 = 21 = {579/678}, 7 locked for C3 and N7
2v. 1 in C3 only in R123C3, locked for N1
2w. 10(3) cage at R2C1 = {235}, locked for N1
2x. R123C3 = 15 = {168}, locked for C3 and N1
2y. Naked triple {579} in R789C3, locked for N7
2z. 10(3) cage at R8C2 = {136}, locked for N7
2aa. R7C47 = [13] (hidden pair in R7), R8C7 = 1
2ab. 21(3) cage at R6C8 = {489/579/678}, R6C8 = {69} -> no 6,9 in R78C8
2ac. 45 rule on N9 4 remaining innies R7C78 + R8C8 + R9C7 = 28 = {4789} (only possible combination, cannot be {5689} which clashes with 21(3) cage), locked for N9
2ad. 21(3) cage = {489/678}, 8 locked for C8 and N9
2ae. 2 in R7 only in R7C12, locked for N7
2af. 45 rule on C8 3 innies R159C8 = 10 = {127/235} (cannot be {136} which clashes with R46C8, cannot be {145} which clashes with R4C8), no 4,6,9, 2 locked for C8
2ag. R46C8 = [19/46], 21(3) cage = {489/678} -> combined half-cage R4678C8 = [19]{48}/[46]{78}, 4 locked for C8
2ah. R159C8 = {235} (only remaining combination, cannot be {127} which clashes with combined half-cage), locked for C8
2ai. 13(3) cage at R8C9 = {256}, 6 locked for C9
2aj. R9C6 = 8 (hidden single in R9), R8C6 = 9

3. 18(3) cage at R4C9 = {189/279/378} (cannot be {459} which clashes with R46C8), no 4,5
3a. 1 of {189} must be in R5C9 -> no 1 in R46C9
3b. 1 in N6 must be in R46C8 (step 2t) = [19] or in 18(3) cage = {189} -> 18(3) cage = {189/378} (cannot be {279}, locking-out cages), no 2, 8 locked for C9 and N6
3c. 3 of {378} must be in R5C9 -> no 7 in R5C9
3d. R6C7 = 2 (hidden single in N6)
3e. 17(4) cage at R4C7 = {2357/2456}, no 9
3f. 7 of {2357} must be in R5C7 -> no 5 in R5C7
[Ed pointed out that step 3b is locking-out cages, rather than blocking cages, because one of the combinations being used is in the same cage as the one in which a combination is being eliminated.]

4. 12(3) cage at R1C8 = {129/237/345} (cannot be {147} because R1C8 only contains 2,3,5)
4a. 3 in C8 only in 12(3) cage = {237/345} or 3 in R5C89 = [31] -> 12(3) cage = {237/345} (cannot be {129}, blocking cages), no 1,9, 3 locked for N3
4b. 5 of {345} must be in R1C8 ({345} gives naked pair {35} in R15C8, locked for C8, R9C8 = 2 => naked pair {56}, locked for C9), no 5 in R12C9
4c. 14(3) cage at R2C8 = {149/167}
4d. 17(3) cage at R2C7 = {278/359/368/467} (cannot be {269} which clashes with 14(3) cage at R2C8, cannot be {458} because R3C6 only contains 2,3,7)
4e. Variable hidden killer triple 5,7,9 for N3, 12(3) cage contains one of 5,7, 14(3) cage at R2C8 contains one of 7,9 -> 17(3) cage = {278/368/467} (cannot be {359} which contains both of 5,9 in R23C7), no 5,9
4f. 2 in N3 only in 12(3) cage = {237} or in R3C9 -> 17(3) cage {368/467} (cannot be {278}, blocking cages), no 2, 6 locked for C7 and N3, clean-up: no 7 in 14(3) cage
4g. Naked pair {19} in R23C8, locked for C8 and N3 -> R46C8 = [46], R45C7 = [57], R5C89 = [31], R46C9 = {89}, locked for C9
4h. R78C8 = {78}, locked for N9 -> R7C9 = 4
4i. 12(3) cage = {237} (only remaining combination) -> R1C8 = 2

and the rest is naked and hidden singles.
Thanks Ed for pointing out a couple of typos and that step 3b is locking-out cages, not blocking cages. I've also clarified step 4b.

Rating Comment:
I'll rate my walkthrough at Easy 1.5. I used blocking cages, locking-out cages and a combined half-cage.

I'm guessing that SudokuSolver hasn't been programmed:
to do 45s on strings of hidden cages. A few things haven't been included in its programming because they rarely occur in puzzles.


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 5:27 am 
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Grand Master
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Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2008 1:16 am
Posts: 1039
Location: Sydney, Australia
ixsetf wrote:
For this puzzle, I followed the same constraints as the puzzles in HATMAN's Human Solvable series. SudokuSolver requires trial and error to complete this puzzle
I think HATMAN usually looks for JSudoku to also struggle for his HS puzzles. JSudoku has no trouble with this one. As Andrew thought, SS isn't coded for such a big series of hidden cages. When I give it one of those cages, it gets a score around 1.05 see eg
modified code:
3x3::k:5120:5120:0000:5139:2305:0000:0000:3074:3074:2563:5120:0000:5139:2305:0000:4356:3589:3074:2563:2563:0000:5139:4102:4356:4356:3589:0000:0000:0000:4102:4102:4102:2823:4360:3589:4617:0000:0000:4874:4874:4874:2823:4360:4360:4617:0000:0000:4619:4619:4619:2823:4360:5388:4617:3597:3597:0000:1806:4619:2319:2319:5388:0000:3597:2576:0000:1806:2577:0000:2319:5388:3346:2576:2576:0000:1806:2577:0000:0000:3346:3346:
Thanks ixsetf for a nice fun puzzle! Like Andrew, I found it pretty easy and didn't even use some of Andrew's nice creative combo work. I used a couple of different "45"s with step 9 making a big difference. I used Andrew's nice start to the puzzle to save on time. Here are the marks for end of Andrew's step 2ab
paste into Ix K9:
Code:
.-------------------------------.-------------------------------.-------------------------------.
| 479       479       168       | 569       18        237       | 2456789   123456789 123456789 |
| 235       479       168       | 569       18        237       | 2456789   123456789 123456789 |
| 235       235       168       | 569       4         237       | 256789    12356789  12356789  |
:-------------------------------+-------------------------------+-------------------------------:
| 15689     15689     3         | 7         2         146       | 45689     14        145689    |
| 1567      1567      2         | 8         9         146       | 4567      134567    134567    |
| 16789     16789     4         | 3         5         16        | 26789     69        126789    |
:-------------------------------+-------------------------------+-------------------------------:
| 248       248       79        | 1         6         5         | 3         478       24789     |
| 248       36        579       | 24        37        89        | 1         4578      2456789   |
| 136       136       579       | 24        37        89        | 2456789   2456789   2456789   |
'-------------------------------.-------------------------------.-------------------------------'


Ix K9
Andrew's start My middle:
Prelims

a) R12C5 = {18/27/36/45}, no 9
b) R89C5 = {19/28/37/46}, no 5
c) 20(3) cage at R1C1 = {389/479/569/578}, no 1,2
d) 10(3) cage at R2C1 = {127/136/145/235}, no 8,9
e) 11(3) cage at R4C6 = {128/137/146/236/245}, no 9
f) 19(3) cage at R5C3 = {289/379/469/478/568}, no 1
g) 21(3) cage at R6C8 = {489/579/678}, no 1,2,3
h) 7(3) cage at R7C4 = {124}
i) 9(3) cage at R6C6 = {126/135/234}, no 7,8,9
j) 10(3) cage at R8C2 = {127/136/145/235}, no 8,9

1a. Naked triple {124} in R7C4, locked for C4 and N8, clean-up: no 6,8,9 in R89C5
1b. Naked pair {37} in R89C5, locked for C5 and N5, clean-up: no 2,6 in R12C5
1c. 9(3) cage at R6C6 = {126/135} (cannot be {234} because R6C6 only contains 5,6), no 4, 1 locked for C7 and N9
1d. R6C6 = {56} -> no 5,6 in R78C7

2a. 45 rule on N1 3 innies R123C3 = 15
2b. 45 rule on N7 3 innies R789C3 = 21 = {489/579/678}, no 1,2,3
2c. 45 rule on C3 3 remaining innies R456C3 = 9 = {126/135/234}, no 7,8,9
2d. 45 rule on N5 5(3+2) outies R456C3 + R37C5 = 19, R456C3 = 9 -> R37C5 = 10 = [19/28/46]
2e. 45 rule on C5 5 innies R34567C5 = 26, R37C5 = 10 -> R456C5 = 16
2f. 45 rule on N5 R456C5 = 16, 11(3) cage at R4C6 -> 3 remaining innies R456C4 = 18
2g. 45 rule on C4 R456C4 = 18, 7(3) cage at R7C4 -> 3 remaining innies R123C4 = 20 = {389/569} (cannot be {578} which clashes with R12C5), no 7, 9 locked for C4 and N2
2h. Killer pair 5,8 in R123C4 and R12C5, locked for N2
2i. R456C4 = 18 = {378/567}, 7 locked for N5
2j. 5 in N8 only in R789C6, locked for C6
2k. 9 in C6 only in R89C6, locked for N8, clean-up: no 1 in R3C5
2l. Killer pair 4,8 in R12C5 and R37C5, locked for C5
2m. 4 in N5 only in 11(3) cage at R4C6 = {146} (only remaining combination), locked for C6 and N5 -> R7C6 = 5, R78C7 = {13}, locked for C7 and N9
2n. R7C5 = 6 (hidden single in N8) -> R3C5 = 4
2o. R12C5 = {18} (hidden pair in C5), locked for N2
2p. R456C4 = {378} (hidden triple in N5), locked for C4
2q. 16(4) cage at R3C5 contains 4 in R3C5 = {2347} (only possible combination, cannot be {1249/1456} because R4C4 only contains 3,7,8, cannot be {1348} because R4C5 only contains 2,5,9) -> R4C345 = [372]
2r. 18(4) cage at R6C3 contains 6 in R7C5 = {3456} (only remaining combination, cannot be {1269/1467} because R6C4 only contains 3,8, cannot be {1368/2367} because R6C5 only contains 5,9) -> R6C345 = [435]
2s. R5C45 = [89] -> R5C3 = 2 (cage sum)
2t. 45 rule on N6 2 innies R46C8 = 10 = [19/46]
2u. R789C3 = 21 = {579/678}, 7 locked for C3 and N7
2v. 1 in C3 only in R123C3, locked for N1
2w. 10(3) cage at R2C1 = {235}, locked for N1
2x. R123C3 = 15 = {168}, locked for C3 and N1
2y. Naked triple {579} in R789C3, locked for N7
2z. 10(3) cage at R8C2 = {136}, locked for N7
2aa. R7C47 = [13] (hidden pair in R7), R8C7 = 1
2ab. 21(3) cage at R6C8 = {489/579/678}, R6C8 = {69} -> no 6,9 in R78C8

Now me.
3. 17(4)n6: can have at most one of 1,3 since they are only in r5c8
3a. and {1268/1457} blocked by r46c8
3b. = {1259/2348/2357/2456}
3c. must have 2 -> r6c7 = 2
3d. 3 in {2357} must be in r5c8 -> no 7 in r5c8

4. "45" on n6: 4 outies r2378c8 = 25
4a. but {2689/3679/4579} all blocked by r46c8
4b. = {1789/3589/4678}(no 2)
4c. must have 8: 8 locked for c8

5. "45" on c8: 3 innies r139c8 = 10 and must have 2 for c8
5a. = {127/235}(no 4,6,9) = [3/7,5/7..]

6. 21(3)r6c8: {579} blocked by h10(3)(step 5a)
6a. = {489/678}(no 5)
6b. must have 8: 8 locked for n7 and c8

7. 13(3)n9 = {247/256}(no 9)
7a. must have 2: 2 locked for n9

8. 14(3)r2c8 must have 1,4 for r4c8
8a. but {347} blocked by h10(3)c8 (step 5a)
8b. = {149/167}(no 3,5)
8c. must have 1: locked for c8
8d. -> h10(3)c8 = {235} only

The crack
9. "45" on c89: 3 innies r3c9 + r5c8 + r7c9 = 12 = [237/354/534]
9a. ie, r3c9 = (235), r7c9 = (47)
9b. must have 3 in r3c9 or r5c8 -> no 3 in r5c9 nor r1c8
9c. -> r5c8 = 3 (hidden single c8 & n6)
9d. -> r37c9 = 9 = [54/27]

10. naked triple {478} in n9: 4&7 locked for n9
10a. 13(3)= {256} only: 5 & 6 locked for n9
10b. r9c7 = 9

11. naked triple {256} in r389c9: locked for c9

12. 18(3)n6 = {189} only valid combination: locked for n6 and c9 (Thanks Andrew!)

much easier now
Cheers
Ed


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