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PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 6:26 am 
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[edit: Now a much easier way to make killers by Børge (see final two posts in this thread)]
[edit2: JSudoku's download site has gone. Send me a pm or email to get a copy of the install file - Ed]


This thread is in response to a couple of requests about how to make killers. This post is one way - and only works for vanilla and x killers. This is a merging of what I (used to) do and two descriptions by Frank and mikejapan on djape.

http://www.djape.net/sudoku/forum/viewtopic.php?p=388#388
http://www.djape.net/sudoku/forum/viewtopic.php?t=956

How to create your own killer sudoku puzzle.
(Normal construction time is about 10 minutes -excluding solving time)

[edit: Feb '09. Perfect Sudoku is no longer available for download. Send me a Private Message and I'll email it.][edit 2: April '09. Just found out that you need the ".net framework" installed on your computer for PS4 to work. I can still email the install file]
Step 1
First download Djape's Perfect Sudoku (It takes 20 seconds). Click on the link below [Deleted link - see above].

Step 2
Once you have downloaded PS, click here;
Generate a puzzle as shown in the following picture.
Image
If you want an X killer, follow the instructions below.
I think an X killer is better coz you can have bigger and more interesting shaped cages
Image



Step 3
Click on the key symbol button to get the solution

then Save the solution
(File > save [xyz.txt])

Step 4
Open another copy of Perfect Sudoku Solver
and Generator.

Step 5
Open the solution txt file from step 3
(File > open)
(this makes sure the X gets in, if not on X can skip this step)

Step 6.
click on the "design" option.
Image

Step 7
Separate the 2 windows so the solution and the design are both visible.

Step 8
Create the cage design by using left click and drag,

Keep an eye on any cages that cross nonet boundaries to ensure that no digit repeats in a cage.

Step 9
From the solution, put the cage values in.
(Double click on a cage, put the sum in, then press enter.)

Step 10
Once you have completed the grid, click on the button with the tick "count solutions". You want it to say "unique solution"
If it says no solutions you have gone wrong so recheck all the cage sums and no repeats in a cage.

If it says multiple solution, go to step 11.

Step 11
This example says there are two solutions.
Image

Identify the double solution as shown in the picture.
Image

Change the vertical 13 and 4 cage into a horizontal 5 and 12 cage and you now have a unique solution PS rates as Thinker.
(divide a cage using right-click & drag)

Step 12
Once you have a Unique solution, save your work by making a code string (File > save [xyz.txt])

Step 13
open & score (options > score) your new killer using SudokuSolver (download from software forum here).

If you don't like the score go to step 14

Step 14
To make a harder puzzle, join cages and insert the new cage value. To make an easier puzzle, split cages (left-click-drag) and insert new cage value.

NOTE: every time you do this check number of solutions to make sure it is still unique.

Step 15
Try and solve the killer. When you get stuck, split a cage that helps you the most. Eventually you will have a solvable killer.


To make a graphic of your puzzle
Step 16
open puzzle in your favourite software

Step 17
Press the Windows Print Screen key

Step 18
Paste into windows Paint (start >all programs >accessories)

Step 19
in Paint, click on the "select" button, then select and cut the puzzle pic

Step 20
Paste into another Paint screen then save as xyz.PNG file

Step 21
Open xyz.PNg file using a picture editor and crop to fit the image

Step 22
Upload puzzle pic to your favourite pic host (eg ImageShack)

Step 23
use "direct link url" to post image onto the forum inside image tags [img]xyzpuzzle[/img]

Step 24
to get all the formatting for posting a pic & code string & solution onto the forum, use an existing puzzle post as a template (use the "quote" button on a previous initial puzzle post to show you all the formatting)

Please let me know if these instructions are not clear. Good luck and look forward to the results!!

Cheers
Ed


Last edited by Ed on Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 7:19 am 
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Great instruction Ed!

The hardest part for me is getting the uniqueness right without lowering the difficulty too much. When I create a Killer (I'm still new to this) I just create a standard Sudoku grid (without any special properties) and afterwards I use SumoCue to create a Killer that matches my grid and is symmetrical. After I set up the Killer grid I paste the PS code into JSudoku and use Recursively Solve (under Solve) to see if it has a unique solution. If not you can see where the problem lies since JSudoku solves the Killer up to the point where you have to guess the solution. So you have to alter the concerning cages in SumoCue. To get the rating right merge or split cages or change a part of cage structure to provide some useful Innies/Outies.

For making a graphic of your killer I recommend SumoCue. Here's how you can do it:

1. Paste the PS code of your Killer into SumoCue (or manually enter the cages).
2. Press CTRL + F12 to copy the graphic to the clipboard.
3. Open Windows Paint and paste the clipboard (Edit -> Paste). The image should have the right size otherwise use Ed's step 20 and 21.
4. Save the image as *.png.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:27 pm 
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Great instructions, Ed! Thanks a lot!

Here's a way I sometimes use to design a killer:
1. Start your favorite killer sudoku program to design the cage pattern. I'm using SumoCue because it offers me a fast way to create and alter cages.
2. Start with the big cages, then put some smaller cages in it. If you have a lot of cages with size 2 the puzzle usually gets easier.
3. Be sure to have horizontal AND vertical cages to avoid problems with uniqueness.
4. You will have to provide a starting point, so be sure you included several additional hidden cages and innies/outies.
5. Now start your favorite program for normal sudoku. I recently started using JSudoku for this part.
6. Now start placing numbers in that grid at the positions where you want them to be in your killer. Have a good look at your cages that cross nonet borders!
7. After placing your initial numbers try to solve the normal sudoku. In JSudoku you can do this by pressing Ctrl-D. Do that until you get the message "No known solver can progress".
8. Now you can start to slowly fill in new numbers and then try to solve it.
9. Look out for uniqueness!
10. When you finished the normal sudoku copy & paste the solution to your killer program (here SumoCue).
11. Save the killer.
12. Now copy the code ( Edit->Copy(PS) ) and paste it to SudokuSolver for scoring.
13. If you get the message "could not be solved" than you have to alter your design.
14. If you get a score and you are not satisfied with it ("Trial & Error" is not good) you can start joining or splitting cages in your design. Or remove/add an innie or an outie. This tuning gives me most of my headaches...
15. If you want to know more about the scoring please look at the documentation and other posts in this forum.

If you don't care about the design and you just want a new killer very fast than you should try JSudoku. Hit Ctrl-N (or Design->New Grid) and start experimenting... (that's what I'm doing since I found this a couple of days ago). This is a very powerful option!

Cheers,
Nasenbaer


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 6:24 am 
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Location: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
Very interesting comments about how puzzles are created. Thanks Ed for starting this thread and providing so much insight into how you do it and to Afmob and Nasenbaer for your additional comments! I must admit that I'd naively(?) assumed that the puzzle creator came up with a cage pattern, tried putting in some cage totals and only then used solver software to check whether there is a unique solution before trying to manually solve it to check that it has the desired level of difficulty and if required the desired solving techniques.

I can only state my thanks and admiration for those forum members who create puzzles for us solvers. Many thanks to all of you! :applause: Please keep up the great work!


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:08 pm 
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Hi

Haven't made one in a while (well none with an appropriate rating for here) but I make my killers this way.
I firstly create a cage pattern. I try to put in some places for 45-tests and other things possibly(like my transformer-X). Then i start filling the opening 45-tests i put in. So i set them to certain digits/totals. My way of trying to avoid quick openings and hopefully keeping a steady progress through the puzzle. Then i fill the other cages, put in some high/low total cages where they might be helpful (trying to avoid the set cages) and fill in the rest and avoid the obvious non-unique patterns. Then i check it for uniqueness. When I just started i checked uniqueness by hand, which after mentioning to Ed he gladly pointed out i could have a solver check it before i solve it ;). I always solve them by hand after creating to make sure there's no shortcuts i missed while creating the puzzle, which render the puzzle much easier than intended. I find it easier to control the difficulty this way as I can make the openings and progress by just following the path i set out.

There's basically 2 ways I make puzzles. One is by starting with a solution and checking the puzzles uniqueness and possibly removing clues that are unneccesary(recursively) or by creating openings and building on from that, which means your solution isn't set when you start creating(progressively). It kinda depends on the puzzle type and idea behind it which method i use.

greetings

Para


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:04 am 
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Wow, that was quick AND thorough, Ed! I'm bookmarking AND printing it out, and I hope to be able to give it a try sometime soon. (I've been having some computer problems AND free time problems, so I'm not holding my breath.)

Thanks for the additional comments and insights, everyone else. Even if I never get to the point where I create a puzzle that'll hold up here, I hope that this thread does bring some new creators on board!


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 12:08 am 
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Bump, so that I - and other POTENTIAL puzzle-makers - can have the "how-to" handy.

I still haven't upgraded my computer, so I don't think I'll be able to make one yet. But, it is certainly still something on my longer-term goal list, and I do still appreciate those of you who create and post them!


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:19 am 
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[edit: JSudoku's download site has gone. Send me a pm or email to get a copy of the install file - Ed]

The easy/lazy way to make a killer sudoku (Re-posted with edited step 4 and templates 2, 3 and 4)

Here is in my opinion a pretty easy and fast way to make a killer sudoku.
I used it to make the six A178 "Blind Dates", the Twosome and "The Messier, The Merrier" killer puzzles.
At the end of this post you can find 14 puzzles generated using this guide. They have SS Scores from 0.66 to 10.01, plus 2 unsolvable.

  1. If you want SudokuSolver to score the puzzle(s) you make (see 8 for details):
    • Start SudokuSolver.
    • Set SudokuSolver to do Scoring and use its default solvers' sequence: Solver > Options > [All On + Scoring + OK]
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  2. Start JSudoku
  3. Desgin > New Grid.. (CTRL+N)
    • Grid Size: 3x3
    • Clues variant: Killer
    • Overlapping variant: Single Grid
    • Blocks: Rectangular
    • Click the Design button
  4. Each cage is made as follows:
    • Hold the CTRL key down and tag (left click) the cells, which will constitute the cage.
      Each tagged cell is highlighted. If you click an incorrect cell, just click it again, and it gets untagged.
      For horizontal and vertical cells pressing the CTRL key is not necessary,
      and you can just left click and drag the mouse cursor over the cells constituting the cage.
    • Design > Killer & Sum > New Cage...
      • Into layer: Killer
      • Operator: Add+
      • Ignore the cage sum automatically generated by JSudoku!
      • Values: Cannot repeat
      • Click the OK button
      SHORTCUT when you are sure that Into layer is correct: C key + RETURN key
  5. Design > Generate Grid (CTRL+SHIFT+R)
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    You have now made a killer sudoku. :applause:
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  6. Every time you repeat: Design > Generate Grid (CTRL+SHIFT+R)
    JSudoku generates a new killer with the cage pattern you designed in step 4.
    Each time it displays the following information: MILLISECONDS used, NODES TRAVERSED and GUESSES made.
    My experience is that there is absolutely no correlation between
    MILLISECONDS used, NODES TRAVERSED, GUESSES made
    and the difficulty of the generated puzzle.
  7. If you need to see the solution to a puzzle, the easiest and fastest way is to do:
    Solve > Recursively Solve (CTRL+R)
  8. To get a rough idea about how difficult the generated killer is, you can employ the following steps:
    • Have JSudoku solve the puzzle: Solve > Deduce All Moves (CTRL+SHIFT+D) and examine the solving log.
      You probably want to use the default solvers' sequence: RIGHT CLICK in the Solvers pane > Reset Solvers' List to Defaults
    • Have SudokuSolver score the puzzle:
      1. Copy the PS code from JSudoku to the clipboard: Edit > Copy (CTRL+C)
      2. Make the SudokuSolver window the active window: Click on it, its Taskbar tab or use ALT+TAB
      3. Paste the PS code from the clipboard into SudokuSolver: Edit > Paste (CTRL+V)
      4. Solver > Score (F7)
      5. After the scoring examine the solving log, aka Step Analysis.
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  9. If you after repeated JSudoku > Design > Generate Grid (CTRL+SHIFT+R)
    are unable to get a puzzle that is easy or difficult enough, you need to adjust the size of one or more cages.
  10. If the puzzle is too difficult, you need to split one or more of the larger cages into several smaller ones:
    • For each of the cages you want to split into several smaller ones:
      1. Hold the CTRL key pressed while right clicking one of the cells in the cage.
      2. From the pop-up menu shown select: Remove > Cage sum/cells in RxCy
    • For each of the new smaller cages perform step 4.
      For the first new cage you probably have to change Into layer from Split Cages to Killer!
  11. If the puzzle is too easy, you need to join several smaller cages into one or more larger ones:
    • For each of the cages you want to join into one or more larger ones:
      1. Hold the CTRL key pressed while right clicking one of the cells in the cage.
      2. From the pop-up menu shown select: Remove > Cage sum/cells in RxCy
    • For each of the new larger cages perform step 4.
      For the first new cage you probably have to change Into layer from Split Cages to Killer!
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  12. If the killer you are creating is to be posted as a Regular Assassin, please follow Ed's advices found HERE.
    The most important is that you solve it step-by-step, either by a software solver or preferably by hand.
    And please make sure that it is interesting. Usually, this means at least one advanced killer (or vanilla) technique required, for example, "Killer Pairs" or 3-4 cell "hidden cages".
    It must not be tedious with just needing cage cleanups or many, many innies/outies that nibble away at the solution.
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  13. If you plan on posting several versions having the same solution, my advice is to create the most difficult version first
    and then the easier ones by splitting or rearranging one or more of the larger cages into smaller ones.
    Please see 10 for details.


While writing this guide, I designed and used the following cage layout (template 1) for testing and as an example.
Below 14 puzzles generated using this template. With SS Scores from 0.66 to 10.01, plus 2 unsolvable.
Image     Image



Here three other cage layouts you can use for practicing.
Image     Image


Image     Image


Image     Image



The 14 puzzles generated using template 1. With SS Scores from 0.66 to 10.01, plus 2 unsolvable:
SS Score: 0.66
3x3::k:4383:4383:8193:1050:8193:1050:8193:6171:6171:4383:4383:1557:8193:5917:8193:2580:6171:6171:6148:3598:3333:1557:5917:2580:1542:2572:7939:2840:6148:3598:3333:5917:1542:2572:7939:1047:6148:5130:5130:5130:5917:3081:3081:3081:7939:2840:6148:2573:2312:2832:1543:790:7939:1047:6148:2573:2312:3090:2832:3859:1543:790:7939:5406:5406:3090:6658:2832:6658:3859:5660:5660:5406:5406:6658:2329:6658:2329:6658:5660:5660:
Image Image



SS Score: 0.94:
3x3::k:5663:5663:6913:3354:6913:3354:6913:5659:5659:5663:5663:1045:6913:5149:6913:1812:5659:5659:6916:2830:2309:1045:5149:1812:1542:1804:7683:2840:6916:2830:2309:5149:1542:1804:7683:2583:6916:2570:2570:2570:5149:4361:4361:4361:7683:2840:6916:3853:4360:3856:3079:1302:7683:2583:6916:3853:4360:786:3856:2835:3079:1302:7683:4638:4638:786:7938:3856:7938:2835:4636:4636:4638:4638:7938:1817:7938:1817:7938:4636:4636:
Image Image



SS Score: 1.24
3x3::k:3359:3359:7681:2842:7681:2842:7681:6171:6171:3359:3359:2325:7681:4125:7681:2324:6171:6171:5380:3342:2309:2325:4125:2324:2054:3340:7683:3096:5380:3342:2309:4125:2054:3340:7683:1559:5380:4362:4362:4362:4125:1545:1545:1545:7683:3096:5380:3085:2312:3856:4359:2838:7683:1559:5380:3085:2312:2066:3856:2835:4359:2838:7683:5918:5918:2066:7170:3856:7170:2835:4380:4380:5918:5918:7170:1817:7170:1817:7170:4380:4380:
Image Image



SS Score: 1.46
3x3::k:4127:4127:6913:3098:6913:3098:6913:4891:4891:4127:4127:2325:6913:3101:6913:3604:4891:4891:6404:3086:2309:2325:3101:3604:2310:1804:6403:3096:6404:3086:2309:3101:2310:1804:6403:3607:6404:3850:3850:3850:3101:3593:3593:3593:6403:3096:6404:3853:3592:4624:3847:1814:6403:3607:6404:3853:3592:2834:4624:1043:3847:1814:6403:4894:4894:2834:7170:4624:7170:1043:4124:4124:4894:4894:7170:1817:7170:1817:7170:4124:4124:

Image Image



SS Score: 2.05
3x3::k:4895:4895:8961:1050:8961:1050:8961:5403:5403:4895:4895:2325:8961:3613:8961:2836:5403:5403:6660:2318:2565:2325:3613:2836:2566:2828:7171:2840:6660:2318:2565:3613:2566:2828:7171:1559:6660:3850:3850:3850:3613:2313:2313:2313:7171:2840:6660:3341:4360:3600:1543:4374:7171:1559:6660:3341:4360:1298:3600:1555:1543:4374:7171:5150:5150:1298:7426:3600:7426:1555:5404:5404:5150:5150:7426:2329:7426:2329:7426:5404:5404:
Image Image



SS Score: 2.39
3x3::k:4383:4383:7937:1818:7937:1818:7937:6427:6427:4383:4383:2325:7937:5917:7937:2068:6427:6427:5380:2574:2053:2325:5917:2068:774:2316:7171:3096:5380:2574:2053:5917:774:2316:7171:1047:5380:3594:3594:3594:5917:4105:4105:4105:7171:3096:5380:2061:2568:4368:2823:2838:7171:1047:5380:2061:2568:2578:4368:3603:2823:2838:7171:6174:6174:2578:7938:4368:7938:3603:4636:4636:6174:6174:7938:1561:7938:1561:7938:4636:4636:
Image Image



SS Score: 2.59
3x3::k:6687:6687:5889:2330:5889:2330:5889:4891:4891:6687:6687:2069:5889:5149:5889:1812:4891:4891:8196:1806:3589:2069:5149:1812:774:2828:5123:1816:8196:1806:3589:5149:774:2828:5123:3863:8196:2826:2826:2826:5149:5129:5129:5129:5123:1816:8196:2317:2568:3856:1287:3350:5123:3863:8196:2317:2568:3858:3856:4371:1287:3350:5123:4894:4894:3858:5890:3856:5890:4371:4892:4892:4894:4894:5890:2073:5890:2073:5890:4892:4892:
Image Image



SS Score: 2.91
3x3::k:5663:5663:5377:2586:5377:2586:5377:4635:4635:5663:5663:2837:5377:5917:5377:3604:4635:4635:6148:1038:4357:2837:5917:3604:2566:2828:7427:1560:6148:1038:4357:5917:2566:2828:7427:1559:6148:4618:4618:4618:5917:3081:3081:3081:7427:1560:6148:2317:2056:4880:1031:3862:7427:1559:6148:2317:2056:2578:4880:2579:1031:3862:7427:6174:6174:2578:5634:4880:5634:2579:4380:4380:6174:6174:5634:2841:5634:2841:5634:4380:4380:
Image Image



SS Score: 3.46
3x3::k:4383:4383:8961:1562:8961:1562:8961:4891:4891:4383:4383:1813:8961:3869:8961:2068:4891:4891:6404:4110:2565:1813:3869:2068:2310:2572:5379:2584:6404:4110:2565:3869:2310:2572:5379:1815:6404:3338:3338:3338:3869:4617:4617:4617:5379:2584:6404:2573:1544:5136:2567:3350:5379:1815:6404:2573:1544:2322:5136:3859:2567:3350:5379:5150:5150:2322:5890:5136:5890:3859:6428:6428:5150:5150:5890:2073:5890:2073:5890:6428:6428:
Image Image



SS Score: 3.70
3x3::k:5407:5407:6145:1562:6145:1562:6145:6427:6427:5407:5407:2581:6145:5405:6145:788:6427:6427:5380:1806:3589:2581:5405:788:3078:2828:7683:2584:5380:1806:3589:5405:3078:2828:7683:1303:5380:4618:4618:4618:5405:3593:3593:3593:7683:2584:5380:3085:1032:3856:3079:4118:7683:1303:5380:3085:1032:3346:3856:1811:3079:4118:7683:6686:6686:3346:5378:3856:5378:1811:3612:3612:6686:6686:5378:3353:5378:3353:5378:3612:3612:

Image Image



SS Score: 5.16
3x3::k:5151:5151:5889:4378:5889:4378:5889:5403:5403:5151:5151:1557:5889:3613:5889:1556:5403:5403:7428:2574:4101:1557:3613:1556:2566:3852:6915:2072:7428:2574:4101:3613:2566:3852:6915:1815:7428:3338:3338:3338:3613:2825:2825:2825:6915:2072:7428:3085:2568:5136:2567:1814:6915:1815:7428:3085:2568:2578:5136:3091:2567:1814:6915:4382:4382:2578:5890:5136:5890:3091:6172:6172:4382:4382:5890:1817:5890:1817:5890:6172:6172:

Image Image



SS Score: 10.01
3x3::k:5663:5663:5633:2586:5633:2586:5633:4379:4379:5663:5663:2837:5633:5661:5633:1556:4379:4379:5636:2830:1541:2837:5661:1556:3590:2060:6659:2840:5636:2830:1541:5661:3590:2060:6659:3351:5636:5130:5130:5130:5661:3081:3081:3081:6659:2840:5636:2829:2568:3088:3079:2326:6659:3351:5636:2829:2568:3346:3088:2579:3079:2326:6659:3358:3358:3346:7682:3088:7682:2579:5148:5148:3358:3358:7682:3097:7682:3097:7682:5148:5148:
Image Image



SS Score: Unsolvable (all 4 rotations)
3x3::k:5407:5407:6145:3354:6145:3354:6145:4635:4635:5407:5407:3349:6145:4637:6145:2836:4635:4635:6916:1038:3589:3349:4637:2836:1542:3852:5123:2328:6916:1038:3589:4637:1542:3852:5123:2583:6916:4362:4362:4362:4637:4361:4361:4361:5123:2328:6916:2317:4360:4624:1543:1814:5123:2583:6916:2317:4360:2066:4624:2323:1543:1814:5123:5150:5150:2066:6146:4624:6146:2323:6172:6172:5150:5150:6146:1561:6146:1561:6146:6172:6172:
Image Image



SS Score: Unsolvable (all 4 rotations)
3x3::k:4639:4639:6913:3098:6913:3098:6913:6171:6171:4639:4639:2837:6913:5405:6913:1300:6171:6171:7940:1806:3077:2837:5405:1300:2054:3084:5123:792:7940:1806:3077:5405:2054:3084:5123:2839:7940:4874:4874:4874:5405:4105:4105:4105:5123:792:7940:2317:2312:3856:1287:3094:5123:2839:7940:2317:2312:2834:3856:2067:1287:3094:5123:6174:6174:2834:6146:3856:6146:2067:5404:5404:6174:6174:6146:2585:6146:2585:6146:5404:5404:
Image Image

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Last edited by Børge on Sun Apr 04, 2010 5:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 11:25 am 
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Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:32 am
Posts: 868
Making nice images with SudokuSolver

By configuring Sudoku Solver properly, you can make very nice images with it.
You can also have the cages coloured, but AFAIK the colouring is done automatically so you cannot control which one of the 6 customizable cage colours a specif cage is coloured with.

HERE you can find the following four SudokuSolver colouroptions configuration files:

SudokuSolver KILLER-bw .colouroptions     (for B&W killer images)
SudokuSolver KILLER-c .colouroptions (for coloured killer images)
SudokuSolver TJK-bw .colouroptions (for B&W Texas Jigsaw Killer images)
SudokuSolver TJK-c .colouroptions (for coloured Texas Jigsaw Killer images)


EDIT 2010-01-09:
If you download the files with Firefox, a leading and a trailing "_" character may be added to each file name.
These must be removed after the download.
The same often happens if you try to download any of the images (.PNG files).
Firefox does this most of the time, but not always, and newer versions are more likely to do it than older versions.
Why Firefox does this I do not know and I have not found any description explaining why it is done.
Thanks to Ed for bringing this to my attention.


After downloading them to your computer, you can if you have SudokuSolver properly installed, just double click on one of them and SudokuSolver should start using this colouroptions configuration file.
Then you can select a PS or SumoCue code string, copy it to the clipboard (CTRL+C) and paste it into SudokuSolver (CTRL+V).

In SudokuSolver you toggle pencil marks on/off with Tools > Show Marks (CTRL+M)

Here some example images made with SudokuSolver and my four SudokuSolver colouroptions configuration files:


Assassin 183 V1
Image     Image


Assassin 186
Image     Image


Texas Jigsaw Killer 37
Image     Image

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