Build Your Own Killer Sudoku

Today's puzzle from No-Feet Mcgee is just awesome and, although this is a long video, the puzzle really isn't monstrously hard. There are just a LOT of lovely bits of logic to find so do give it a try... you can play it here:

Rules: Normal sudoku rules apply. In addition, there are some unseen killer cages in the grid, the size and boundaries of which are to be determined. The given sums in the grid are the sum of all the digits in the cage containing that cell. Digits may not repeat within a cage, and cages may not overlap. Unlike in normal killer sudoku, the cage totals do NOT necessarily need to be in the top left hand cell of their cage.
#minecraft
#minecraftsudoku

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A huge thank you to all of you who support the channel on Patreon and a big welcome to all the new subscribers there. We have hit out targets for the new sudoku puzzle hunt we've created! As a bonus, we're adding an eighth puzzle to the hunt (which actually rounds it off rather beautifully for reasons that will become apparent). We will announce the release in the coming days so keep your eyes peeled. We will be awarding a prize of a brand new piece of our merchandise for the first correct solution we receive.

If you are NOT a patron of the channel on Patreon you WILL be able to read the preamble to the hunt (which consists of two letters: one from Angus MacGuffin and one from ______; together with the notes about the puzzles which seem to have been written by a very unpleasant character indeed) and try the first puzzle but the rest of the hunt will be available to patrons only.

You can become a patron here:

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▶SOFTWARE◀
Play the puzzle in the video by clicking the link under the video (above). We are building a website which will allow you to enter your own sudoku puzzles into the software and this is coming soon!

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Melvyn Mainini

▶ABOUT US◀
Hi! We're Simon Anthony and Mark Goodliffe, two of the UK's most enthusiastic puzzle solvers. We have both represented the UK at the World Sudoku Championships and the World Puzzle Championships. We're also "cryptic crossword" aficionados. Mark is the twelve-time winner of The Times championship and Simon is the former record holder for most consecutive correct solutions to The Listener crossword. We hope we can help your puzzle solving while also introducing you to some of the world's best puzzles.

Thank you for watching!
Simon and Mark

[LornaM]

Sometimes I have a bad day and I'm sad but then Simon finds a breakthrough in a difficult puzzle and gets excited and everything is ok again

[no-feetmcgee]

Thank you so much for featuring my puzzle!!! I'm glad you enjoyed it. <3 For what it's worth, the intended solution path around 55:11 is to notice that the 43 cage must have a 1 in it, and the 1 in r9c1 rules it out from everything but r5c2. I see several folks in the comments figured that out, which is gratifying. :)

[tcarni]

If youtube was full of channels with this type of kindness and dedication that this guys have with their public, the world would be a better place...

[JuanMataCFC]

@ 51:59
Simon: "R2C4 can't be the grey 3 because then R3C4 gets isolated."
me: "R2C4 can't be a 3 because the row already has a 3."

[killroy]

"Colouring with Simon" is my favourite Sudoku mini-game!

[killroy]

I'm playing a different game: "Guess the next colour"

[Lazyarbiter]

"Not monstrously difficult"
Maybe i'll give it a try
*sees length of video*
Then again, maybe not

[cubesquared]

I love how Simon gives us little addition tips throughout the video.

[Samusin.]

everytime its facinating to me that when i watch the solve i am screaming at my screen cause i see digits or just logic steps but when i try to solve it i am blind as a molerat :'D

[jonathanharsh]

8:49 may have been the most satisfying "We are cooking with gas" we've ever gotten in one of these videos, mostly due to the buildup of him adding up all of the numbers. Great puzzle all around.

[snowfloofcathug]

I follow along with the logic by myself and, having enjoyed so many of your solves, have picked up some of your ways of expressing things. Which occasionally means I’ll have these moments of saying “So there’s a seven up there as well” to myself and then being delighted to hear you saying the same thing verbatim the following second. You give me boundless joy with these videos

[CilantroGamer]

OMG! I think I know No-Feet McGee! They made a lot of super awesome puzzle levels in Super Mario Maker!

[jetpac]

I wonder how much faster this solve would've been if you'd removed the 1 pencil mark at r4c1 when you entered the 1 in r9c1? Regardless, this was a really fun one to watch! All of the last 3 days have had some really interesting logic.

[Coyotek]

1:21:39 Took a long time, but the satisfaction that comes from solving this behemoth made it all worthwhile!

[Afterthoughtbtw]

54:15 for me. Yet another lovely puzzle. You rarely field a bad puzzle on your channel, but it feels like there have been a number which are particularly good in the last week or two.

For those people who are put off trying because of the length it takes Simon to solve - he's right, there isn't any fiendish logic involved, but there are just a large number of steps. It's a delight to see it unfold as you go through it.

If I were to offer any tips, it would be:

Take a deep breath at the start, and don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of white. Tally up the total number of killer cage numbers. Look for 'weak' cells in the grid, which can only be claimed by one killer cage. It is one of those puzzles where if you come to a halt, it will reward you if you remain patient. It's a 'slow and steady wins the race' type puzzle.

[HalfBakedLunatic]

The idea of adding up all the cage numbers to see if they sum to 405 would never have occurred to me!

[luchiprieto]

watching your videos is probably the best part of my day!
And you also got me into sudoku and i really feel like i get better by watching your videos

[vikingslayer]

Who else now talks to themselves in a British accent when solving a Sudoku? Am I the only one?

[FireDragons]

Saw that this was posted 2 minutes ago and am so excited to be here this early. Of course it'll still probably be 2+ hours before I actually watch it since Simon took almost an hour to solve this so I'll take at least twice as long.

[brettaspivey]

Once I figured out the thing about the lower corners, it all went pretty rapidly. That first bit of insight was the main part of the puzzle