The Perfect Miracle Sudoku

*** TODAY'S PUZZLE ***

Ever since May 2020 when we first released The Miracle Sudoku video, constructors have been searching for a "Perfect" Miracle Sudoku ie one where the entire sudoku grid was empty. The only good examples we've seen still had very long rulesets but today we can share with you this new discovery from Farkov and TopAutism, An Easter Miracle. That this puzzle exists is quite extraordinary. Give it a try and see if you agree.

Play the puzzle at the link below:

Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply. Mark nine cells such that there is one marked cell in each row, column and 3x3 box. The digit in the first cell of a row, column, or 3x3 box gives the position of the marked cell in that row, column or 3x3 box. Each digit appears in exactly one marked cell. [Eg if r5c3 was a marked cell then r5c1 would be a 3 (marked cell is 3rd position in its row); r1c3 would be a 5 (marked cell is 5th position in its column); and r4c1 would be a 6 (marked cell is the 6th position in normal reading order of its 3x3 box).] Orthogonally adjacent digits may not be consecutive. In boxes 1, 2 and 3 each digit's position number within a box must equal that digit at least once.

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[troy.s]

Beautiful puzzle! Shame it wasn't done with fog and a rule "Other constraints work as normal." Simon's reaction to exposing a blank grid would have been most incredible.

[TheEricthefruitbat]

Don't you love how Simon explains an x-wing right after explaining an x-wing.

[quas_naart]

As soon as Simon mentioned "roping", I called it solved. The pattern exists through the entire grid, both vertically and horizontally.

[MaierFlorian]

For a long time now I've wondered if there could exist a blank sudoku with a reasonable ruleset and a logical solving path. And there it is and it is gorgeous :)

[Kascep]

I think the two factors that made the origional miracle sudoku an amazing sudoku to behold was first the downright skepticism that simon had and we all really had when looking at the puzzle as the rules were only constraints on relative location of numbers. The top and bottom boxs felt like there is no comunication at all because there WAS none, as we had to basically work our way up/down by rows. Secondly is the elimination tactic used for the digit 3 as it was so unique since it used the rules not for solving boxes but instead disproving boxes slowly but surely to finally get the answers. These two factors made it feel like a miracle since it produced not a sense of accomplishment but a sense of excitment as we slowly realized that there IS a solution to a realistically unsolvable position. These later miracle sudokus don't have these two factors usually and feel like any other sudoku puzzle you can find, this video being a perfect example essentially being a spinoff idea of another puzzle.
This should not be taken as a critique on the puzzles themselves as they are extremely thoughtout and very entertaining to solve. This comment is just me stating my thoughts on the concept of a miracle puzzle

[Frantasia]

The way Simon explains things is just incredible to me. As a non-native english speaker, the rules of these variants sometimes are the hugest issue to the solve, or rather, understanding them correctly. Simon always saves my day (and solve).

[cooldude]

Simon and Mark, thank you so much for the work you're doing. I've been a fan a long time, but lately I find myself watching a ton of your videos, because they help me distract myself from all the stressful and depressing things going on in my life. I'm finishing high school in a month (polish school system) and I'm so scared to take my final exams... If I don't do well enough, I won't get into the university that I always dreamed of. This is the most stressful time of my life, I can't sleep well or feel relaxed for even a second. The only time I can truly enjoy myself is when I watch your videos. Seeing Simon and Mark solve tricky puzzles with such positive energy reminds me that no matter what happens, I can always find time to enjoy an excellent puzzle - especially when I solve it myself and then go back to watch your solve. This channel has become my safe space due to this calm atmosphere that it creates. When I can't fall asleep due to my mind being full of worries, I put on a Cracking the Cryptic video and it makes me a little happier. Thank you, Simon and Mark. You guys have no idea how much of a positive impact a sudoku channel can have on people like me.

Sorry for the long comment and mistakes, English is my second language.

[jacobgraber]

After watching this channel for over 3 years, I’ve finally beaten Simon’s time on a puzzle! This is truly a wonderful puzzle with a very intuitive and creative solution path.

I also think it’s quite funny that one of the first videos I ever watched on this channel was the (original) 1-2 Miracle Sudoku, and at the time I had never really played much sudoku other than the ones in the newspaper. This video has shown me just how far I’ve come!

Best YouTube channel ever.

[inspiringsand]

Rules: 07:20
Let's Get Cracking: 10:34
Simon's time: 28m35s
Puzzle Solved: 39:09

What about this video's Top Tier Simarkisms?!
Bobbins: 1x (31:31)
Schrödinger Cell: 1x (16:09)

And how about this video's Simarkisms?!
Naughty: 6x (17:54, 30:01, 33:30, 35:49, 36:58, 37:39)
Obviously: 6x (03:38, 04:01, 05:23, 08:09, 11:29, 22:56)
Ah: 3x (17:15, 20:57, 20:57)
Sorry: 2x (19:25, 38:38)
The Answer is: 2x (29:56, 33:28)
Lovely: 2x (40:05, 40:44)
Ridiculous: 2x (34:42, 40:56)
Bonkers: 2x (25:28, 25:35)
Shouting: 2x (04:27, 04:39)
In Fact: 2x (26:43, 26:43)
What on Earth: 1x (34:42)
Useless: 1x (20:34)
Clever: 1x (33:17)
Missing Something: 1x (19:56)
Brilliant: 1x (04:00)
First Digit: 1x (09:52)
Astonishing: 1x (01:56)
Going Mad: 1x (27:56)
By Sudoku: 1x (31:03)
Approachable: 1x (05:03)
Facetious: 1x (24:26)
Hang On: 1x (33:44)
Surely: 1x (23:12)
Stunning: 1x (40:54)
We Can Do Better Than That: 1x (32:55)
Nature: 1x (40:16)
Cake!: 1x (03:38)
Unique: 1x (02:24)
Genuflection: 1x (42:01)

Most popular number(>9), digit and colour this video:
Twelve, Thirty Five (2 mentions)
One (77 mentions)
Red (27 mentions)

Antithesis Battles:
High (3) - Low (3)
Column (33) - Row (29)

FAQ:
Q1: You missed something!
A1: That could very well be the case! Human speech can be hard to understand for computers like me! Point out the ones that I missed and maybe I'll learn!
Q2: Can you do this for another channel?
A2: I've been thinking about that and wrote some code to make that possible. Let me know which channel you think would be a good fit!

[seleckt]

I cannot think of a more fitting name for the designer of this puzzle than TopAutism.

[Phr]

9:15 "And some people refer to me only very loosely as a human being."
Correct. Unanimously, we call you a legend.

[arcanelizard]

I usually struggle pretty hard with the puzzles Simon attempts, sometimes having to give up, but the logic and the ruleset clicked so well together in my brain (relatively, I was still extremely slow compared to the comments at a blistering 42 minutes) and when digits started getting placed into the grid, I could see exactly where everything was flowing, and it was just wonderful. Thank you, authors, I greatly enjoyed this puzzle

[sjm]

Not only is this an amazing elegant ruleset yielding a unique solution to a blank grid, but the solve path is interesting and fun as well

(or being able to populate a whole grid with specific digits from a set of rules with no reference at all to any digit)

[schlibbity]

46:40 for me, the first three boxes were a blast to solve, and then I immediately forgot about the non-consecutive constraint for longer than I'd care to admit 😂

I'm absolutely floored at how accessible this puzzle is despite the complete lack of clues, "miracle" is a title that is well deserved

[RealCadde]

18:20 Another good deduction you can make from having 2's and 3's in the lower right quadrant of box one is that you now can't put a 4 in that quadrant.
In fact, you can't have three consecutive digits in any 2x2 region because it would inevitably lead to two consecutive digits being orthogonally adjacent to each other.

[brianarsuaga]

39:21. Nice and easy, but with maybe the most satisfying break-in I've ever done. Similar to fog puzzles, this gives you so little to work with at the beginning that it makes it paradoxically easier because there's only so many places to look! Lovely

[Borkon]

This is a puzzle where you fill in the candidates in row 1, column 1 and first cell in the box, iterate eliminating possible marked cells and through that candidates and it almost solves itself in 15 minutes. This would have been a perfect puzzle for Mark.

[psiphiorg]

My time here was 26:07. Looks like a lot of people found some of the tricks more quickly than I did, but once I spotted them (basically the same things Simon found in his solve, although I didn't spot the roping), it all came together pretty quickly!

This is equal to my "Super Squares" in the sense that rows permute between boxes 1, 5, 9 and 2, 6, 7 and 3, 4, 8 and columns permute between boxes 1, 6, 8 and 2, 4, 9 and 3, 5, 7. But the permutations are different. Extra plus that no 1's and 9's are orthogonally adjacent and that no orthogonal edge cell is consecutive.(including 9, 1 "going around"). Wonderful puzzle!

[HunterJE]

The fact that the puzzle title was almost the same as the video title from the other day plus the fact that the ruleset was so similar to the recent fog puzzle had me so confused when opening the video, was sure for a second it was an accidental re-upload of a previous video