Absolutely Insane. In The Best Possible Way!

*** TODAY'S PUZZLE *** Today is the birthday of Malrog and yttrio, two setters we've featured many times individually over the years. However, they have set one puzzle as a collaboration and it seems fitting to attempt that one today! So here's Simon's battle with Kurodoku - basically a 100%-rated puzzle from last July. It is absolutely insane! Play the puzzle at the links below: https://sudokupad.app/ydykj28b2l Rules: Place the digits from 1 to 9 exactly once in every row, column, and region. Regions consist of a set of nine orthogonally connected cells and must be determined by the solver. Shade two groups of orthogonally connected cells in each region. These groups can consist of a single cell or multiple cells. Both of a region's groups must have the same size and shape, but may be rotated or reflected. Shaded groups may not be orthogonally adjacent. Cells with arrows are not shaded, and indicate the size of a group of shaded cells which occupies the adjacent cell in the indicated direction(s). (Note: a 2 in a cell with two arrows would indicate that there was a group of size 2 in BOTH directions.) For each region whose shaded groups consist of multiple cells, one shaded group must contain a set of consecutive digits in any order, and adjacent digits within the other shaded group must differ by at least 5. The solver must determine which is which. *** MONDAY'S BLUE PRINCE STREAM *** You can (re)watch last night's stream here: https://youtube.com/live/7nnEDxVyvc0?feature=share *** APRIL SUDOKU HUNT COMPETITION JUST OUT *** Our April Fools themed sudoku hunt went live on 1 April. You could win Emily Williams' homemade sudoku cushion cover!! Check it out for as little as $2/month here: https://www.patreon.com/crackingthecryptic *** BONUS SOLVE ON PATREON *** Simon couldn't resist the Scrabble Sudoku mentioned during last week's videos. His solve of LMDemasi's puzzle is available on Patreon now! https://www.patreon.com/crackingthecryptic *** NEW FOG APP IS OUT ON APPLE (!), STEAM & ANDROID *** Brand new incredible Fog Sudoku puzzles by the likes of Phistomefel, Marty Sears, James Sinclair, Qodec, Dorlir, ThePedallingPianist, Sandra&Nala, Peter Veenis, Mr Menace, Florian Wortmann, Math Pesto & HalfBakedLunatic. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3165770/Cracking_the_Cryptic__Fog_of_War_1/ *** CRACKING THE CRYPTIC APP *** Our main app (which is itself completely free) contains packs featuring Fog, Domino, Lines, and GAS puzzles, with a few special free sets as well! All the puzzles are hand-crafted by us and some of the best constructors in the world, with hints by Simon and Mark. AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cracking-the-cryptic/id1629992934 Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2085970/Cracking_the_Cryptic/ Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.StudioGoya.CrackingTheCryptic ▶ Contents Of This Video ◀ 0:00 Intro music and today's puzzle 2:08 Happy birthday Tallcat 2:53 A recent IcyFruit 5:21 @standupmaths Matt Parker 3:59 Mark solves the ACPT Final Puzzle 4.36 Happy Birthdays 6:10 Rules 12:31 Start of Solve: Let's Get Cracking ▶ Contact Us ◀ Twitter: @Cracking The Cryptic email: [email protected] Our PO Box address: Simon Anthony & Mark Goodliffe Box 102 56 Gloucester Road London SW7 4UB (Please note to use our real names rather than 'Cracking The Cryptic'.) ************************************************************** ▶ CTC FAN DISCORD SERVER◀ https://discord.gg/BbN89j5 ▶ OUR BACK CATALOGUE – ALL CATEGORISED WITH LINKS!◀ https://tinyurl.com/CTCCatalogue ▶ *NEW* CRACKING THE CRYPTIC MERCHANDISE◀ https://teespring.com/en-GB/stores/cracking-the-cryptic ▶SEND US PUZZLES TO SOLVE/CONTACT US◀ [email protected] ▶FOLLOW US◀ Twitter: @crypticcracking Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crackingthecryptic/?hl=en We also post the Wordle In A Minute videos on TikTok. #sudoku #puzzle #insane