How Can This Possibly Solve?!

Apologies but tonight’s video was not recorded today. We’d hoped to bring you an update about the Times Crossword Championship – in which we both managed epic fails – and also to say happy birthdays to Ann-Christin, Carole and Jae but Simon has been affected by a power cut as someone drove their car through a telegraph pole in his area so this is from his (scarce) holiday stash. Hopefully back to normal tomorrow where he’d been intending to do a bonus crossword video about the championship in the morning.

*** TODAY’S PUZZLE ***
Another loop-building sudoku today from yttrio and this one is even more astonishing than the last. A few small cages is all it takes to create a fascinating and jaw-dropping solve path. It’s bizarre and quite wonderful!

Play the puzzle at the link below:

https://app.crackingthecryptic.com/sudoku/RDQq2T2rpG

Rules:
Normal sudoku rules apply. Digits in a cage must not repeat and must sum to the number in the top left corner of the cage. Draw a one-cell-wide loop of orthogonally connected cells. The loop may not touch itself, not even diagonally. The loop must enter at least one cell of each cage. Numbers on the loop count as double their value when calculating cage sums. For example, a 2-cell cage summing to 10 may contain a 2 on the loop and a 6 not on the loop. The loop acts as a German Whispers line (i.e., adjacent digits on the loop must have a difference of at least 5). The original, undoubled value of the digit is always used for the purposes of the German Whispers constraint.

*** ORDER OUR NEW BOOK AT THIS LINK ***

If you would like to get hold of a physical copy of our new book, Cracking The Cryptic’s Greatest Hits – Volume 2, there is still a chance. Visit the link below:

https://bean-games.pledgemanager.com/projects/cracking-the-cryptics-greatest-hits-v2/participate/

*** SIMON SOLVES KURT HUGO SCHNEIDER’S NEW SUDOKU ***
Join us on Patreon (for as little as 2) for a brand new video in which Simon tackles Kurt Hugo Schneider’s latest 6×6 sudoku (which you can play at the link below). There’s also a brand new crossword video from Mark in which he tackles the latest Matt Gaffney Meta puzzle. You can subscribe for Matt’s puzzles at a link below.

https://www.patreon.com/crackingthecryptic

Play Kurt’s puzzle here:

https://app.crackingthecryptic.com/sudoku/tNJDm73TjD

Matt Gaffney’s Crosswords:
https://xwordcontest.com/

*** NEW GAS PACK: VOLUME 2 IS OUT ***
The new GAS (Genuinely Approachable Sudoku) pack is out on all platforms here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?idcom.StudioGoya.CrackingTheCryptic
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2363130/Cracking_the_Cryptic__GAS_Volume_2/
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cracking-the-cryptic/id1629992934

60 original puzzles by Clover, Bill Murphy and Philip Newman!! Earn party hats and dinosaurs with these brand new puzzles!

SUDOKU PAD – Use Our Software For Your Puzzles

You can input classic sudoku puzzles into our software and help support Sven, the programmer responsible for the wonderful user interface we all use to play these puzzles everyday. The app also comes with 12 handmade puzzles from us:

iOS:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/svens-sudokupad/id1570622073

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1706870/Svens_SudokuPad/
Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?idcom.svencodes.sudokupad

ALSO on Amazon: Search for “SudokuPad”

Contents Of This Video

0:00 Theme music & introduction
1:07 Patreon, Apps, Merch, etc
1:40 Rules
7:30 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’.)

SUDOKU PAD – Use Our Software For Your Puzzles

You can input classic sudoku puzzles into our software and help support Sven, the programmer responsible for the wonderful user interface we all use to play these puzzles everyday. The app also comes with 12 handmade puzzles from us:

iOS:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/svens-sudokupad/id1570622073

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1706870/Svens_SudokuPad/
Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?idcom.svencodes.sudokupad

ALSO on Amazon: Search for “SudokuPad”

**************************************************************

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 (for how to solve daily clues from The Times): https://www.instagram.com/crackingthecryptic/?hlen
We also post the Wordle In A Minute videos on TikTok.

Take the opportunity to connect and share this video with your friends and family if you find it useful.