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 Difficult Killer Sudoku 14/8 
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Posted on: Sun Aug 16, 2020 3:06 am




Posts: 149
Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2016 7:52 am
Post Difficult Killer Sudoku 14/8
I liked this week's Friday killer sudoku (14/8), for me it seemed much more difficult than the previous 2 weeks and that is how I like it.

I have posted an image below showing the stage I was at when it was only basic solving methods required to complete the puzzle. It took about 25 steps to get to this point. I would be interested to know what others think of the puzzle, did I miss something that would have made it easier?

Image


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Posted on: Sun Aug 16, 2020 7:00 pm




Posts: 931
Location: Ladysmith, BC, Canada
Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 1:37 am
Post Re: Difficult Killer Sudoku 14/8
Do not understand methodology as (probably most others do) and that is why after 3 attempts I gave up .......I thought this one was the hardest of the past 2 weeks!!( my 76 year old brain just can not learn how do do theses nor do I want to spend 2 hours trying the larger puzzles)


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Posted on: Sun Aug 16, 2020 10:03 pm




Posts: 691
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 9:20 pm
Post Re: Difficult Killer Sudoku 14/8
I have two things to say and something may strike a spark.

A) eliminate the spare 9s in column H..
This forces (6, 4) in the !% cage in row 3, (!,7) in I1 and I2, (2,6) in I5, I6
Use this to finish column I and find that H9 = 2

b) In column C in then bottom grid, you can do some elimination.
C7 + C8 + C9 = 14 and it must be (2, 5, 7). If you try (1, 6, 7) then I cant make the 9 cage work in that column.
So that makes the 5 cage (1, 4) and the and the 9 cage (3, 6).

And C8 = 2

I think that may help.

I will write more if you are still stuck.


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Posted on: Sun Aug 16, 2020 11:37 pm




Posts: 149
Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2016 7:52 am
Post Re: Difficult Killer Sudoku 14/8
From the position in my image the puzzle can be solved with basic level steps, the last step that required anything more difficult was solving g5=1 and h7=1, and it is at that point that I created the image. The large cage can be ignored until each cell in that cage can be solved when it becomes the only cell within a row or column that has the required value.

I found the puzzle quite interesting, it is good example to show the benefit of adding cages, even if it looks like it is unlikely to help. The top 2 rows are a good example, they can be added with 4 cells overlapping into the 3rd row, this seems like it is not worth the trouble, but if you do it you can solve f3. The centre 3x3 box is also very helpful even though there is only 1 cage that is completely within the box it is worth the extra trouble to try what can be done, and it will be very helpful.


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