Pentominoku for Layla — Rätselportal — Logic Masters Deutschland
Guidelines
- Regular sudoku guidelines apply
- Tile the grid (apart from the shaded central cell) in pentominos
- Every pentomino shape is related to a quantity from 1 to 9 (its pentominoku quantity)
- F: 6
- L: 2
- N: 3
- P: 4
- T: 5
- U: 8
- V: 7
- W: 8
- X: 9
- Y: 1
- Z: 9
- The pentominoku quantity should happen precisely twice in every pentomino
- Starred cells present the place a few of these occurrences are
- It’s attainable for different numbers to happen twice inside a pentomino
- You don’t want to make use of all pentomino shapes
- Pentominos of the identical form may be orthogonally adjoining
Examples of pentomino shapes along with how the numbers could happen are proven under:
Hyperlinks
Background story
Like many individuals, I found sudoku variants by means of Cracking the Cryptic in 2020 when my third youngster was little. After my first puzzle was featured on the present, I used to be excited to create one other new variant that mixed one of the best of pentominous puzzles with sudoku. I ultimately hit on the ruleset used for this puzzle, however was unable to create one by hand, and even present that such a puzzle existed. I realised that as a way to create this puzzle I used to be going to have to jot down some software program, as I did for my earlier puzzle. The issue was I had no concept the best way to begin to resolve such an issue. Pentomino tiling appeared very totally different from sudoku and I did not know the best way to resolve each on the similar time.
Quick ahead three years. I had gotten distracted from sudoku to construct a non-profit search engine, however after watching a couple of CtC episodes, was impressed to revisit my previous concept. After a couple of extra makes an attempt to set it by hand, I began investigating how I may resolve it computationally. Ultimately I got here throughout the exact cover problem and Donald Knuth’s stunning dancing links algorithm. It turned out that each pentomino tiling and sudoku fixing might be described for instance of this downside! I knew I’d be capable to resolve it with this methodology.
As we have been anticipating our fourth youngster, Layla, it felt like I had come full circle since my first sudoku escapade, and determined to dedicate the puzzle to her. She was born a couple of days after I completed setting the puzzle. That was 4 days in the past. I could not be extra grateful for this stunning present that’s sleeping on me now within the sling as I kind.
Solver code and demo
I hope that others will likely be impressed to create puzzles with an identical ruleset. I personally discover them fairly enjoyable to resolve and I hope others do too! The solver ought to present beginning place so as to add different sorts of clues or constraints. Be at liberty to achieve out on the CtC Discord in order for you assist with that, or simply to let me know you loved the puzzle!
Acknowledgments
The solver makes use of Jonathon Taylor’s glorious dlxlib which saved me having to really write my very own implementation of dancing hyperlinks.
I assumed up the title “pentominoku” myself, however maybe unsurprisingly it has been used before in a puzzle by Laura Taalman in 2006. I hope she’s going to forgive me appropriating that title.
Many due to jmerry and kendfrey on the CtC Discord for testing the puzzle and invaluable suggestions.