** TODAY'S PUZZLE **
We have featured many puzzles by the maths professor Dorlir and today it is his daughter's 7th birthday! He has made a special miracle sudoku to celebrate so we thought it would be a nice puzzle to have a go at in today's video. This is an astonishing piece of work (how did he have the idea??!) and, although not easy, showcases some stunning logic. Bravo Dorlir and a very happy birthday to your daughter!

Play the puzzle at the link below:
https://sudokupad.app/zos75s0s5z

Rules:
Fill the grid with eight nonoverlapping 2x4 regions oriented horizontally (i.e. 2 rows and 4 columns), such that each region contains the digits from 1 to 8 once each and no digit repeats in any row or column. Cells outside regions don't contain digits. Draw a single onecellwide loop in the grid that travels orthogonally, doesn't branch, and isn't allowed to touch itself, not even diagonally, and doesn't pass through any of the empty cells. Any two adjacent cells along this loop must include one extreme digit [1,2,7,8] and one medium digit [3,4,5,6]. For each region N, the digit N must be on the loop within this region. (Regions are numbered in reading order, based on the position of their top left cell, i.e. a region with its top left cell further down in the grid than another region will have the higher region number. If two regions have their top left cell in the same row, the region on the right will have the higher region number.) Digits along marked diagonals sum to the number indicated outside the grid.

The BBC radio programme Simon mentions in the introduction is called Just One Thing and the episode in question is available here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00...

Simon reads Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge at the end of tonight's video.

You can watch last night's Dungeons & Diagrams stream here:

https://youtube.com/live/vHZKdVvnoQ

** NEW SUDOKU HUNT ON PATREON **
We're delighted to share with you a brand new sudoku hunt themed around snake egg puzzles by Glum Hippo. If you've never tried snake egg logic puzzles before, prepare for serious fun these sudokus are outstanding! Finish by May 20 to enter the competition!

Other treats on Patreon include:

the Sumgeons & Diagrams sudoku by sunnyjum;
Simon's latest forays into the world of Islands Of Insight;
Mark's video looking at the new OneUp puzzle from Rodolfo Kurchan;
his solve of Region Geometry by Emre Kolotoğlu (3hr 36min long...!);
and Mark's latest solve of The Times Club Monthly cryptic crossword

  / crackingthecryptic  

** GET OUR FOG KICKSTARTER DELUXE & OUR BOOKS **
Check out this link for the kickstarter books and Fog Novella we've created over the years:

https://coffeebean.games/productcate...

▶ 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/svenss...

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/17...
Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/de...

ALSO on Amazon: Search for “SudokuPad”

▶ Contents Of This Video ◀

0:00 Theme music & puzzle intro
1:43 Dungeons & Diagrams Stream last night
2:04 Reading Poetry Aloud Can Help Your Mood
3:26 Patreon
3:37 Happy Birthdays
4:51 Rules
11:03 Start of Solve: Let's Get Cracking
1:29:30 Simon reads Kubla Khan

▶ Contact Us ◀

Twitter: @Cracking The Cryptic
email: [email protected]

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Simon Anthony & Mark Goodliffe
Box 102
56 Gloucester Road
London
SW7 4UB

(Please note to use our real names rather than 'Cracking The Cryptic'.)

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