January Patreon Reward - Numeric Alchemy

Will there be a solution Video to this?

Started late on this pack. If anyone who solved the harder puzzles sees this, could you PLEASE help me with Nickel? I have reapetedly reread the rules and tried working it out, but the logic doesn't work for me. Alternating parity should mean every other cell along a line is either even-valued or odd-valued, right? (And if one is even, the next is odd, vice versa) If I have gotten that right, perhaps you could tell me where I've gone wrong in the following? Firstly, as I understand, every box, row and column contains either 3 even-valued and 6 odd-valued cells, or 5 even and 4 odd (because of the incrementor rule). Second, I can mark alternating values along the 2 lines that are contained within c1-3 (i.e. there cannot be 8 of the same parity in c2, meaning there are cells of alternating parity from r1c2 to r7c2). Third, in box 4, this gives us 3 cells (r5c1-3) of the same parity and 4 cells of the other, and since the remaining 2 cells must have values of the same parity, the forementioned marked cells parity is revealed (r5c1-3 therefore being even). But r5c5 must be even-valued, and at least 2 more in r5 (because of all kropki dots in or connected to r5), giving a minimum of 6 even-valued cells in r5! I don't understand! Where did I go wrong? I rarely feel this stuck on a puzzle and it's very frustrating

I'm late to this pack, but I had to come and say how incredible it is, absolute madness! I love it!!!

Finally finished this -- worth every minute. Thanks to the Discord crew for a couple of very helpful pointers. And most especially thanks to Jay Dyer for this elegant set of puzzles.

ProfMeow

Hello Meike! I didn’t understand the first rule. Does it mean that for example in box 7 as the number 2 is in position 7, then the modifier is in position 2?

Pablo Martín

I found my mistake - everything is "right" except that my transmogrifier cells are not unique values. Ah well, time to start again...

Strange. Make sure your German Whispers, if any, are correctly fulfilled.

Mario

I appear to have completed all rules correctly for Amalgam but the tool says my solve is incorrect :( not sure how I managed that.

Thanks a million to Jay Dyer for creating such a wonderful pack. Certainly one of the best reward so far, along with the Hybrid by Phistomefel. Many puzzles in this pack could definitely appear in a Greatest Hits book. Absolutely remarkable!

Mario

Ok luckily I was able to read now :D just didn't check the right spot and kept wondering what I am missing...

I have solved all puzzles now including Transmutation, so in order to reveal the second secret phrase I am supposed to replace the Xs in the URL with the solution code of Transmutation - but I don't know what that is. Can someone let me know if this is another final logic puzzle to solve or am I just missing an obvious information on what is Transmutation's solution code?

No, they can't. There is one modifier in each row, column, and box, just as in every other puzzle in the hunt.

I have a doubt, in the puzzle 'Transmutation' can the modifiers go in the same row or column?

Pablo Martín

Thank you CtC and Jay Dyer for this awesome sudoku hunt. I loved how each puzzle, because of the modifiers, twisted everything I know about variant sudoku. Jay, I don’t know how you managed to keep everything straight in your head while setting. It’s amazing!

Yes! Loved Oxygen too.

These puzzles have been amazing, really hit the difficulty sweet spot for me. Favourites were Nickel and Oxygen.

Sir, for countless hours now I've struggled with 'Silver'. The puzzle always breaks. My logic is sound but the puzzle simply doesn't solve. Congrats for solving it.

Mario

My thanks to Jay Dyer for a stupendously good set of puzzles, consistently full of excellent logic. And some real bite towards the end. I think Silver caused me most grief. Oxygen sticks in my mind because when I first looked at it could not make head or tail of it but gradually the light dawned. I will never understand how anyone can make puzzles like these. I don't know if you have to sell your soul to the devil at a crossroads or promise your first born to Beelzebub, but whatever you have to do, it's worth it.

Athel Stan

Jay Dyer, take my most respectful bow.

Paolo De Leva

This set of puzzles is so wonderfully constructed and so enjoyable that I can't find the proper adjectives to describe it. The common theme is fascinating (so many different kinds of modifiers, each showcased as magically as you cannot imagine). There's no minor puzzle in this set. Each is a ... masterpiece (substitute "..." with the best adjective you can extract from your vocabulary).

Paolo De Leva

I totally agree.

Paolo De Leva

Love the introductory story, with its references to Simon, Mark, Simon's Alexa, and Maverick (changed here to a flock of geese as a subtle reference to Maverick & Goose in "Top Gun")!

KT

Congrats. What took me a long time to figure out was where to place the high digits in col4 due to not fully realising the potential of the doublers peeking into a box.

sampath kumar

I keep breaking this particular puzzle again and again. I either get a deadly pattern that can´t be solved, or I get a box that can´t be filled as all options are already gone, or it´s not possible to fill some of the cages... No matter what I do, after all logic steps there is something wrong. And even if I try to mix it up I break it a little time later. Am I at least correct in assuming there is only one double in all of the cages? Edit: 40 minutes after giving up and posting I finally tried to put a second doubler in of the cages, and what do you know? It solved. Can´t believe it. I tried just about everything else before thinking of that.

Alexander Herges

I greatly appreciate the wonderful setting of these puzzles by the brilliant Jay Dyer. One of the challenges through out was to let go of the usual constraints and think of other options created by these doublers, negators etc.

sampath kumar

I am not sure if you have any specific question. Phlogiston has been solved by many.

sampath kumar

What impressed me the most: none of the puzzles needs some ridiculous logic to break in and they all do a really good job telling you "where to go next". But the break-in is still unique and it feel amazing to crack. All in all.. pure awesomeness.

Daniel Gaca

got the first 5 puzzles done and have had an absolute blast so far! phlogiston is giving me some real trouble though....can't even get a foothold! thanks to you and to jay for this!

Spoiler Alert : Before you conclusively put down a pair of digits for an X or V please see if one of them can be a copycat which changes the pair.

sampath kumar

Anybody managed to solve Phlogiston yet? It breaks for me on a certain stage and I can’t find the mistake in my logic

There are other possibilities for the x in box 2.

Yes, you understand it correctly.

Mario

Managed to solve the first 5 puzzles and really loved them. Thank you so much for that, was a real pleasure to solve.

Daniel Wolters

For Zinc (puzzle 4) will someone confirm these are the relationships for the "reflector" rule: 1 -> 9 2 -> 8 3 -> 7 4 -> 6 5 -> 5 6 -> 4 7 -> 3 8 -> 2 9 -> 1 I'm stuck and wonder if I'm interpreting this rule correctly.