Only ONE Person Has Solved This Puzzle...

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  • čas přidán 1. 05. 2024
  • ** TODAY'S PUZZLE **
    Simon attempted this sudoku by Darth Paradox called Renrenbanban without much hope. Only one person is known to have solved it on Logic Masters Germany and our testers couldn't do it. But the ruleset was intriguing so he gave it a go...
    Play the puzzle at the link below:
    app.crackingthecryptic.com/su...
    Rules:
    Place the digits 1-9 once into each row, column, and 3x3 box. Digits must not repeat along the marked diagonal. The grey lines are palindromes and must contain the same sequence of digits in both directions along the line. The purple lines are Double Renban lines. Each such line contains two equal-sized sets of consecutive digits. The sets might overlap partially or completely, and the digits can be in any order along the line. For example, 123123, 172839, and 142332 are each valid ways to fill a six-cell Double Renban line.
    ** NEW SUDOKU HUNT NOVEL BY DIMONO JUST OUT **
    A new sudoku hunt wrapped in a real novella has just been released as our May monthly reward on Patreon. It's by DiMono and you need to keep solving puzzles to access the later chapters of the story!
    Join us on Patreon for as little as $2 a month to play.
    / crackingthecryptic
    ** NEW GAS PACK: VOLUME 2 IS OUT **
    The new GAS (Genuinely Approachable Sudoku) pack is out on all platforms here:
    play.google.com/store/apps/de...
    store.steampowered.com/app/23...
    apps.apple.com/us/app/crackin...
    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:
    apps.apple.com/us/app/svens-s...
    Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/17...
    Android:
    play.google.com/store/apps/de...
    ALSO on Amazon: Search for “SudokuPad”
    ** ORDER OUR UPCOMING BOOK HERE **
    www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
    ▶ Contents Of This Video ◀
    0:00 Theme music and puzzle introduction
    2:01 Birthdays & Anniversaries
    5:00 DiMono's New Sudoku Hunt On Patreon
    5:18 The Rules Of The Puzzle
    7:55 Start Of Solve - Let's Get Cracking!
    ▶ Contact Us ◀
    Twitter: @Cracking The Cryptic
    email: crackingthecryptic@gmail.com
    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:
    apps.apple.com/us/app/svens-s...
    Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/17...
    Android:
    play.google.com/store/apps/de...
    ALSO on Amazon: Search for “SudokuPad”
    **************************************************************
    ▶ CTC FAN DISCORD SERVER◀
    / discord
    ▶ OUR BACK CATALOGUE - ALL CATEGORISED WITH LINKS!◀
    tinyurl.com/CTCCatalogue
    ▶ NEW CRACKING THE CRYPTIC MERCHANDISE◀
    teespring.com/en-GB/stores/cr...
    ▶SEND US PUZZLES TO SOLVE/CONTACT US◀
    crackingthecryptic@gmail.com
    ▶FOLLOW US◀
    Twitter: #crypticcracking
    @crypticcracking
    Instagram (for how to solve daily clues from The Times): crackingthe...
  • Zábava

Komentáře • 676

  • @chrisbattey
    @chrisbattey Před 11 měsíci +1905

    Thank you so much for taking a chance on my puzzle! I'm so glad you stuck with it, as hopeless as it seemed at times. (And huge thanks to SenatorGronk for the recommendation! Truly, I'm honored.)
    -Darth Paradox

    • @sskar9390
      @sskar9390 Před 11 měsíci +50

      It's a magnificent puzzle

    • @davidrattner9
      @davidrattner9 Před 11 měsíci +24

      This was just phenomenal from you!

    • @victoriam6569
      @victoriam6569 Před 11 měsíci +15

      Thank you for your puzzle!
      I had much fun solving it

    • @longwaytotipperary
      @longwaytotipperary Před 11 měsíci +7

      Amazing!

    • @charliec.6285
      @charliec.6285 Před 11 měsíci +99

      Hey Chris -- Senator Gronk here. So yeah -- I really, really liked this one and am so glad it finally got the exposure it deserves. Cheers!

  • @kevinrobehr5016
    @kevinrobehr5016 Před 10 měsíci +660

    You know it’s a good puzzle when Simon turns it into a coloring book

    • @Qaos
      @Qaos Před měsícem +12

      You also know it's good when the first digit isn't placed until the one-hour mark.

  • @AmmoBoks
    @AmmoBoks Před 11 měsíci +1609

    Please make a 2nd CTC Channel and put all unsolved puzzles there. I think it would be very insightful.

    • @AcidDotCom
      @AcidDotCom Před 11 měsíci +22

      Could be cool to watch it 'in the background'

    • @srwapo
      @srwapo Před 11 měsíci +81

      They posted a couple of unsolved puzzles and they were pretty interesting. Wish they'd do that more often, maybe have a once a year or a Friday the 13th type thing.

    • @EnderW33
      @EnderW33 Před 11 měsíci +257

      Confounding the Cryptic

    • @Novellous210
      @Novellous210 Před 11 měsíci +25

      I would love to see Simon defeated by a puzzle

    • @Jodawo
      @Jodawo Před 11 měsíci +66

      It would be good to have such a channel. Not to see Mark and Simon fail but to give some recognition to those setters who put their hard work out there for free and only want to be featured as payment. It takes setters sometimes days or weeks to create their puzzles. It would be a shame they don't get featured just because their puzzle was a little too hard to be solved that day.

  • @oregonexpat
    @oregonexpat Před 11 měsíci +610

    You have got to be kidding! TWO HOURS? And a SINGLE DIGIT to begin? Oh Simon, I have to work tomorrow, and it’s going to be Your fault. (Wagging finger and grinning)

    • @olivier2553
      @olivier2553 Před 11 měsíci +16

      I only had 3 hours of sleep last night (no special reason why), it is very hard to concentrate enough to appreciate this solve.

    • @clara931
      @clara931 Před 11 měsíci +1

      ​@@olivier2553😮

    • @vataksegen2588
      @vataksegen2588 Před 11 měsíci +3

      Thanks for this solve, for the channel in general, and thumbs up for the ´new´ chapters!

  • @jaredwonnacott9732
    @jaredwonnacott9732 Před 11 měsíci +349

    You know, sometimes Simon gets to the first digit and says something like, "Goodness, we've been going for a half hour and we're only just now getting a digit, this is crazy." You know this is bonkers, because at half an hour Simon puts in hos first pencil mark and is just like, "I think I've figured out something about this puzle."

  • @sanctionbuster
    @sanctionbuster Před 11 měsíci +356

    After all that effort, 2:02:00 in I was shouting - "Check the palindrome at the top to get the 34 pair!" Love ya Simon. Not much elicits such a passionate response in this ol' man.

    • @maxsilva11
      @maxsilva11 Před 11 měsíci +65

      There was a solid, like, 20 minutes where spotting that palindrome would have saved him so much grief

    • @eddeh0772
      @eddeh0772 Před 11 měsíci +10

      I’m still going through but now actively shouting at the screen around 1:39:00 where he has yellow green grey in the 4th, 5th and 6th row of the 7th column. He already found the 6 within that double renban line, and knew there was definitely a yellow, so the three remaining have to be a triplet of 1, 2 and 5 within a single sudoku window, which would resolve the 2/3 grey cell in that same window and possibly create a waterfall! But what a breakthrough with that initial 6! I never would have spotted it. So excited to see this all just resolve itself now!

    • @eddeh0772
      @eddeh0772 Před 11 měsíci

      Never mind, he spotted it like a second later lol!

    • @eddeh0772
      @eddeh0772 Před 11 měsíci

      (Just got to that same part as you, guessing I wouldn’t have spotted it myself but now I’m joining your shouting once more! A lesson in not learning to check the comments prematurely)

    • @christiansimon1116
      @christiansimon1116 Před 10 měsíci +2

      Yes, i found that palindrom as well

  • @troymcdougal9010
    @troymcdougal9010 Před 11 měsíci +187

    The fact you can solve this puzzle, Simon, is sheer genius, no question whatsoever on that point. Simon, stand up and take a bow.

  • @tomh9425
    @tomh9425 Před 11 měsíci +117

    I always enjoy the paradoxical pronouncement that "you won't ever see this video"

    • @Harry-sp3fz
      @Harry-sp3fz Před 11 měsíci +10

      I am feeling quite smug. I was shouting "palindrome" for about half an hour towards the end. I doubt I would ever beat this puzzle though. I understood the logic but no chance I would get it on my own.

    • @simsplayer9952
      @simsplayer9952 Před 23 dny

      Mark and Simon do not always believe in their ability to solve Sudoku puzzles.

  • @inspiringsand123
    @inspiringsand123 Před 11 měsíci +568

    Rules: 05:26
    Let's Get Cracking: 07:59
    Simon's time: 2h2m44s
    Puzzle Solved: 2:10:43
    What about this video's Top Tier Simarkisms?!
    Bobbins: 2x (1:17:18, 1:17:18)
    Phistomefel: 2x (15:03, 1:18:33)
    Three In the Corner: 1x (2:09:06)
    Maverick: 1x (12:54)
    The Secret: 1x (2:12:31)
    You Rotten Thing: 1x (1:17:18)
    Nori Nori: 1x (1:35:01)
    And how about this video's Simarkisms?!
    Ah: 26x (16:45, 17:29, 19:01, 19:04, 22:55, 36:54, 52:02, 53:21, 59:12, 59:12, 1:00:52, 1:00:52, 1:11:37, 1:13:56, 1:15:41, 1:17:18, 1:24:34, 1:41:46, 1:43:25, 1:45:37, 1:46:58, 1:52:53, 1:53:34, 1:54:33, 1:56:42, 2:00:00, 2:06:07)
    Hang On: 11x (17:20, 59:12, 1:07:42, 1:13:56, 1:31:19, 1:43:25, 1:44:47, 1:45:37, 1:45:50, 1:52:31, 1:58:34)
    Sorry: 10x (47:01, 53:21, 59:44, 1:11:37, 1:30:15, 1:49:37, 1:56:27, 2:03:50, 2:06:14, 2:12:38)
    In Fact: 8x (22:21, 22:29, 40:16, 1:15:12, 1:18:37, 1:50:00, 2:08:19, 2:10:53)
    Incredible: 7x (44:42, 44:45, 2:06:25, 2:11:16, 2:11:19, 2:11:44, 2:11:44)
    By Sudoku: 7x (1:11:48, 1:16:59, 1:35:38, 1:44:23, 1:50:29, 1:53:37, 2:05:37)
    Obviously: 7x (14:11, 36:07, 37:08, 42:26, 1:16:14, 1:52:06, 2:02:58)
    Cake!: 7x (03:02, 03:03, 03:08, 03:08, 03:50, 04:49, 04:51)
    Beautiful: 6x (1:00:54, 1:07:58, 1:09:07, 1:14:00, 1:24:34, 1:24:34)
    I Have no Clue: 5x (15:59, 29:18, 56:39, 1:03:09, 1:54:18)
    Wow: 5x (32:21, 43:48, 50:45, 1:02:29, 1:20:48)
    Pencil Mark/mark: 5x (46:49, 1:15:39, 1:21:20, 1:35:56, 2:05:59)
    Brilliant: 3x (02:57, 1:45:16, 1:45:19)
    Come on Simon: 3x (1:04:17, 1:27:36, 1:46:26)
    I've Got It!: 3x (33:27, 59:15, 2:11:51)
    What on Earth: 2x (08:04, 1:59:52)
    Goodness: 2x (1:33:31, 2:06:09)
    Nonsense: 2x (1:15:28, 1:24:00)
    Stuck: 2x (1:30:25, 1:52:56)
    Lovely: 2x (1:19:34, 2:07:52)
    Extraordinary: 2x (00:59, 2:11:13)
    Bonkers: 2x (01:54, 01:57)
    Shouting: 2x (2:06:22, 2:06:30)
    Surely: 2x (21:24, 1:44:44)
    Progress: 2x (1:18:22, 1:18:55)
    What Does This Mean?: 2x (44:35, 2:04:11)
    Nature: 2x (09:42, 1:47:22)
    The Answer is: 1x (1:08:07)
    Clever: 1x (1:18:45)
    Break the Puzzle: 1x (21:24)
    Fascinating: 1x (1:17:56)
    Deadly Pattern: 1x (2:10:03)
    Gorgeous: 1x (1:41:46)
    Our old Friend Sudoku: 1x (2:09:05)
    Famous Last Words: 1x (2:09:50)
    Of All Things: 1x (2:08:28)
    Magnificent: 1x (2:12:06)
    Plonk: 1x (2:08:38)
    Juxtaposition: 1x (1:18:11)
    That's Huge: 1x (1:24:57)
    Have a Think: 1x (10:10)
    Middly Digit: 1x (49:20)
    Most popular number(>9), digit and colour this video:
    Twelve (6 mentions)
    Two (215 mentions)
    Red (136 mentions)
    Antithesis Battles:
    High (3) - Low (2)
    Even (8) - Odd (0)
    Lower (2) - Higher (0)
    Outside (2) - Inside (0)
    Row (35) - Column (33)
    FAQ:
    Q1: You missed something!
    A1: That could very well be the case! Human speech can be hard to understand for computers like me! Point out the ones that I missed and maybe I'll learn!
    Q2: Can you do this for another channel?
    A2: I've been thinking about that and wrote some code to make that possible. Let me know which channel you think would be a good fit!

    • @highpath4776
      @highpath4776 Před 11 měsíci +24

      Is the time to do this proportional to the solve/vid length ?!

    • @natalieeuley1734
      @natalieeuley1734 Před 11 měsíci +42

      @@highpath4776 yeah. The entire video has to process through the bot. A video this long takes a long time to process through a bot

    • @deadlygrounds
      @deadlygrounds Před 11 měsíci +32

      There's an unmarked "Maverick" at 1:27:12. Aside from this I happened to notice, what a remarkable bot! I absolutely love it! I remember when it started popping up in the comments, I'm glad to see it's still around!

    • @elialinnanmaki5749
      @elialinnanmaki5749 Před 11 měsíci +3

      Ah yes, red is my favorite number (am I misunderstandimg something, or is it supposed list "red" as a number?)

    • @whythosenames
      @whythosenames Před 10 měsíci +6

      @@elialinnanmaki5749 it says "number (>9), digit and color"

  • @ivan_osorio
    @ivan_osorio Před 11 měsíci +184

    I'd absolutely ADORE a "partial solves of cracking the cryptic" videos, by the way. Sounds like amazing content that would be extremely insightful into puzzles and logic. If this is the sort of stuff you solve, I'd love to see the ones you give up halfway through.

  • @PeaceOfThePuzzleGaming
    @PeaceOfThePuzzleGaming Před 11 měsíci +76

    Without a doubt, this is the most complicated puzzle I've seen you complete, in terms of pencil marks and notation. Huge props to the writer of your Sudoku tool, pretty sure you used all of it's features in this example. it's proven itself to be incredibly flexible. Oh and good job on the solve 😉

  • @aplanosgc6963
    @aplanosgc6963 Před 11 měsíci +201

    The fact that at 2:07:00, Simon found the position of the 5, without using the palindrome on the top left that has been staring at him for a good half hour at that point, blew my mind.
    This is a level of disrespectful genius I had never seen before.

    • @MichaelLamparty
      @MichaelLamparty Před 11 měsíci +28

      I have been talking to my screen about the palindrome for at least 20 minutes now. Just like Simon to figure out the hard way to do it.

    • @josephblack2757
      @josephblack2757 Před 11 měsíci +48

      Only for Simon to then say "that might've been on the palindrome. Doesn't matter, I didn't see it." That's a full life lesson right there.

    • @bobh6728
      @bobh6728 Před 11 měsíci +25

      One extra strategy that Simon could use that would speed of some of his solves is this: when he gets stuck, which he admitted to several times, is “Have I used all the rules?” And then go through all of them fairly quickly. This one had renban, diagonal and palindrome (EDIT: and sudoku, lol). He spent over an hour almost exclusively using the renban and never looked at the palindrome. 1:44:15 he took a 2 out of one side of the palindrome but did not on the other end. Reviewing all the rules would have helped.
      The rest was genius!!!!!

    • @jensstalberg8968
      @jensstalberg8968 Před 11 měsíci +11

      I will have to wipe my screen now after a good half an hour of shouting regarding that palindrome. Don't get me wrong, I would never have got that far and the intention is only to help when I finally found something on my level...

    • @ronjohnson6916
      @ronjohnson6916 Před 11 měsíci +15

      That's pure Simon. And part of the reason we're here. I love those special moments and I don't think I'm alone. I love the paradox of knowing I'd never have been able to get started and moaning about the palindrome.

  • @liviaromanova77
    @liviaromanova77 Před 11 měsíci +102

    I'd watch 2 hours long video of Simon solving this kind of beast, over any "blockbuster" movie these days. This is proper action, drama, fun and excitement. Thank you.

  • @theodesselas157
    @theodesselas157 Před 11 měsíci +116

    I am average at best at sudoku, and I always start these videos thinking 'I'm definitely not going to watch the whole thing'.
    Yet you inevitably draw me in with your crystal clear explanations and communicative joy, amazing job!
    About not seeing the thermometer clue at the end don't worry one bit, wondering when you're going to find it just adds to the suspense :)
    Seeing you finding other ways to find digit does make me wonder about a special mechanic though: do you know of any puzzles where the clues might be revealed as you go?
    Like a thermometer that would only appear if X box is filled in?

    • @tessabrisac7423
      @tessabrisac7423 Před 11 měsíci +10

      That’s what the “fog of war” sudoku rules do, you can find a few in this year’s solves.

  • @Orenotter
    @Orenotter Před 11 měsíci +222

    What if these sudoku puzzles are actually tests created by aliens to see how intelligent Earthlings are, and after watching Simon solve this puzzle, they decide not to invade because they conclude humans would wipe the floor with them? Thank you, Simon, for saving the Earth!

    • @longwaytotipperary
      @longwaytotipperary Před 11 měsíci +1

      @Orenotter ❤ this comment!

    • @leannemanoe
      @leannemanoe Před 11 měsíci +4

      😂😂😂

    • @windybeach2184
      @windybeach2184 Před 11 měsíci +4

      Maybe they plan to beam him up

    • @longwaytotipperary
      @longwaytotipperary Před 11 měsíci +7

      @@windybeach2184 I hope not - we need him more than they do! 😁

    • @wandrin2925
      @wandrin2925 Před 11 měsíci +8

      Created tech to send data across the emptiness between stars and galaxies;
      Prepared to send an invading force an unfathomable distance in order to take over an entire planet, currently occupied by highly aggressive, territorial, weaponized primates;
      Scared off by a single human taking multiple hours and having significant trouble solving a Sudoku puzzle of above average difficulty 😅
      Sounds like a good B-movie, thanks for the laugh :)

  • @Arkhanno
    @Arkhanno Před 11 měsíci +52

    Cracking The Bloopers would be a fun channel to see a montage of Simon and Mark getting stuck on puzzles

  • @crashtextdummie
    @crashtextdummie Před 11 měsíci +36

    This puzzle is an utter work of genius. The double renban rule sounds kind of inconspicuous, but the way it produced novel logic throughout the entire solve path was nothing short of mesmerizing.
    I was shouting about the 2 towards the end, but I still greatly enjoyed Simon's solve as well.

    • @dczzzz55
      @dczzzz55 Před 11 měsíci +1

      I was looking to see if any one else was shouting '2'!

  • @gled9880
    @gled9880 Před 11 měsíci +64

    As Simon speculated, you can use geometry to speed up the solve. There are 27 special digits (1s, 5s, and 9s) in the grid. 10 of them are on the length 8 line, another 4 on the length 16 line, and 3 are in the central box. That's a total of 17 special digits, which leaves the remaining 10 special digits on the Phistomefel Ring. You can use this at 1:09:30 in the solve. At this point 6 of the 10 special digits have been placed in the Phistomefel corner blocks, and 4 cells within the blocks have been shown not to contain a special digit, leaving 4 special digits to place in 6 cells. But R2C2 and R7C7 cannot both be red, because of the diagonal, and R2C1 and R7C2 cannot both be green because then there is nowhere to put another green on the length 16 line. Therefore R1C7 is green, R2C7 is yellow, exactly one of R2C2 and R7C2 is red, and exactly one of R2C1 and R7C7 is green.

    • @jsdp
      @jsdp Před 9 měsíci

      Nice logic! But in the last line I figure you mean R1C8 is green, R2C8 is yellow. Cheers:)

    • @gled9880
      @gled9880 Před 9 měsíci

      @@jsdp Yes. My mistake.

  • @dannstarrjp
    @dannstarrjp Před 11 měsíci +32

    As much as Simon deserves a big applause for solving this puzzle (I gave up after like 15min), the last 30-40min I was screaming at obvious things like I never did before. So many things he just didn’t see that were a straight forward path to the finish😅 but it’s probably understandable as his brain must’ve been overheated from all the logic he did for the first 1.5h~

  • @ReneePrower
    @ReneePrower Před 4 měsíci +9

    What an incredible puzzle. I think my only critique would be with the examples of valid sequences for the double renbans given in the rules. To me, it seemed implied that - overlapping or not - the sequences were always required to be in order. For example 1234 would be a valid half of a double renban, but 1243 would not. Obviously in the final solve this was not the case, which would've been a huge sticking point for me if I attempted to solve it.
    That said, I don't think I'd have had much chance of ever solving this anyhow, as the logic required is just incredible. I can't imagine how you even begin setting something like this. It's wonderful.

    • @uncountablyinfinite3429
      @uncountablyinfinite3429 Před 2 měsíci +2

      Is that not what consecutive means? I was confused by that as well.

    • @bumboclat
      @bumboclat Před 6 dny

      @@uncountablyinfinite3429 the rules explicitly state "any order"

    • @ginnya4246
      @ginnya4246 Před dnem

      yes I agree
      I thought that when he put in the digits around 33:12, based upon the sequences having to be in order, those cells in fact could not be 2s or 8s

  • @jaad0u
    @jaad0u Před 11 měsíci +28

    I have in fact been gently yelling at you Simon about that 2 at the end as it makes me feel so smart when I can spot something before you do for once! I am always blown away by how you manage to solve those extremely difficult puzzles while explaining the logic in a way that us beginners can follow. I love these videos so much

  • @mtmcdougall7097
    @mtmcdougall7097 Před 11 měsíci +16

    1:40:46 for me (almost under the 100 minute mark), I was so focused on the palindromes at the start of the puzzle that it took me a while to get the break-in, and then at the end I thought I was left with a deadly pattern on 2s and 4s in columns 2 and 3 and laughed at myself when I saw that it was resolved by one of the palindromes that I spent so much time staring at at the start of the puzzle.

  • @psiphiorg
    @psiphiorg Před 11 měsíci +19

    I think the gift of sudoku should be either for the 9th anniversary or the 45th!

  • @Astervista
    @Astervista Před 11 měsíci +36

    It’s the first time I get the break-in before Simon speaking at 2x. The idea is simple, you have to slice the four sets of the outer rows and column in 4-sized chunks for the renban.
    First deduction: you can never overlap cuts, otherwise you would use more digits when you overlap but less when you don’t. So you have only four choices: 1-4, 2-5, 5-8 and 6-9.
    Second deduction: splitting the four sets like that you leave out either 1, 5 or 9 you weren’t able to fit in the two sets. You are left with four from 1, 5, 9 that are in the four sets but not in your cuts. These are the ones you have to double count, and the only way to double count them in the sets are to put them in the corners.
    Therefore, the corners must be the 1, 5 and 9 that are left from the cuts. If you had put anything else, eg a 3, you would have removed a 3 that leaves a 1 and a 2 without a group.

    • @stephenmor66
      @stephenmor66 Před 11 měsíci +3

      That's nice.
      My argument was that every 4 digit sequence needs one of 1, 5 or 9, giving eight in the perimeter. If they weren't in the corners we would have twelve, so the corners must be 1, 5 and 9 to get down to eight.
      I used the same logic as you to get more insight as to what the sequences can be.

  • @volrath__
    @volrath__ Před 11 měsíci +19

    I would love to see a second channel for unsolved puzzles!
    1. It means that yoh dont fully waste your time not completing a solve and, more importantly...
    2. We get to see you and Mark struggle which would be highly entertaining!

  • @walkomidit
    @walkomidit Před 11 měsíci +6

    I love watching you do these seemingly impossible puzzles and seeing their little trickle of info turn into a massive river.

  • @theritchie2173
    @theritchie2173 Před 11 měsíci +22

    I've stepped away from Sudoku for a couple of months (life happens), and I come back to a 2-hour beast. Judging by the name I'm not sure I'm up to nested Renbans, maybe I should catch up on a few GAS videos as a nice gentle warmup first.

  • @Emmibean77
    @Emmibean77 Před 11 měsíci +6

    This was such a marathon! Well done, Simon! You muscled through, and, as ever, your persistance and logic are admirable.

  • @AaronCB1321
    @AaronCB1321 Před 11 měsíci +17

    Love your content and yes, absolutely start a second channel with partially solved puzzles! We would love to see that and make us mere mortals feel better lol!

  • @Urutsini
    @Urutsini Před 11 měsíci +5

    The setter and the solver are beyond human in extraordinary intelligence and wisdom. Well done Darth Paradox and Simon

  • @stuartmckinnon9190
    @stuartmckinnon9190 Před 11 měsíci +3

    Just observing Simon persist and tackle a challenging puzzle is a great life lesson in itself for young and old. A key to success in whatever endeavour one partakes in.

  • @trentoliphant
    @trentoliphant Před 11 měsíci +3

    I have to admit on some longer videos I don't pay attention to every single deduction - but on this one I was absolutely mesmerized the whole way through. I was so excited when I saw that he could put the 1 in R6C3 long before he did, but thats just because I wasn't able to do all of the other fantastic deductions that he did. Thank you so much for the way you walk through your thinking on all of these puzzles - it is a joy to watch you - even when you struggle.

  • @stevenape377
    @stevenape377 Před 11 měsíci +2

    I loved it! The solve flowed beautifully and I appreciated the process of slowly coming to grips with this crazy setup and things falling into place. I couldn't have solved this myself given any amount of time, I'm pretty sure. I mostly like shorter puzzles on the channel because it means I have a chance to do them myself, but I enjoy the occasional feature film :) Thanks!

  • @johnsouza4391
    @johnsouza4391 Před 11 měsíci +1

    I never know why certain puzzles draw me in to watch for the whole 2 plus hours. This one did. Thank you.

  • @davidhughes7174
    @davidhughes7174 Před 11 měsíci +5

    I fear we will run out of superlatives to describe you Simon. Absolutely amazing, incredible, beguiling, stunning, mesmerising to start for the puzzle, the solve, your patience and perseverance. Thank you.

  • @dannstarrjp
    @dannstarrjp Před 11 měsíci +10

    1:18:14 if only Simon remembered what he said in the very beginning of the puzzle about the “inner ring 8 cell line”, it can never have two yellows or two reds because it would have 5 digits in c8 from a set of 4 digits. It’s much easier to see it that way😅

  • @Orenotter
    @Orenotter Před 11 měsíci +2

    I could have been dancing a cancan,
    Or chatting with some Isle of Man man,
    But I simply can't lose
    When the pastime I choose
    Is watching you solve Renrenbanban.

  • @Riqu213
    @Riqu213 Před 11 měsíci +2

    It's this kind of genius that keeps me wanting to watch you solve puzzles Simon. I can yell at you on a nightly basis for finding the hard way to deduce a cell is number A and not number B while a B sits right next to it but then you make this break-in look as if it should be everyone's first thought. What a solve on an AMAZING puzzle.

  • @flobiish
    @flobiish Před 11 měsíci

    I can definitely tell you're getting tired there toward the end. I'm glad you stuck through it. Fantastic video.

  • @thejeqff
    @thejeqff Před 11 měsíci +4

    Simon, after hours of excruciating, mind-boggling deductions: I'm so sorry, you've probably seen [X] for so long
    Literally everyone else except the only other person who solved the puzzle: ... yeah, we'll let that slide ;-)
    Absolutely impressive solve. And Simon as humble as ever. What a fun one to watch.

  • @degebergaskola
    @degebergaskola Před 11 měsíci

    Wow! Congrats Simon! Great solve, working through all that hard logic - and a wonderful puzzle! I am very impressed, this is probably the most diffcult puzzle I have seen on this channel.

  • @mattmayoh9680
    @mattmayoh9680 Před 11 měsíci +18

    Placeholders help in this one. It's still extremely hard, but I think it makes it easier to visualise the logic, a little less confusing than the colouring. Red is either high or low, and all the renbans means the order matters a lot. So just make red A. A = 1 or 9, B = 2 or 8, C = 3 or 7, D = 4 or 6, E = 5. Now the perimeter renbans must have 2 x ABCD, 2 x BCDE, 3 x FGHI, 1 x EFGH. So @52:00-@56:00, grey must be the three digits between yellow & green, they are an EI pair, so grey is an FGH triple. And pencilmarking the quads means simon's yellow group, r9c2-5, must be FGHI, so r1c1 is I, r9c9 = E = 5, and you can pencil the entire perimeter with quads/triples. And eventually the given 4 will disambiguate everything else.
    edit - for me, my pencil marking meant that at the point Simon reached in the video @1:20:00 or so, I could force red into r2c2, and more importantly, I had a D in r7c7, and D is 4 or 6, so I could change all my letters into numbers, and have the given 4 do a lot of work for me.

  • @Qaos
    @Qaos Před měsícem

    Watching every domino piece that was set up slowly get knocked down was immensely satisfying.

  • @Yiab
    @Yiab Před 2 měsíci

    Nearing the end of the video, I spent half an hour just thinking "remember the palindrome in box 1".
    This puzzle is a work of art.

  • @miyahollands6136
    @miyahollands6136 Před 11 měsíci

    An amazing solution, Simon - all credit to your resolve!
    I for one, am a fan of the long video

  • @Xax992
    @Xax992 Před 10 měsíci +2

    What I love about this puzzles is that often after find 1st digit all sudoku is figured out and 10 minutes later is solved. But not in this case. 1st number after hour and after almost 1 more hour there was still some mistery to solve.

  • @GizmoTheViking
    @GizmoTheViking Před 11 měsíci +11

    I clearly don't understand the double Renban rules for the purple lines, because this looks nothing like I imagined on the purple lines if it's correct.
    How can you form two overlapping sets of consecutive digits that includes 9-6-2 in a row. Neither of the numbers are consecutive to each other?
    I'm generally confused regarding that rule. Specially since the examples given in the rules fits how I assumed it would look like.
    EDIt:
    I missed one specific part of the rule when reading and trying the puzzle for myself.
    The fact that the digits can be in any order along the line slipped past me, simply because that wouldn't make them consecutive anymore.
    Then the examples are only with consecutive numbers in correct order.
    Most confusing rule ever tbh.

    • @contagioushate
      @contagioushate Před 6 měsíci +2

      Thanks for explaining that! I watched the entire thing, dying to know how the renban lines would look upon completion and I was raging by the end because they werent consecutive! Very unclear rule.

  • @TheCrizoo
    @TheCrizoo Před 11 měsíci

    Incredible work on solving, I stuck with you for the whole 2 hours for every crumb of clue

  • @DoubleTrouble-li5wi
    @DoubleTrouble-li5wi Před 7 měsíci +1

    This was absolutely lovely! Thank you so much for all you do!

  • @Jodawo
    @Jodawo Před 11 měsíci +37

    I am quite surprised. Simon is doing a puzzle only one person has solved on LMD. Yet Mark and the testers think "Empty Grid 2" will be too difficult for him. 🤔

    • @francoisduez601
      @francoisduez601 Před 11 měsíci +3

      Mark is a master in solving puzzles, and a real master at fast-solving, but for the hardest ones I think he can miss a bit of resilience, unlike Simon...

    • @Jodawo
      @Jodawo Před 11 měsíci +2

      @@francoisduez601 Empty Grid 2 is not a puzzle to be bifurcated. It has a logical solve and is not prone to the if this is this then this is that type of solving. Mark has a tendency to go that route when he starts to get stuck. I do think Simon will have trouble with it because he has trouble with Disjointed Set type of puzzles. Simon will probably also have a little trouble with the Prime Box constraint. It does have an element that he might like where you have to find two 3x3 boxes.
      After seeing what Simon did today Empty Grid 2 should not pose that much of a problem but will probably take him at least an hour to solve.

    • @SzanyiAtti
      @SzanyiAtti Před 11 měsíci +3

      Haven't seen "Empty Grid 2" yet, where can I find it?

  • @eveengineer4147
    @eveengineer4147 Před 11 měsíci

    Amazing job Simon, I really enjoyed the first 30 minutes of the solve because any sudoku that opens with set theory is a big winner in my book. I do have to tell you that the palindrome logic to sort of the grey digits in row 1 was available for a while as you feared. It was actually super useful to me when it came to sorting out grey digits and the 5 in box 7.

  • @sirieve
    @sirieve Před 11 měsíci

    Couldnt follow half of it, but watched the whole in utter fascination. Amazing skills there mate.

  • @emilywilliams3237
    @emilywilliams3237 Před 11 měsíci +1

    This was so amazing. Simon, I am not surprised that you were tired by the time you put your first digit in - and you kept going. (Frankly, I am surprised that you don't need a biobreak at some point in these longer videos, let alone a stand-up-and-do-some-jumping-jacks break, or even a brief nap!) One of the reasons I love this channel is that when you attempt these super difficult puzzles, you attack them rigorously and thoroughly - you do not take shortcuts. (Yes, sometimes you take "long cuts" but I am totally OK with that - I don't mind in the slightest.) I enjoy videos where you clearly enjoy the puzzle and find the process of solving interesting. I love it when you get excited about things. I loved this video.

  • @charlesrubano4161
    @charlesrubano4161 Před 8 měsíci

    Thank you for taking the time to solve this one for us, i really enjoyed watching it. I will be watching this one again.

  • @alainculos9294
    @alainculos9294 Před 11 měsíci

    This is simply staggeringly stunning.
    Both the puzzle and the solve.
    There is no way on earth I could ever have solved this one.

  • @StriderGW2
    @StriderGW2 Před 11 měsíci

    the way the solution path spirals towards the middle is just completely stunning, what a beautiful construction.

  • @Talon227
    @Talon227 Před 11 měsíci

    So impressive and mesmerizing to watch. Great job Simon!

  • @aleksandrajanicka6949
    @aleksandrajanicka6949 Před 11 měsíci

    That was one of the most enjoyable videos throughout this channel I've viewed.

  • @davidrattner9
    @davidrattner9 Před 11 měsíci +1

    Just an absolute extraordinary 130 minutes of edge of your seat excitement!! Fabulous solve , reasoning , explanations , deductions Simon to this brute !

  • @devangoad
    @devangoad Před 9 měsíci +1

    I’ve only found one guy on CZcams that both frustrates and excites me. I watch a lot of CZcams, I guarantee this is a real accomplishment.

  • @cyberrb25
    @cyberrb25 Před 11 měsíci +1

    1:21:32 the thing is, R3C3 shouldn't be red. If it were, it would deny both R2C2 and R8C8 off being reds, so it would require an extra red in the middle ring.

  • @callmemarcy77
    @callmemarcy77 Před 11 měsíci

    I had to move and unpack today and this was the perfect thing to have on while I unloaded all my boxes. Love the channel, thank you so much :)

  • @milliams
    @milliams Před 11 měsíci

    A beautiful puzzle and a brilliant solve. One of my favourites in a while. Great work Darth Paradox and Simon!

  • @omardengel4498
    @omardengel4498 Před 6 měsíci +1

    A truly mesmerizingly beautiful puzzle!
    Did it myself over the course of 10 hours during my workday. getting to that first 5 was sooo satisfying and rewarding.
    Astonishing work there

  • @KingCrusoe
    @KingCrusoe Před 24 dny

    Even some of the most complicated sudokus you do on the channel I can follow along with what you're saying and even make a handful of my own deductions along the way, but this one I can't even follow.
    That to me is a testament to just how good at problem solving Simon is with a little time lol

  • @guihermeborracha7412
    @guihermeborracha7412 Před 4 měsíci

    You gotta love this a lot to spend your time doing it. I'm not ashamed to say that would take me a lifetime to even have a chance.

  • @ManaSong
    @ManaSong Před 5 měsíci

    I don't know how I got here but I am absolutely fascinated by how you worked out that puzzle! I can't believe I just sat and watched this for 2 hours and was absolutely absorbed in it the entire time. This is so cool. I used to do regular sudoku puzzles, but this makes me want to seek out some harder ones with interesting rules like this (but not this difficult, my logic skills are not there lol)

  • @gillsmoke
    @gillsmoke Před 11 měsíci

    Watched to the end, as a novice solver this one was wild to me. there were several leaps of logic I didn't follow but there were plenty I did. Thank you and there's no way I'd even attempt a puzzle like this

  • @xXVintersorgXx
    @xXVintersorgXx Před 11 měsíci

    Whenever I'm yelling at Simon watching these.. it's to tell him to go back to doing sudoku.. dizzying deductions but doesn't see the simple thing staring him in the face. Great job

  • @timdunkley9173
    @timdunkley9173 Před 11 měsíci +1

    I finished in 17 hours and 27 minutes AND no bifurcation. I was disappointed not to be able to use the early and brilliant deduction that only four even numbers could be in the Phistomefel Ring.

  • @acantilado
    @acantilado Před 11 měsíci

    Oh my goodness that might be the most difficult solve I have ever seen on this channel (and I have watched hundreds of these videos). Masterclass by Simon

  • @elizabethswann05
    @elizabethswann05 Před 11 měsíci +1

    I actually thought about how much I'd love to see the unsolved puzzles every time Simon mentions that possibility in a video so yes please do that second channel

  • @chuckjones4294
    @chuckjones4294 Před 7 měsíci

    OH... this was wonderful to watch. Thank you!

  • @AlexL1805
    @AlexL1805 Před 11 měsíci

    I've started watching CtC to fall asleep to as it's both interesting and relaxing, however this posed a bit of a problem today... I finished a night shift, got in bed about 10am, fell asleep within a couple of minutes of the start of the solve, got woken up an hour later and after dealing with a few things rewound to start watching again. It's now 4pm, I've just finished watching that incredible solve and I've not been back to sleep!

  • @darktemplar441
    @darktemplar441 Před 6 měsíci +1

    Simon - Apologize for nothing! This was an absolute wonder to watch. I was lost for most of it. But just watching the logic come together was awe inducing. bravo!

  • @kerstin1345
    @kerstin1345 Před 11 měsíci +2

    2:04:29 - 2:04:38
    This is what my dad says to my mom when they notice me all alone all day watching youtube

  • @JohnFiala
    @JohnFiala Před 8 měsíci +1

    My god, this was amazing to watch. I loved it. So much fun to watch you work this out bit by bit. Chef's Kiss.

  • @52392daner
    @52392daner Před 6 měsíci +1

    I was very proud of myself because I was playing along and figured out a lot of stuff then would play your video to see what you got and about 70% of the time I agreed with you, which is an accomplishment for me!

  • @CheeseduckClaire
    @CheeseduckClaire Před 7 měsíci +2

    It's still so frustrating to see something Simon misses... but this was such an insane puzzle I have no choice but to let it go.

  • @WarlockEmpire
    @WarlockEmpire Před 9 měsíci +2

    I’ve started watching these videos to fall asleep, they’re so fun and soothing to watch! But I usually fall asleep before the puzzle is solved, so I have to return in the morning to see how it turned out! 😭😭 thank you for posting these fun videos!

  • @rolandleiter5295
    @rolandleiter5295 Před 11 měsíci

    really enjoyed the solve - so I get it that the testers could not solve that and you still tried? Award yourself with a medal of courage (also everyboda else who tried this) 🙂

  • @paulpieralde1653
    @paulpieralde1653 Před 11 měsíci

    I am not sure what is more SICK... the sheer genius of Simon Anthony or me watching a 2h10m solve. BRAVO, Simon. That was ridiculous.

  • @Rapandreas
    @Rapandreas Před 11 měsíci

    It's always special to see you work your way through some of the most difficult logic on the planet only to miss something seemingly obvious.
    (Palindrome preventing r1c3 from being 2)
    I wouldn't have made it anywhere near far enough to get that myself, so suffice to say, you are a total genius.

  • @martysears
    @martysears Před 11 měsíci

    this was astounding. What a break-in!

  • @raxdev4578
    @raxdev4578 Před 9 měsíci

    This was a fantastic solve! I am so glad you were able to crack it! It was superb to see the thought process! Only once did I see something you were 5 seconds from seeing.

  • @sfcpudding
    @sfcpudding Před 2 měsíci

    This was an absolutely incredible puzzle and in an incredible solve! It took me a LOT longer than it took you, but I got there eventually. Thank you so much for sharing this puzzle and your solve, brilliant stuff.

  • @dustdirtandstone
    @dustdirtandstone Před 11 měsíci

    I don't know why youtube started recommending me these videos but this was enthralling. Well done. Couldn't stop watching, now I need to brush my teeth and go to bed.

  • @simoonsingame3833
    @simoonsingame3833 Před 11 měsíci +3

    I solved it in 97:20, I'm so proud :D !
    What a puzzle!
    For the placeholder vs bifurcation, I am in the placeholder team.
    Or, in fact, I see it more like a dual problem, like in many math problems.
    I create a new problem, with the given digits changed to pencil marks (46), and one of my pencil marks changed to a given digit.
    Then, once I have the solution to my dual problem (for which there is provably one and only one solution if and only if there is one and only one solution to the original problem), I can deduce the solution to the original problem without any additional logic.
    As a matter of fact, I chose the wrong one for this puzzle and it didn't take me much more additional time (like 1 min') than if I took the right one from the start.
    However, when you avoid doing it, you generally have nice color solves which look way more elegant and enjoyable to watch than my dual solves :D !
    So in the end, for my own pleasure, I would say: continue complexifying your life :D !
    Great solve, incredible puzzle, thank you for sharing!!!

  • @uncgoalie
    @uncgoalie Před 11 měsíci +2

    Wow! Respect! Beats anything on Netflix by a huge margin!

  • @fredmerizen
    @fredmerizen Před 3 měsíci

    Oh my god, that was epic. I can't believe Simon apologised about not immediately seeing that 2 on the last leg, he must have been so exhausted by that time.

  • @vit0382
    @vit0382 Před 11 měsíci

    Amazing solve Simon! Way to persevere.

  • @CuteHalo
    @CuteHalo Před 11 měsíci

    I give this video top marks for entertainment value! I derive inspiration from seeing how you circumvent obstacles and disambiguate logical puzzles!
    I feel exhausted, as if after a football game, even though I just watched it!
    Thank YOU for all the suspense and resolve, Simon, I really loved this!

  • @fredcole6844
    @fredcole6844 Před 11 měsíci

    This was crazy. You normally have the moment of epiphany and then the puzzle is instantly solved, but with this puzzle you teased out more than 1/2 of the numbers and still were completely stuck.

  • @EmmaB_MD
    @EmmaB_MD Před 10 měsíci

    “By the power of sudoku of all things” had me laughing out loud. Absolutely astounding solve!

  • @Anarelion
    @Anarelion Před 10 měsíci

    I needed to watch this in multiple days, but I really enjoyed it. I think puzzles that escalate slowly in the logic are beautiful. Grand as the Irish say. Go for more!!!! TBH, I enjoyed seeing Simon struggle.

  • @pjbrady47
    @pjbrady47 Před 11 měsíci

    That was an absolutely insane puzzle. I stared at it for a while, played with some colors, then said "NOPE!" I'm glad you were able to solve and and post the solve. Thank you!

  • @martinbull-gundersen8878
    @martinbull-gundersen8878 Před 11 měsíci +4

    I think that 6 came into use at the perfect moment. I'm not a very big fan of sudokus that essentially have two "opposite" solutions that are disambiguated by something at the very end. Here all the nice logic of the opening was possible to do without "crazy" labeling (or using some stand in letter or number), then you got that dismbiguated and could continue (to watch for my part). Very nice puzzle and solve btw 🙂

  • @SleepyHarryZzz
    @SleepyHarryZzz Před 7 měsíci

    Fantastic solve as always, very impressed.

  • @dargonflames7127
    @dargonflames7127 Před 8 měsíci

    Seeing you do the beginning was magnificent. I was definitely blown away by how you deduced all of that information. Then I started hoping you'd see the double renban in box 1 n 4 would resolve the As n Bs as well as the rest of the puzzle when you had gotten to that part.

  • @markbennet9058
    @markbennet9058 Před 11 měsíci

    I haven't done this one, but I have already seen something really clever and cool - looks like the recommendation is well justified