31 December 2014

I Want to Believe

Title: I Want to Believe
Rating: 3/5

Sometimes an idea takes hold for whether a certain design is possible.  I wanted to pay homage in my own small way to The X-Files, a show I adore.

The official rules:

  • The digits 1 through 9 appear in each row and each column exactly once.
  • Digits in each shaded region must multiply to the indicated product.   
  • Squares with multiple colors contain a number that’s used in the product for adjacent regions of each of those colors.  
  • Remember: numbers can repeat within a shaded region if that doesn't violate the first rule. 

25 December 2014

Windmill

Title: Windmill
Rating: 3/5


As happened in a previous puzzle, this sum puzzle contains regions that overlap each other (instead of just abutting each other).  May your pursuits to solve this one not be quixotic.

The official rules:

  • The digits 1 through 9 appear in each row and each column exactly once.
  • Digits in each shaded region must add to the indicated sum.   
  • Squares with multiple colors contain a number that’s used in the sum for adjacent regions of each of those colors.
  • Cells at the following positions belong to the regions that go horizontally and vertically through that cell: (2,2), (2,8), (8,2), (8,8).  The (light purple) color of these cells is the RGB-average of the colors from the horizontal and vertical regions that intersect there. 
  • Remember: numbers can repeat within a shaded region if that doesn't violate the first rule.

17 December 2014

Sea Breeze

Title: Sea Breeze
Rating: 3/5 

It's starting to feel like winter, but perhaps this drink (a combination of vodka, cranberry juice, and grapefruit juice on the rocks) will bring back memories of warmer days.

The official rules:

  • The digits 1 through 9 appear in each row and each column exactly once.
  • Digits in each shaded region must add to the indicated sum (denoted by +) or multiply to the indicated product (denoted by *).   
  • Squares with multiple colors contain a number that’s used in the sum/product for adjacent regions of each of those colors.  
  • Remember: numbers can repeat within a shaded region if that repetition doesn't violate the first rule.

10 December 2014

Rotation

Title: Rotation
Rating: 2/5

While all of these puzzles have rotational symmetry, this week's product puzzles strives to highlight that symmetry as clearly as possible.

The official rules:

  • The digits 1 through 9 appear in each row and each column exactly once.
  • Digits in each shaded region must multiply to the indicated product.   
  • Squares with multiple colors contain a number that’s used in the product for adjacent regions of each of those colors.  
  • Remember: numbers can repeat within a shaded region if that doesn't violate the first rule. 

03 December 2014

Drip

Title: Drip
Rating: 3/5


A medium difficulty puzzle for a medium kind of December day.

The official rules:

  • The digits 1 through 9 appear in each row and each column exactly once.
  • Digits in each shaded region must add to the indicated sum.   
  • Squares with multiple colors contain a number that’s used in the sum for adjacent regions of each of those colors.
  • Remember: numbers can repeat within a shaded region if that doesn't violate the first rule.