** TODAY'S PUZZLE **
Marty Sears is one of the most inventive setters in the puzzle world and he shows that again today with Counting Castles, his latest creation. We love the idea about dividing the grid into kingdoms with different power! It's not a simple sudoku though (or at least Simon doesn't think so!)

Play the puzzle at the link below:
https://sudokupad.app/5060viuw2v

Rules:
Divide the grid into 9 kingdoms of orthogonally connected cells. Fill the grid with the digits 1-9 so that each digit appears once in each row, column and kingdom. A digit on a castle indicates exactly how many castles contain that digit. Every kingdom has a score, representing how powerful it is. This is calculated by adding the number of castles the kingdom contains to the number of neighbouring kingdoms it borders. (Two kingdoms are considered neighbours if they share at least one orthogonal edge.) A digit in a blue square indicates its kingdom's score. No two kingdoms have the same score. A bridge connects two digits in different kingdoms, and they will either sum to 5, sum to 10, or be in a 1:2 ratio (ie one digit will be double the other).

** ISLANDS OF INSIGHT STREAM **
We streamed Islands Of Insight again on Tuesday night! If you missed it, you can watch it at the link below:

https://youtube.com/live/KE7RLE9OH9g

** PATREON REWARD DAY **
We published a new sudoku hunt, Evening Attractions, at the start of March for our monthly competition. It closes on the 20th so get your entries in by then!

They'll also be a bonus crossword video from Simon and his solve of Region Geometry by Emre Kolotoğlu (3hr 36min long...!) released over the weekend. And Simon's discussion video about Dean Mayer's Sunday Times crossword from last weekend will appear at 1minute past midnight on Sunday morning (which is the moment that competition has ended.)

  / crackingthecryptic  

** KICKSTARTER - DELIVERED 24 December 2023 **
Our Kickstarter has finished and we've created the finished novella/puzzle collection for you. It was delivered on Christmas Eve so check your inboxes!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

** ORDER OUR NEW BOOK AT THIS LINK **

If you would like to get hold of a physical copy of our new book, Cracking The Cryptic's Greatest Hits - Volume 2, there is still a chance. Visit the link below:

https://bean-games.pledgemanager.com/...

▶ 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/svens-s...

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 and puzzle intro
1:34 New Islands Of Insight video on Patreon
2:08 Patreon competition
2:34 Happy Birthdays
3:30 Rules
7:39 Start of Solve: Let's Get Cracking

▶ Contact Us ◀

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

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'.)

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