Friday Puzzle #17 - Kakuro Twins
There is an established crossword variant, Saimese Twins, where two grids and two sets of clues are given; deciding what clues belong in which grid is the extra challenge which makes them particularly enjoyable.
Here, that concept is applied to Kakuro. You may choose to solve this on two separate copies or just on one, but there are indeed two grids here with two solutions. Together, the two solutions will use each horizontal or vertical clue exactly once. So, for the first horizontal entry, in one grid the sum will be 10 (as indicated on the left of that row of cells) and in the other grid the sum will be 12 (as indicated on the right of that row of cells). Identifying which crossing down clues go with the 10 and which with the 12 will be up to you to determine. Also, just because the grid with the 10 used the "left" clue for the first entry does not mean it uses the "left" clue for the entry below it. Consider it equally likely (until you can prove otherwise) that that clue is a 16 or a 26 for the first grid. As in a standard kakuro, use the digits 1-9 with no digits repeating in any entry.
This puzzle is phenomenally hard, so I offer you the following "nerfed" version if you want. On this easier version, all of the cells that contain the same number in both grids are shaded pink. This should allow a few more entry points than the unhinted version. If that is still not enjoyable, I'll point you back to the kakuro puzzles thedan and I wrote for the Mystery Hunt. You may also enjoy a walk, some time with a good book, or a brand new episode of Dollhouse. Until next week, ....
Here, that concept is applied to Kakuro. You may choose to solve this on two separate copies or just on one, but there are indeed two grids here with two solutions. Together, the two solutions will use each horizontal or vertical clue exactly once. So, for the first horizontal entry, in one grid the sum will be 10 (as indicated on the left of that row of cells) and in the other grid the sum will be 12 (as indicated on the right of that row of cells). Identifying which crossing down clues go with the 10 and which with the 12 will be up to you to determine. Also, just because the grid with the 10 used the "left" clue for the first entry does not mean it uses the "left" clue for the entry below it. Consider it equally likely (until you can prove otherwise) that that clue is a 16 or a 26 for the first grid. As in a standard kakuro, use the digits 1-9 with no digits repeating in any entry.
This puzzle is phenomenally hard, so I offer you the following "nerfed" version if you want. On this easier version, all of the cells that contain the same number in both grids are shaded pink. This should allow a few more entry points than the unhinted version. If that is still not enjoyable, I'll point you back to the kakuro puzzles thedan and I wrote for the Mystery Hunt. You may also enjoy a walk, some time with a good book, or a brand new episode of Dollhouse. Until next week, ....
