This was awesome! Weird seeing it pop up on my UA-cam... had me thinking for a second if I had already made season 3 and forgotten. This made me remember back to 2 and a half years ago when I had just discovered Cracking the Cryptic, and I was binge watching loads of the back catalogue on the channel, and 3 of my favourite constructors that inspired me to start making my own variant sudokus were Jay Dyer, Zetamath and Tallcat. The fact that Tallcat now felt inspired by my puzzles to the point where he wanted to make this cool homage was quite a surreal feeling, in a lovely way! Excellent construction and full of lots of the fun little logical nuggets that I enjoy about setting my Rat Run episodes. Don't worry Simon, it's unlikely that many of my future instalments will be to the Tallcat level of difficulty!
Marty, the Rat Run puzzles are far from your only contribution. Hope you will continue to set harder puzzles too - so many people are inspired by your setting, and so many have capabilities they don't imagine until they try. And you have beautiful ideas - some of your work with SET is seriously memorable.
It is such a joy to see you supportive of this constructor. I know some people could feel "ripped off" and its such a great reminder of how wonderful this community is, reminder of humanity, and how such a great reprieve from difficulties in life some are experiencing currently.
Yes, it was good to see your support of Tallcat setting this puzzle. I must say when I saw the puzzle, the first word that came to mind wasn't homage or tribute, it was lawsuit, lol.
Felinous greetings!! I know mine is not the first or only Rat run homage out there so I am humbled that it made it to a feature. This all came about because I had been toying with ideas for a double loop puzzle - and after a 3 day binge of (at the time) the 17 rat run puzzles, it struck me as a really good format for what i had been wanting to do with a double loop puzzle. That, combined with the idea of a (short) cat breaking into the maze, felt very appropriate and made me chuckle. You did a very good job overall Simon - and I heartily agree that keeping the rules straight makes the puzzle trickier than it might seem. It was also tricky as I wanted to have a degree of the two paths "interacting" and informing where each could go - but I didn't find it easy as to how best to telegraph that. It was overall a fun process to work through, but when all is said and done , I have a respect for Marty - not just for the creativity and variety that he has been bringing (that goes without saying) - but also in just managing to make 20 of these (with more to come!). I found it quite a task getting this one together (it broke quite a few times in the making) while keeping in the logic that I really liked. But, with the surprise ending of Rat Run Phase 2, I am looking forward -- like many others I'm sure - to what Marty and Finkz(es) will do next!
1:03:00 I can't see why that's wrong... Me: yes, parity on the cat's path with the 7... parity, parity Simon: that's so hard to see but I think there's a problem with 9 in the box As always, Simon.
1:19:56 You cannot do that because you need an even cell where they cross paths and then there is two even in a row in the cat's path. Maybe if he had changed colors between green and red, as red is often used for parity lines, he would've remembered.
@@constanza16481:23:19 “This one feels more constrained…” Yes, Simon, because it’s impossible. I write this in nearly every comment: Simon’s knack for ignoring basic Sudoku or elementary parts of the ruleset that would lead to simple deductions, just to find the most alternative logical chain instead never ceases to amaze me.
@@gi0nbecell I think he always prioritize logical steps over Sudoku, because simple sudoku is easy and not very fulfilling, and we are here to watch him do his trick and to improve in our logical thinking. So, for him is the last resource when everything else isn't enough. And, of course, it is easy to watch something simple when you have already solve the puzzle on your own and when you are not presured by the camera and the chronometer.
@ it‘s not only about basic Sudoku - Simon also regularly ignores variant rule logic or neglects to follow a logic chain to the end. That abandonment of a deductive chain (though not present in this solve) often leads to him searching for clues and finding convoluted solutions that have the same effect - and then stating that this next step was hard to spot (which is true - because it was unnecessary). That being said, I wouldn‘t regularly watch CtC (and especially Simon, as Mark honestly terrifies me a bit) if I didn‘t find the videos entertaining and wholesome. So don‘t get me wrong, I‘m not complaining, I‘m just stating that Simon has that peculiar tendency to overcomplicate his solves. And I like it.
One puzzle: "That's why I don't pencil-mark thermometres, they never do anything." The next puzzle: "If I didn't pencil-mark the thermometre, I wouldn't have seen that logic."
The second most infuriating thing about Simon's solves is his reluctance/refusal to pencil mark in situations where it is blatantly advantageous to do so. The first three columns could have been finished in no time if he'd have only pencil marked column 3 as soon as the start of Mus's route was established.
In a standard thermo puzzle, Simon has previously said that he often uses the geography of the grid to solve more than individual value restriction, at least initially. But here that obviously doesn’t apply: it’s all about values, as the shape of the thermos have to be deduced progressively in conjunction with all the other rules (most notably parity considerations). So I don’t think he did himself any favours here by avoiding pencil-marking for so long.
This title really had me going "MARTY, ALREADY?!"... Still extremely happy that Tallcat is able to give us a puzzle inspired by that series. Will be doing this now - and I'm sure it's already going to be amazing, so thanks for this Tallcat
I thought it was funny that it took Simon almost 14 minutes (from 33:49 to 47:21) to discover the 3 in r6c3, where he could have used the 2-4 pair in r6c2-9 to find it in seconds.
I was stuck for 90 minutes not knowing what to do. The next step was to complete the paths in box 2. But I forgot that the paths could intersect only on even digits. This would have quickly broken box 2. Lucky I don't do live solves, or my solve would have been a 3 hr 5 min video. Well done @tallcat, you mousetrapped me!
I was definitely yelling at my screen a lot, almost always because the green path requires alternating orange and blue. So many times that path was forced and Simon was busy solving something much more complicated.
1:04:47 why go through all that trouble proving that r9c5 can't be a nine, when you can instantly see that r8c5 can't be even if the cat path passes through it... I was expecting Simon to show just that, when he parity colored r8c4-6, as r8c4 and r7c4 are of the same parity :D
1:00:00 the easier way to rule out Mus crossing from box 5 to 8: In box 8, felix must reach the 7 via an even digit- r8c4. Felix can’t pass the cupcake, so r8c5 would then be odd (9). This now can’t be a crossing point, and it also can’t be midway along Mus’s thermo to the cupcake
I've really grown to love this format since UA-cam started suggesting your videos. I try to solve the puzzle myself, shock myself when I succeed, and then sit there proud of myself as I watch your solve at 2x. Feels so validating 😅
1:04:00 The problem with the nines in box 8... But more simply: Once R8C4 is odd, Felix's path can't oscillate parity and join the odd digit in R7C4. But I still appreciate Simon's logic. :-) (And I wouldn't have seen it. I need the more simple deductions...)
My thought process was even simpler. Once r7c5 is odd, the path from the 7 has to turn down and go even/odd making r8c5 odd. So it can't be a crossing.
The way the two paths cross here got me thinking, I feel like it'd be possible to come up with an interesting puzzle/variant where you have multiple paths or loops with set start point and direction where they can cross BUT cannot collide, that is they cannot cross if the cell is the same distance from the start along both lines, so that if you imagine the paths representing different objects simultaneously moving one cell at a time through the grid they cannot occupy the same cell at the same step...
I had the same thought. Seems like it would be a very interesting constraint but it would need to be set very careful in order to take advantage of that.
There is also some hide and seek potential here, in this case for example 4 steps into the puzzle, Felix would have a straight line of view to Mus. Making this part of the ruleset would be exiting, the predator's path would be constructed following some Variant Sudoku rules, and the prey's path could be finding the cupcake but avoiding being seen.
Wow, that final path was unexpected and very much in line with the great Marty. And no way I can solve this in any reasonable amount of time if at all, love the watch these
1:04:44 A more simple way to see it doesn't work is that you wouldn't be able to have Felix reconnect to the odd 7 on his parity path if that central digit was even.
There've been a few other setters inspired by the Rat Run series, so it's worth looking up their efforts as well (which can be found on Logic Masters Deutschland): * Cat Fun by Scojo * Christmaze Lights by Phurba * Christmas Cat Run by phil_the I particularly enjoyed Christmas Cat Run's cat themed tweaks to the ruleset. And it's always nice to have more options to fill the gap until Phase 3 begins.
This would have been a lot easier had I remembered that they could only cross on even paths. So when Simon said "this has to be even..." I went "what?". 😂I think the most confusing part of watching the video after finishing my puzzle, is that Simon used the exact opposite colours that I did! 🤭 Great job setting this puzzle, Tallcat, and thanks for the entertaining video and for cheering me on with your positive disposition, Simon. 🤗
Simon, please use the undo-button when deleting things you sketched in for testing purposes. It's so easy to make mistakes when manually deleting things!
So we have a grey mouse 🐭 that runs on thermometers (which are usually coloured grey) ... let's give him a red line! And we have a ginger cat 😺 that runs on parity lines (which are usually coloured red) ... let's give him a green line! Never change, Simon, never change 🤣
I finished in 156:48 minutes. This was a bit tougher than the usual Rat Run series. It's so easy to make a mistake with forgetting about crossings. I think I made at least three mistakes regarding that, one which led me to the very end before I saw that it broke. That was a rough rewind. I was wondering why it felt so tough and as usual, it turns out I forgot about the crossing rule where that cell had to be even. That made the puzzle so much easier and disambiguated box 2 in a flash. I love the incorporation of dual characters. It was fun to see their interactions. I think my favorite part was seeing that Mus couldn't go down from box 5 to box 8. Of course, this was before I remembered the even crossing rule, which made my deduction essentially pointless. If Mus had gone down, the parity created from Felix trying to cross would have always forced a 9 into r8c5, ending Mus ability to move. That was cool to spot and entirely useless as box 2 causes that scenario to never be possible in the first place. I zoomed along once I remembered that crucial rule. It's nice seeing more puzzles in the world of Rat Run, even with new characters. Great Puzzle!
It definitely ended up a little harder than I intended - because I didn't account for the potential for mixing up with constraints. I do think one of the admirable things about the Rat Run series is that it hits the sweet spot for difficulty and interest. There is also a good learning slope of difficulty from start to finish.
Another great solve Simon where we see the love and joy from you !! Your persona and how go about in showcasing Tallcat's genius is something to behold! Loved the Tom and Jerry thumbnail! Icing on the cake! Masterful job with this Tallcat!!
I had this one all but solved but got stuck in box six with the 3, despite having a pencil mark telling me that the cell next door was either a 7 or 9. I usually catch those little bits of logic when they arise. Argh! But beautiful puzzle and well done to Simon for persevering!
Finished in 46 minutes and I was not smooth. Simon's had a bit of a ricket here. First missing the 2-4 pair in row 6 then not seeing the cat path in box 8 forced. The digit below the 7 must be even Instead we got a whole lot of bifurcation about possible paths through box 5.
Once you decide r7c5 is odd, the cat must go through r8c5, and due to the corner bits, must be odd and therefore is 9. Would have made a lot of the logic around the hour mark much easier since now Mus has no way to enter through box 5 and get to the cupcake.
Just for comparison, I had a slightly different way forward from the position at around 32:00. I first noticed that r4c2 and r7c3 (the even crossing points) couldn't both be 8, as this would force 9s into -r3c1- r4c1 (thermo), r7c2 (parity & sudoku) and r7c4 (inequality), giving two clashing 9s in row 7. Next, I saw that if either of r4c2 or r7c3 was a 6, it would force r6c3 to be a 3. This also makes r7c3 a 6 on the black dot. Thermo and parity logic was then relatively straight forward to fully populate the first three columns.
Nice! Small correction. 9 is forced into r4c1 by thermo, not r3c1. I missed the logic that the cells couldn't both be 8s. I noticed instead that r4c2 couldn't be 6, as that would cause r7c3 to also be 6. And they couldn't both be 6, as this leaves nowhere to place 7 in col 3. And that was enough to fairly easily complete the first 3 columns from there.
I will attemt to do this puzzle in one go, but I need at least one hour to understand the ruleset and then possibly another three hours to get it solved. Maybe I'll invest half of a day of my lifetime into this puzzle, before I resign and just watch the video instead 😉
I got stuck here at several points, so decided to watch Simon do it. Helped me three times with arguably small deductions I just couldn't see (last one was the 3 in box 6 at 1:27:40). Finally the timer showed 428:52 minutes (though I'm not quite sure that's quite right, as I bifurcated a few times, duplicating the new tab, and the timer seems to get confused by that), solve counter 3355. → 30:52 "None of [c3r4-9] are tips of bulbs" - Nitpick: c3r7 is a tip, c3r6 is a bulb. But you already got non 1/9s pencil-marked in them, so they also are excluded. (I actually got the 1/9 conclusion after pencilmarking the thermometer cells in box 4 and 7. No need for "secrets of thermometers" then ;-) ) → 1:00:33 "... then the mouse has to do [r4c4-6, c6r4-6, r6c6-5], and that's hugely constraining" - The mouse can also go diagonal, so it can skip r6c6, making it just a length 5 thermo, which has a bit more liberties. (Though the issue is what happens in box 8 - there is no place they can cross there, as Simon just afterwards looks at, but somehow makes it a lot more complicated than needed - at 1:03:59, c4r78 are both orange, but would need to be connected with a green line. Finally looked at 12 minutes later.) → 1:18:57 "How is the green line crossing the red line? Is there some issue if it's just doing [c8r2-4]?" - Yes, the cat would either cross at an orange square, or have two blue squares in a row. (Noticed 1:24:03.)
A very good puzzle and a great homage to Marty Sears' Rat Run epic. As a proud Scot, though, I cannot let the misquote of Robert Burns in the completed puzzle window go by. The correct quote is "The best-laid schemes o' Mice an' Men gang aft agley"
Simon! Box 8 was driving me CRAZY! It's so much simpler than how you made it. How does Felix get out of the 7? It needs an even number! That means R8C4 is even. Since you can't go diagonal or to the cupcake, R8C5 is odd and has to be 9. That proves Mos can't come down because the thermo can't get to the cupcake and the lines can't cross. Simple.
problem at 1 hour mark, box 8 has 2 orange boxes side by side meaning felix must cone from the cell below 7, which makes it even and then should come from its right (since it cannot cross the cupcake), making it odd.
The 9 you got at 1h15ish did do something: it was the easier way to see that the mouse didn't go down into box 5 way back lol (I think even before thinking about crossing paths it breaks the thermo, but I realized later it can do a diagonal in the box leaving cell 6=7 to cell 8=8 as an option so that might be wrong). You could have gotten it once you figured out where the 4 in row 7 roughly was, leaving the cell to the right of the 7 in box 8 odd and thought about the cat's path (including that it couldn't go to the cupcake) from there.
With most puzzles when I see Mark or Simon has struggled for more than an hour, I get demotivated and tend to skip that puzzle. With these rat runs I get more motivated the longer I think it will last! 😄
56:40 finish. This was so much fun! I envision a future puzzle in which the cat, when meeting the mouse, chases it (same path, so must meet both path rules) until the mouse finds a mousehole (warping to the connected hole). Mouse needs to get to food, cat to a ball of yarn. Sounds complicated, but hopefully some constructor sees this and runs with it! 😁😁😁
This was a lot of fun, but I do not recommend making mistakes, as it becomes _exceptionally_ difficult to untangle afterwards. Managed to solve the puzzle in between 3 and 4 hours, but thoroughly enjoyed it (after two or three major mistakes) :D
At 1:12:50 I did a double take with R8C5 being blue and checked my solve. There is a uniqueness point of interest - if it were blue you could get to it directly or zig-zag (the cat's path has to go through it). So, Simon, I'm glad you caught that. Not sure that the deliberate uniqueness puzzles have caught up with the rat run possibilities yet.
30:50 In fact, the 68 cell is a tip, and the 34 cell is a bulb, although since Simon's already ruled out 1s and 9s from both of them, the logic still stands.
This took me more than 4h in total, several times I did quite some progress to realize I've made a mistake. Very nice puzzle, but also very frustrating
couting the steps of each critter as if they were moving at the same time Mus crosses Felix's path on steps 4, 8, 12, 14, 17, 29, and 23 Felix crosses Mus's path on steps 4, 10, 18, 20, 24, 30 and 38 Mus takes 27 steps, Felix taking 39 but 4 steps in Felix would seen Mus in row 7, Felix taking some round about way left towards Mus, Mus bolting upwards. and Assuming Felix is kinda trying to chase Mus down, because he goes down a wrong corridor in box 7 going up boxes 4 and 1, his path looks hes trying to sorta catch Mus around a corner, but instead he finds the hole and jumps down it when he couldve caught Mus if he ran down assuming Mus stayed at the cupcake for a while to eat it in one place.
1:02:57 A simpler way to see this doesn't work than the logic Simon used with the position of the 9-if the paths cross at r8c5, that's got to be even, but it's not the same bishop color as the even cells on the continuing cat path and there is no room for a diagonal step before those ends connect...
I think this video demonstrates why Simon is so reluctant to pencil-mark things: His brain cannot process visual information as quickly as it can process other things. The example of a path crossing a dot completely blinding him to the existence of that dot being an easy example.
I tried this puzzle because it seemed interesting (normally I don't try them because I am bad). It had quite fun moments and was overall very enjoyable but I was only able to solve it with the help of Simon and the solve checker. One thing I wish they would have included in the rules was something that made it clear the path would always be unique. Maybe that is obvious to someone who has done these puzzles but I was unsure whether I could use that logic to make progress on placing digits or assigning parity. For example at 1:26:08 if R8C8 is even then there isn't a unique path for the cat as it could go directly from the start to R7C9 or to R8C9 then R7C9 then R7C8. In the end that logic would lead to the correct answer but I am not sure if this is "good" solving practice. I also ran into the same issue with the thermo for the rat in box 6.
Can someone please help with the logic at 30:00 minutes? He's talking about 9 only being able to be at a tip of a thermo and 1 being limited to the bulb, which obviously makes sense. However, what I don't understand is why the thermo couldn't go south. What was the assumption that allowed him to conclude r2c3 being the 9, instead of r3c3 being the 9?
Nevermind I've figured it out. Had to relisten about 3 times. He's going off of the restriction of the column, not the restriction of the thermo. Logic conclusions are honestly so sexy
Felix's line would have odd parity in c2c3. So, crossing is not allowed. Simon's explanation for why he extended the line to the right was nonsense though.
me yelling at the screen at 35:40 about the black dot in C3 that would mess up the thermometer logic if the mouse was 5 (the digits in C3 of Box 4 would be 345 but the 4 would have to be first on the path to match the 8) edit: he found it at 42:20 but also it did nothing lmao
Unfirtunately unplayable on my ipad (tried Safari & FireFox) as it seems to render two of the arrows way off the grid and make the grid itself extremely small.
3:15 "1,052 is the final count of solvers who managed to solve the entire thing". Not quite. Seemingly, only 1,049 solved the penultimate puzzle, XVIII The Return Journey. Not quite sure how that happens, but I don't think we can say more than that number solved the entire puzzle hunt.
I like how Simon has a 24-pair in row 6 for the longest. With a 34-marked cell next to one of the pairs. Which cannot be a 4 because the 24-pair rules that out. Edit: put it in at around 33:00 and at around 47:00 Simon does find the 3 ... but not through Sudoku and simple scanning. Hehehe. 1:03:30 in ... the path cannot cross at r8c5 for a simple reason. It would have to be even. Okay, the possibilities are 689 so we have two candidates... however the cat path must alternate in polarity. We know that r7c4 is odd, thus the preceding cell has to be even, which would be r8c4 and the cell before that is that crossing point r8c5 but by cat-path logic must be odd. And by crossing paths must be even. That doesn't work.
97:49, was stuck for half an hour, looked at the video, saw I was ignoring the black dot in column 3. 🤦♂️ I also saw Simon ruling out Felix going through r9c5, I wasn't sure if the rules would have allowed for that. I also kept getting stuck disambiguating two possibilities, forgetting that the paths had to cross on an even digit. 🤦♂️🤦♂️
Did I miss the part where Simon disproved Felix going straight to the cupcake before deciding he must go into box 7 and began drawing the green path? Though it ends up being correct it was a great leap to assume that based on meta-knowledge of the Marty Sears rat run puzzles.
Felix has to get to the hole (r4c7), not the cupcake. Felix cannot go against either inequality sign from r7 to r6, nor traverse the three kropki dots in c9. That's why Felix's path has to exit through r7c3.
25:00 The 6 or 8 in box four could not be a 6. (Using 3 4 5 in the thermo in box 4 would be the only way it could be a 6, that would only leave a 2 and a 1 in col 3 after the six in box 7, and the mouse box would have no fill. This would have made the early puzzle a lot easier if Simon had seen it.
At 28:44, the comment is made that green has to go straight because red couldn't go north. Why couldn't green have come south and crossed back over red? I.E. go from r1c3 to r3c3? Just curious what I'm missing.
28:41 Am I wrong that, while Mus couldn't go up to cross and straight on, the possibility of Felix going down and crossing is still on the table? I'm not good enough at reasoning this out. I'm curious as I'm watching if this this bears out.
I see Simon's logic at 30:53 on 1's and 9's not being on non-tips/bulbs of thermometers (and not being even) neatly settles whether this other possibility works since the parity on Felix's path would break.
I thought this too, but with R1C3 being even, the cell under it would have to be odd for felix to go straight down, and then they couldn’t cross on that cell because it wouldn’t be even.
This was awesome! Weird seeing it pop up on my UA-cam... had me thinking for a second if I had already made season 3 and forgotten. This made me remember back to 2 and a half years ago when I had just discovered Cracking the Cryptic, and I was binge watching loads of the back catalogue on the channel, and 3 of my favourite constructors that inspired me to start making my own variant sudokus were Jay Dyer, Zetamath and Tallcat. The fact that Tallcat now felt inspired by my puzzles to the point where he wanted to make this cool homage was quite a surreal feeling, in a lovely way!
Excellent construction and full of lots of the fun little logical nuggets that I enjoy about setting my Rat Run episodes. Don't worry Simon, it's unlikely that many of my future instalments will be to the Tallcat level of difficulty!
Thank you for this absolutely wonderful invention. They are definitely my favourite whimsical variant sudoku! 🤩
Marty, the Rat Run puzzles are far from your only contribution. Hope you will continue to set harder puzzles too - so many people are inspired by your setting, and so many have capabilities they don't imagine until they try. And you have beautiful ideas - some of your work with SET is seriously memorable.
It is such a joy to see you supportive of this constructor. I know some people could feel "ripped off" and its such a great reminder of how wonderful this community is, reminder of humanity, and how such a great reprieve from difficulties in life some are experiencing currently.
As you know from me Marty, tons of respect for how much love , positivity and support you constantly give to other setters.
Yes, it was good to see your support of Tallcat setting this puzzle. I must say when I saw the puzzle, the first word that came to mind wasn't homage or tribute, it was lawsuit, lol.
Felinous greetings!! I know mine is not the first or only Rat run homage out there so I am humbled that it made it to a feature. This all came about because I had been toying with ideas for a double loop puzzle - and after a 3 day binge of (at the time) the 17 rat run puzzles, it struck me as a really good format for what i had been wanting to do with a double loop puzzle. That, combined with the idea of a (short) cat breaking into the maze, felt very appropriate and made me chuckle. You did a very good job overall Simon - and I heartily agree that keeping the rules straight makes the puzzle trickier than it might seem. It was also tricky as I wanted to have a degree of the two paths "interacting" and informing where each could go - but I didn't find it easy as to how best to telegraph that. It was overall a fun process to work through, but when all is said and done , I have a respect for Marty - not just for the creativity and variety that he has been bringing (that goes without saying) - but also in just managing to make 20 of these (with more to come!). I found it quite a task getting this one together (it broke quite a few times in the making) while keeping in the logic that I really liked. But, with the surprise ending of Rat Run Phase 2, I am looking forward -- like many others I'm sure - to what Marty and Finkz(es) will do next!
mind breaking and fun! Thanks for setting this!
That was a fantastic puzzle! Thank you so much!
Brilliant from you Tallcat as always!! Your brain is a wonder! Phenomenal setting! Thank you for this!!
Fantastic puzzle, awesome that some of the great minds can inspire each other! Very well done 👏
I want to say "shortcat" is a youtube guy I've watched do mario kart tutorials, general advice.
1:03:00 I can't see why that's wrong...
Me: yes, parity on the cat's path with the 7... parity, parity
Simon: that's so hard to see but I think there's a problem with 9 in the box
As always, Simon.
1:19:56 You cannot do that because you need an even cell where they cross paths and then there is two even in a row in the cat's path.
Maybe if he had changed colors between green and red, as red is often used for parity lines, he would've remembered.
@@constanza16481:23:19 “This one feels more constrained…” Yes, Simon, because it’s impossible. I write this in nearly every comment: Simon’s knack for ignoring basic Sudoku or elementary parts of the ruleset that would lead to simple deductions, just to find the most alternative logical chain instead never ceases to amaze me.
@@gi0nbecell I think he always prioritize logical steps over Sudoku, because simple sudoku is easy and not very fulfilling, and we are here to watch him do his trick and to improve in our logical thinking. So, for him is the last resource when everything else isn't enough.
And, of course, it is easy to watch something simple when you have already solve the puzzle on your own and when you are not presured by the camera and the chronometer.
@@constanza1648 Simon never seems to think about the colours for his lines at all (his german lines are *never* green)
@ it‘s not only about basic Sudoku - Simon also regularly ignores variant rule logic or neglects to follow a logic chain to the end. That abandonment of a deductive chain (though not present in this solve) often leads to him searching for clues and finding convoluted solutions that have the same effect - and then stating that this next step was hard to spot (which is true - because it was unnecessary).
That being said, I wouldn‘t regularly watch CtC (and especially Simon, as Mark honestly terrifies me a bit) if I didn‘t find the videos entertaining and wholesome. So don‘t get me wrong, I‘m not complaining, I‘m just stating that Simon has that peculiar tendency to overcomplicate his solves. And I like it.
One puzzle: "That's why I don't pencil-mark thermometres, they never do anything."
The next puzzle: "If I didn't pencil-mark the thermometre, I wouldn't have seen that logic."
The second most infuriating thing about Simon's solves is his reluctance/refusal to pencil mark in situations where it is blatantly advantageous to do so.
The first three columns could have been finished in no time if he'd have only pencil marked column 3 as soon as the start of Mus's route was established.
Interesting how Simon suddenly started making all kinds of progress once he pencil-marked up all the thermo options. Hmmmmmmmm!
Exactly.
In a standard thermo puzzle, Simon has previously said that he often uses the geography of the grid to solve more than individual value restriction, at least initially. But here that obviously doesn’t apply: it’s all about values, as the shape of the thermos have to be deduced progressively in conjunction with all the other rules (most notably parity considerations). So I don’t think he did himself any favours here by avoiding pencil-marking for so long.
This title really had me going "MARTY, ALREADY?!"... Still extremely happy that Tallcat is able to give us a puzzle inspired by that series. Will be doing this now - and I'm sure it's already going to be amazing, so thanks for this Tallcat
Enjoyed’The cat is bothered about parity’ as a unique sentence
I thought it was funny that it took Simon almost 14 minutes (from 33:49 to 47:21) to discover the 3 in r6c3, where he could have used the 2-4 pair in r6c2-9 to find it in seconds.
I was stuck for 90 minutes not knowing what to do. The next step was to complete the paths in box 2. But I forgot that the paths could intersect only on even digits. This would have quickly broken box 2. Lucky I don't do live solves, or my solve would have been a 3 hr 5 min video.
Well done @tallcat, you mousetrapped me!
I was definitely yelling at my screen a lot, almost always because the green path requires alternating orange and blue. So many times that path was forced and Simon was busy solving something much more complicated.
I love how Simon finds the most obscure sequence instead of listening to his own comments - frustrating but interesting
28:45 The lines can't cross at R2C3 is because it would be even as it's a crossing but would have to be odd on the green line.
Forgot that rule! Thanks
Another mistake by Simon, he's making more of them lately, immediately went to search for that comment.
He forgot that rule for the last crossing at 1:23:25 also..... (at R3C8)
Thats not how he explained it unfortunately
Yeah I'm not convinced he noticed that 😂. But it's a quick explanation to cement it, thanks!
Pure Simon "We need to do some thermo jiggery pokery"; 10 minutes later he still has not done the 2 simple thermos that were available.
he is clearly trolling us, isn't he?
I was screaming at the screen which Simon paid absolutely no attention to 😂
1:04:47 why go through all that trouble proving that r9c5 can't be a nine, when you can instantly see that r8c5 can't be even if the cat path passes through it... I was expecting Simon to show just that, when he parity colored r8c4-6, as r8c4 and r7c4 are of the same parity :D
1:00:00 the easier way to rule out Mus crossing from box 5 to 8:
In box 8, felix must reach the 7 via an even digit- r8c4. Felix can’t pass the cupcake, so r8c5 would then be odd (9). This now can’t be a crossing point, and it also can’t be midway along Mus’s thermo to the cupcake
I've really grown to love this format since UA-cam started suggesting your videos. I try to solve the puzzle myself, shock myself when I succeed, and then sit there proud of myself as I watch your solve at 2x. Feels so validating 😅
1:04:00 The problem with the nines in box 8... But more simply: Once R8C4 is odd, Felix's path can't oscillate parity and join the odd digit in R7C4. But I still appreciate Simon's logic. :-) (And I wouldn't have seen it. I need the more simple deductions...)
My thought process was even simpler. Once r7c5 is odd, the path from the 7 has to turn down and go even/odd making r8c5 odd. So it can't be a crossing.
The way the two paths cross here got me thinking, I feel like it'd be possible to come up with an interesting puzzle/variant where you have multiple paths or loops with set start point and direction where they can cross BUT cannot collide, that is they cannot cross if the cell is the same distance from the start along both lines, so that if you imagine the paths representing different objects simultaneously moving one cell at a time through the grid they cannot occupy the same cell at the same step...
I had the same thought. Seems like it would be a very interesting constraint but it would need to be set very careful in order to take advantage of that.
There is also some hide and seek potential here, in this case for example 4 steps into the puzzle, Felix would have a straight line of view to Mus. Making this part of the ruleset would be exiting, the predator's path would be constructed following some Variant Sudoku rules, and the prey's path could be finding the cupcake but avoiding being seen.
Like a Pacman themed Sudoku
Wow, that final path was unexpected and very much in line with the great Marty.
And no way I can solve this in any reasonable amount of time if at all, love the watch these
1:04:44 A more simple way to see it doesn't work is that you wouldn't be able to have Felix reconnect to the odd 7 on his parity path if that central digit was even.
This has blown my mind
Marty, you should be so proud that Tallcat has used your intuition
There've been a few other setters inspired by the Rat Run series, so it's worth looking up their efforts as well (which can be found on Logic Masters Deutschland):
* Cat Fun by Scojo
* Christmaze Lights by Phurba
* Christmas Cat Run by phil_the
I particularly enjoyed Christmas Cat Run's cat themed tweaks to the ruleset. And it's always nice to have more options to fill the gap until Phase 3 begins.
The "Cross" rule was WONDERFUL
Lovely puzzle, Tallcat. It felt pretty much like solving a genuine Rat Run puzzle, so well done!
Simon, thanks for the wonderful birthday shoutout!
~Ethan
This would have been a lot easier had I remembered that they could only cross on even paths. So when Simon said "this has to be even..." I went "what?". 😂I think the most confusing part of watching the video after finishing my puzzle, is that Simon used the exact opposite colours that I did! 🤭 Great job setting this puzzle, Tallcat, and thanks for the entertaining video and for cheering me on with your positive disposition, Simon. 🤗
Simon, please use the undo-button when deleting things you sketched in for testing purposes. It's so easy to make mistakes when manually deleting things!
So we have a grey mouse 🐭 that runs on thermometers (which are usually coloured grey) ... let's give him a red line!
And we have a ginger cat 😺 that runs on parity lines (which are usually coloured red) ... let's give him a green line!
Never change, Simon, never change 🤣
To be fair, in my solve the mouse had a red line and the cat had a blue one :)
I finished in 156:48 minutes. This was a bit tougher than the usual Rat Run series. It's so easy to make a mistake with forgetting about crossings. I think I made at least three mistakes regarding that, one which led me to the very end before I saw that it broke. That was a rough rewind. I was wondering why it felt so tough and as usual, it turns out I forgot about the crossing rule where that cell had to be even. That made the puzzle so much easier and disambiguated box 2 in a flash. I love the incorporation of dual characters. It was fun to see their interactions. I think my favorite part was seeing that Mus couldn't go down from box 5 to box 8. Of course, this was before I remembered the even crossing rule, which made my deduction essentially pointless. If Mus had gone down, the parity created from Felix trying to cross would have always forced a 9 into r8c5, ending Mus ability to move. That was cool to spot and entirely useless as box 2 causes that scenario to never be possible in the first place. I zoomed along once I remembered that crucial rule. It's nice seeing more puzzles in the world of Rat Run, even with new characters. Great Puzzle!
It definitely ended up a little harder than I intended - because I didn't account for the potential for mixing up with constraints. I do think one of the admirable things about the Rat Run series is that it hits the sweet spot for difficulty and interest. There is also a good learning slope of difficulty from start to finish.
Another great solve Simon where we see the love and joy from you !! Your persona and how go about in showcasing Tallcat's genius is something to behold! Loved the Tom and Jerry thumbnail! Icing on the cake!
Masterful job with this Tallcat!!
That took me a looong time, but what a puzzle!!
I've been waiting for a Tom & Jerry style puzzle since the Rat Run series took off. 😁
Looking forward to this one.
I had this one all but solved but got stuck in box six with the 3, despite having a pencil mark telling me that the cell next door was either a 7 or 9. I usually catch those little bits of logic when they arise. Argh! But beautiful puzzle and well done to Simon for persevering!
What a gigantic challange. It took me 140 minutes with some mistakes in between, but i could solve it. Very very great and brilliant puzzle.
Finished in 46 minutes and I was not smooth. Simon's had a bit of a ricket here. First missing the 2-4 pair in row 6 then not seeing the cat path in box 8 forced. The digit below the 7 must be even Instead we got a whole lot of bifurcation about possible paths through box 5.
I somehow managed to solve this while completely forgetting about the rule that crossing points can only occur on even digits.
1:11:50 and fun the whole time!
Once you decide r7c5 is odd, the cat must go through r8c5, and due to the corner bits, must be odd and therefore is 9. Would have made a lot of the logic around the hour mark much easier since now Mus has no way to enter through box 5 and get to the cupcake.
I lied the little jokes in this as well: the cupcake got ‘8’ and there was a hole in one (or a one in the hole)!!🎉
Just for comparison, I had a slightly different way forward from the position at around 32:00.
I first noticed that r4c2 and r7c3 (the even crossing points) couldn't both be 8, as this would force 9s into -r3c1- r4c1 (thermo), r7c2 (parity & sudoku) and r7c4 (inequality), giving two clashing 9s in row 7.
Next, I saw that if either of r4c2 or r7c3 was a 6, it would force r6c3 to be a 3. This also makes r7c3 a 6 on the black dot.
Thermo and parity logic was then relatively straight forward to fully populate the first three columns.
Nice!
Small correction. 9 is forced into r4c1 by thermo, not r3c1.
I missed the logic that the cells couldn't both be 8s.
I noticed instead that r4c2 couldn't be 6, as that would cause r7c3 to also be 6.
And they couldn't both be 6, as this leaves nowhere to place 7 in col 3.
And that was enough to fairly easily complete the first 3 columns from there.
@@craigyoung8008 Thanks. I fixed the reference.
Yes, that's also a neat solution.
Did you notice that the Mus 8 the muffin?? Felix 1 the hole?
I will attemt to do this puzzle in one go, but I need at least one hour to understand the ruleset and then possibly another three hours to get it solved. Maybe I'll invest half of a day of my lifetime into this puzzle, before I resign and just watch the video instead 😉
I got stuck here at several points, so decided to watch Simon do it. Helped me three times with arguably small deductions I just couldn't see (last one was the 3 in box 6 at 1:27:40). Finally the timer showed 428:52 minutes (though I'm not quite sure that's quite right, as I bifurcated a few times, duplicating the new tab, and the timer seems to get confused by that), solve counter 3355.
→ 30:52 "None of [c3r4-9] are tips of bulbs" - Nitpick: c3r7 is a tip, c3r6 is a bulb. But you already got non 1/9s pencil-marked in them, so they also are excluded. (I actually got the 1/9 conclusion after pencilmarking the thermometer cells in box 4 and 7. No need for "secrets of thermometers" then ;-) )
→ 1:00:33 "... then the mouse has to do [r4c4-6, c6r4-6, r6c6-5], and that's hugely constraining" - The mouse can also go diagonal, so it can skip r6c6, making it just a length 5 thermo, which has a bit more liberties. (Though the issue is what happens in box 8 - there is no place they can cross there, as Simon just afterwards looks at, but somehow makes it a lot more complicated than needed - at 1:03:59, c4r78 are both orange, but would need to be connected with a green line. Finally looked at 12 minutes later.)
→ 1:18:57 "How is the green line crossing the red line? Is there some issue if it's just doing [c8r2-4]?" - Yes, the cat would either cross at an orange square, or have two blue squares in a row. (Noticed 1:24:03.)
A worthy homage, and always nice to beat Simon's time, albeit not by very much.
I'm finding Simon's refusal to consider Felix's path to reach the 7 in box 8 a little baffling.
Edit: @1:15:26 woohoo. 😂.
omg i’m currently binge watching the rat runs series and i was so sad it was ending this is great news!!
Simons blind spot about the cats path on box 8 was frustrating
43:57 for me. Great homage puzzle!
50:50 ... what an incredible homage!
Wonderful puzzle!
A very good puzzle and a great homage to Marty Sears' Rat Run epic. As a proud Scot, though, I cannot let the misquote of Robert Burns in the completed puzzle window go by. The correct quote is "The best-laid schemes o' Mice an' Men gang aft agley"
Simon! Box 8 was driving me CRAZY!
It's so much simpler than how you made it. How does Felix get out of the 7? It needs an even number! That means R8C4 is even. Since you can't go diagonal or to the cupcake, R8C5 is odd and has to be 9. That proves Mos can't come down because the thermo can't get to the cupcake and the lines can't cross. Simple.
problem at 1 hour mark, box 8 has 2 orange boxes side by side meaning felix must cone from the cell below 7, which makes it even and then should come from its right (since it cannot cross the cupcake), making it odd.
Disappointed at the lack of sick half-diagonal crossing in box 6, such wasted potential. In all seriousness great puzzle
I spent half of this video begging Simon to look at the cell at Row 8 Column 4 which had to be Blue
Me too, just couldn’t yell loud enough apparently
At 28:43 why couldn’t the green path cross back downwards and the red one cross to the right?
Nevermind, there is a 19 pair that could not be varying parity
Green path will be on odd parity on wich they can't cross.
I feel that was skipped over as logic.
Mus is the word for mouse in Norwegian and probably in Swedish and Danish as well.
And the scientific name for the mouse species is mus musculus
I was just about to comment on this when I saw this. You’re right about it being the word for mouse in both Swedish and Danish as well.
@@ColinKern I didn’t know. Interesting.
Is in lots of languages, appears to go back as far as Proto-Indo-European...
Making the pronunciation a bit funny, compared to both Latin and the Scandinavian languages 😀
The 9 you got at 1h15ish did do something: it was the easier way to see that the mouse didn't go down into box 5 way back lol (I think even before thinking about crossing paths it breaks the thermo, but I realized later it can do a diagonal in the box leaving cell 6=7 to cell 8=8 as an option so that might be wrong). You could have gotten it once you figured out where the 4 in row 7 roughly was, leaving the cell to the right of the 7 in box 8 odd and thought about the cat's path (including that it couldn't go to the cupcake) from there.
What- a rat run on a Tuesday? Are there no rules anymore in this world?!
😂
This is a mouse run, not a rat run.
Mouse don't need no rules.
Definitely my favourite variant sudoku! Loved it!
With most puzzles when I see Mark or Simon has struggled for more than an hour, I get demotivated and tend to skip that puzzle. With these rat runs I get more motivated the longer I think it will last! 😄
56:40 finish. This was so much fun! I envision a future puzzle in which the cat, when meeting the mouse, chases it (same path, so must meet both path rules) until the mouse finds a mousehole (warping to the connected hole). Mouse needs to get to food, cat to a ball of yarn. Sounds complicated, but hopefully some constructor sees this and runs with it! 😁😁😁
A setter braver than me can attempt it!
This was a lot of fun, but I do not recommend making mistakes, as it becomes _exceptionally_ difficult to untangle afterwards. Managed to solve the puzzle in between 3 and 4 hours, but thoroughly enjoyed it (after two or three major mistakes) :D
Amazing puzzle, brilliant solve.
Came back from a meeting, saw the puzzle, had to try it - what a beauty.
Easier to get, if you spot it is R4C2 can't be 6 because that would put six digits lower than 6, and not including 1 at the bottom of column 3.
At 1:12:50 I did a double take with R8C5 being blue and checked my solve. There is a uniqueness point of interest - if it were blue you could get to it directly or zig-zag (the cat's path has to go through it). So, Simon, I'm glad you caught that. Not sure that the deliberate uniqueness puzzles have caught up with the rat run possibilities yet.
30:50 In fact, the 68 cell is a tip, and the 34 cell is a bulb, although since Simon's already ruled out 1s and 9s from both of them, the logic still stands.
Excellent thumbnail Simon! I have fond memories of Tom and Jerry - I often watched it with my Dad after school
Wow, this is a beautiful puzzle!
This took me more than 4h in total, several times I did quite some progress to realize I've made a mistake. Very nice puzzle, but also very frustrating
couting the steps of each critter as if they were moving at the same time
Mus crosses Felix's path on steps 4, 8, 12, 14, 17, 29, and 23
Felix crosses Mus's path on steps 4, 10, 18, 20, 24, 30 and 38
Mus takes 27 steps, Felix taking 39
but 4 steps in Felix would seen Mus in row 7, Felix taking some round about way left towards Mus, Mus bolting upwards. and Assuming Felix is kinda trying to chase Mus down, because he goes down a wrong corridor in box 7 going up boxes 4 and 1, his path looks hes trying to sorta catch Mus around a corner, but instead he finds the hole and jumps down it when he couldve caught Mus if he ran down assuming Mus stayed at the cupcake for a while to eat it in one place.
At 1:18:35. Is it valid logic to say that R8 column 89 can't be different parity because then you could never solve the exact path of the cat?
Who else was shouting at Simon to spot the 2-4 pair in row 6?
1:02:57 A simpler way to see this doesn't work than the logic Simon used with the position of the 9-if the paths cross at r8c5, that's got to be even, but it's not the same bishop color as the even cells on the continuing cat path and there is no room for a diagonal step before those ends connect...
Once Simon colored in the parities it should have been obvious that the 7 on Felix's path could not connect to an even number.
I think this video demonstrates why Simon is so reluctant to pencil-mark things: His brain cannot process visual information as quickly as it can process other things. The example of a path crossing a dot completely blinding him to the existence of that dot being an easy example.
I tried this puzzle because it seemed interesting (normally I don't try them because I am bad). It had quite fun moments and was overall very enjoyable but I was only able to solve it with the help of Simon and the solve checker. One thing I wish they would have included in the rules was something that made it clear the path would always be unique. Maybe that is obvious to someone who has done these puzzles but I was unsure whether I could use that logic to make progress on placing digits or assigning parity. For example at 1:26:08 if R8C8 is even then there isn't a unique path for the cat as it could go directly from the start to R7C9 or to R8C9 then R7C9 then R7C8. In the end that logic would lead to the correct answer but I am not sure if this is "good" solving practice. I also ran into the same issue with the thermo for the rat in box 6.
I will truly never understand why Simon seems to consider it a point of pride to not pencilmark a thermometer. Especially when it's this restricted.
Can someone please help with the logic at 30:00 minutes? He's talking about 9 only being able to be at a tip of a thermo and 1 being limited to the bulb, which obviously makes sense. However, what I don't understand is why the thermo couldn't go south. What was the assumption that allowed him to conclude r2c3 being the 9, instead of r3c3 being the 9?
Nevermind I've figured it out. Had to relisten about 3 times. He's going off of the restriction of the column, not the restriction of the thermo. Logic conclusions are honestly so sexy
Wonderful homage. Marty's trademark humor and whimsical paths are called back to.
At 28:39, why couldn't the green line have crossed again and gone down to R3C3? And the red line could have just continued straight on?
Felix's line would have odd parity in c2c3. So, crossing is not allowed.
Simon's explanation for why he extended the line to the right was nonsense though.
Felix should have been a Schrodinger cell both even and odd, being a cat and all
With all the good-natured CTC ribbing, I suspect that your co-conspirators given name is P. Mark, with "P" standing for "Pencil"! ;)
me yelling at the screen at 35:40 about the black dot in C3 that would mess up the thermometer logic if the mouse was 5 (the digits in C3 of Box 4 would be 345 but the 4 would have to be first on the path to match the 8)
edit: he found it at 42:20 but also it did nothing lmao
I was shouting, he had the where would 3 go logic but didnt lock it in,
During my solve, I also missed the obvious 2-4 pair in row 6 for a long time!
It would have saved Simon around 10 minutes of the solve
A Searslike! I like it.
28:30 How did Simon know the green line would exit box 1 before filling in the 1 and 9 in the same box?
1:29:40 - Might be wrong but I think you could get the 69 pair by uniqueness? If R6C7 was 9 wouldn't you have 3 different ways of doing the thermo?
Unfirtunately unplayable on my ipad (tried Safari & FireFox) as it seems to render two of the arrows way off the grid and make the grid itself extremely small.
3:15 "1,052 is the final count of solvers who managed to solve the entire thing".
Not quite. Seemingly, only 1,049 solved the penultimate puzzle, XVIII The Return Journey. Not quite sure how that happens, but I don't think we can say more than that number solved the entire puzzle hunt.
I like how Simon has a 24-pair in row 6 for the longest. With a 34-marked cell next to one of the pairs. Which cannot be a 4 because the 24-pair rules that out. Edit: put it in at around 33:00 and at around 47:00 Simon does find the 3 ... but not through Sudoku and simple scanning. Hehehe.
1:03:30 in ... the path cannot cross at r8c5 for a simple reason. It would have to be even. Okay, the possibilities are 689 so we have two candidates... however the cat path must alternate in polarity. We know that r7c4 is odd, thus the preceding cell has to be even, which would be r8c4 and the cell before that is that crossing point r8c5 but by cat-path logic must be odd. And by crossing paths must be even. That doesn't work.
Is it Friday already?
Did anyone else expect Simon to break out in song and dance at 34:20?
No? Just me? Okay then
From 53:40 r8c5 is odd, so at 54:18 it should be 9. Forever ruling out a crossing in box 8.
97:49, was stuck for half an hour, looked at the video, saw I was ignoring the black dot in column 3. 🤦♂️ I also saw Simon ruling out Felix going through r9c5, I wasn't sure if the rules would have allowed for that.
I also kept getting stuck disambiguating two possibilities, forgetting that the paths had to cross on an even digit. 🤦♂️🤦♂️
At 1:00:34 "then the mouse has to do that". Not true. Mus could go diagonally from r5c6 to r6c5. (He didn't rely on it, so no harm.)
Did I miss the part where Simon disproved Felix going straight to the cupcake before deciding he must go into box 7 and began drawing the green path? Though it ends up being correct it was a great leap to assume that based on meta-knowledge of the Marty Sears rat run puzzles.
Felix has to get to the hole (r4c7), not the cupcake. Felix cannot go against either inequality sign from r7 to r6, nor traverse the three kropki dots in c9. That's why Felix's path has to exit through r7c3.
@@RichSmith77 My mistake, I missed that in the rules. Guess it was me who wasn't paying attention
25:00 The 6 or 8 in box four could not be a 6. (Using 3 4 5 in the thermo in box 4 would be the only way it could be a 6, that would only leave a 2 and a 1 in col 3 after the six in box 7, and the mouse box would have no fill. This would have made the early puzzle a lot easier if Simon had seen it.
At 28:44, the comment is made that green has to go straight because red couldn't go north. Why couldn't green have come south and crossed back over red? I.E. go from r1c3 to r3c3? Just curious what I'm missing.
Ah - read another comment below and it makes sense - but Simon didn't use the correct logic - thanks for the poster below who cleared it up.
Why is the cat named Felix? Maybe the constructer of the puzzle was a great fan of an old game called "Ambermoon" !?
I assume it’s a reference to this: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_the_Cat
@@mysteryroach42 You assume correctly :)
@ Thanks for the clarification :)
28:41 Am I wrong that, while Mus couldn't go up to cross and straight on, the possibility of Felix going down and crossing is still on the table? I'm not good enough at reasoning this out. I'm curious as I'm watching if this this bears out.
I see Simon's logic at 30:53 on 1's and 9's not being on non-tips/bulbs of thermometers (and not being even) neatly settles whether this other possibility works since the parity on Felix's path would break.
Modulo R6C3 actually being a bulb, but it is not 1 so doesn't factor in.
I thought this too, but with R1C3 being even, the cell under it would have to be odd for felix to go straight down, and then they couldn’t cross on that cell because it wouldn’t be even.
@@mysteryroach42 Oh, yeah. So obvious once you see it (or it's pointed out to you!).
Thank you!
where is Finkz? is she safe? is she alright?
Finkz is with Marty, today we are visited by Tallcat's friend, Mus!
Worried for ages that Simon kept C5R8 blue and he'd erroneously remove 9 from the options. I daren't look
Phew, glad he spotted it eventually!