Category Archives: Weekly Extreme

10 selected puzzles 426 -435 from the Weekly Extreme Competition

Revisiting Wex 435


This post updates the Weekly Extreme Review with a revisit of Wex 435, a puzzle that proved resistant to the single alternate Sue de Coq and was deemed the toughest in the review series, inspiring an extreme ALS trial, the … Continue reading

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Closing the Weekly Extreme Review


This is the final post of the Sysudoku WEC collection review. It opens with a checkpoint on the finish of a pink/olive pattern analysis and with it, Weekly Extreme Competition 435. A review table shows the features found in each … Continue reading

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Wex 435  Double UR, Large ALS_XZ, Bridge Wrap


This is the last of the Weekly Extreme Competition Sudoku originally posted starting 3/31/2015. Reviews were designed originally to illustrate trial methods appropriate for the weekly deadlines of the competition. In 2023 the trial methods were replaced by methods typical … Continue reading

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Wex 434 Hidden UR, AIC, Trap, Boxline Wrap


Beeby finds S5 naked single in the bypass, but that requires unproductive number scanning. Naked singles don’t escape Sysudoku Basic. This one shows up in line marking, when r9c4 sees 4 and 9. After line marking, with r5 completed, A … Continue reading

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Wex 432 fails, but not 433


A hidden unique rectangle appears in line marking close. Then an attempted 132-wing fails because there are too many 2-candidates around. It fails as a 3-BARN because more than one value is restricted to a single unit. The ALS_19 brings … Continue reading

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Wex 431 ALS_XZ, 3-BARN, Merge Wrap


Beeby finds ALS_53 and ALS_67 as line marking ends. The latter is duplicated by a regular XYZ-wing. and enough slinks for two clusters. The XY ANL that is going to expand the red/orange cluster is also a 3-BARN. Before the … Continue reading

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Wex 430 Sashimi X, finned Sword, Complex, Quint


Returning to more normal value balance, Beeby finds hidden UR and finned fish before a series of  ANL and 1-way AIC gets us to coloring. It takes a complex 1-way and an ALS _XV before I take over to resolve … Continue reading

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Wex 429  LM Sword, SA Sue de Coq Without Trial


A heavy bypass leaves a swordfish on an imbalanced grid. One ALS_XZ or a Single Alternate Sue de Coq bring a collapse. Almost a collapse in the bypass. The marked grid is dominated by values 2, 3, 6 and 8. … Continue reading

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Wex 428 XZ, POM’s, Orphan, Finned Mutant Sword


This post was updated in January 2023 to include guide examples by Phillip Beeby’s PhilsFolly solver. A generous bypass makes Basic line marking easier. A starting cluster and an obscure  hidden unique rectangle appears in line marking.  Two slinks from … Continue reading

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Wex 427 Hidden UR,  Sashimi Sword, POM, ALS_XZ, Bridge Traps and Wrap


The hidden UR show up on the line marked grid. The corner values are 38 and 45. It’s the slinks that signal the UR presence. Holding off on AIC, there’s a Sashimi swordfish. Instead of a third 6 candidate, one … Continue reading

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