Sunday, 30 June 2024

bakpao

Today's puzzle type used to feature frequently in Breinbrekers, a Dutch puzzle magazine that was published from 1993 until 2013. I hadn't heard of the type until recently, when I helped the Dutch puzzle organization migrate from Word templates to Penpa, and the traditional cog presentation the type makes use of proved to be a minor hurdle. I know, I know, today is supposed to be a strange-shaped Sunday puzzle, and this isn't really that. I think it looks unusual and funky enough that it's not entirely out of place, though!

Today's puzzle is a Spokes!

Rules: Draw straight lines connecting circles to other adjacent circles orthogonally and/or diagonally, such that lines do not intersect each other and all circles form one connected network. Clues indicate the number of lines extending from that clue in the (up to 8) possible directions.

Interface note 💻: Making auxiliary cross marks is a bit troublesome - I have enabled Number mode, which along with Draw on Edges allows you to place any character you like to indicate a diagonal connection is impossible. You'll have to switch modes to toggle between line input and cross marks though. See also the right half of the example solution.

Acquire a Speedy Sloth 🦥 by solving the puzzle in 4:00 or less!
Obtain a Quick Crab 🦀 by solving the puzzle in 8:00 or less!
And all solvers who complete the puzzle will be rewarded with an Impostor ʻIʻiwi 🐦!

Example (Penpa+): https://tinyurl.com/2etdyvgg
Main puzzle (Penpa+): https://tinyurl.com/2eat2rkz