Can you solve it? Sudoku as spectator sport is unlikely lockdown hit:
It may not be as hair-raising as Formula 1, nor as dramatic as Premier League football, but Sudoku solving is acquiring a niche following as a spectator sport.
It's surprisingly thrilling, believe me. Just ask fans of the puzzle-solving YouTube channel Cracking the Cryptic, which has seen its viewing figures shoot up over the last two months. Its top Sudoku video has had more than 3 million views.
In daily challenges, the channel's two British hosts, puzzle wizards Simon Anthony and Mark Goodliffe, narrate their strategies and processes of deduction as they attempt to solve fiendishly difficult Sudokus.
What makes the videos so joyous is the constant stream of 'aha!' moments, as well as the ingenuity of the sudokus presented. The puzzle I am setting today, the Miracle, appeared on the channel last week. (Click here for a printable page for all today's puzzles. To solve them online there is a link underneath each grid.)
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday May 21 2020, @10:18PM
It was remarkably easy. Too many constraints spoil the puzzle. (As evidenced by unique solvability given only two items in the initial grid.)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves