It's that time again - usually I dread my birthdays, but having a Birthday Puzzle to work on usually makes them manageable. This year, I've tried my hand at another simple, Nikoli-style puzzle, with efforts to make it accessible as well as unique. Presenting... the Splitdoku.
It is a simple "fill in the numbers" style puzzle, a bit more like Kakuro than Sudoku, but the same principles apply. You have the numbers 1 through n, where n x n is the grid size, and you have each number n times. Sounds a bit complicated in English, but on a 9x9 grid you'd have 9 ones, 9 twos, and so on until 9 nines, and you'd have to fit them into the grid like you would for Sudoku. Note: Splitdoku does not have Sudoku's requirement that the same numbers can't coexist in a row or column!
Then, the colored lines and shapes come into play. Each color partitions the grid into pieces of an equal sum. If a colored line or shape crosses through a grid square, those squares are not factored into the clue. I've made the colors semi-transparent, so you can tell where they overlap.
And finally, a disclaimer - yes, this is as simple as it appears on the surface. This is not one of my notorious "look at every typo and font choice because it's all important somehow" puzzles; it's just an attempt at inventing a new kind of Nikoli-style puzzle. The rules are hopefully very simple to understand, but they've led to some fun emergently complex solutions... and there is a Picross-y artistic element to these puzzles as well, which fills me with hope for their potential. Enjoy!
1. NO
2. I MISSED
3. TIC-TAC-TOE
4. NOT EQUAL
5. FORKED
6. COORDINATES
7. MAGIKOOPA
8. TIC-TAC-TWO
8. TYPO
10. BLUSHING NERD
11. BASKETBALL NERD
12. STOPWATCH
13. REPRESENTATIONAL
14. ABSTRACT
15. THE BIG ONE
