Sudoku Murder vs killer sudoku
Search for murder sudoku and half the results are killer sudoku. The names sound alike, but they are different puzzles with different rules.
Side by side
| Sudoku Murder | Killer sudoku | |
|---|---|---|
| What you place | People on a floor plan | Digits 1 to 9 |
| Grid | 4×4 to 9×9, split into rooms | 9×9, split into 3×3 boxes and dashed cages |
| Main rule | One person per row and column | Each digit once per row, column and box |
| Extra clues | A sentence per suspect: "She was beside a plant." | A sum for each cage, no digit repeated in a cage |
| Arithmetic | None | Constant: cage sums and combinations |
| Goal | Find the killer: the one alone with the victim | Fill every cell |
| Typical time | Easy 2 min, Hard 10 min or more | 15 to 60 min |
What killer sudoku is
Killer sudoku is a sudoku variant. The grid is the usual 9×9, but instead of given digits it has cages: dashed outlines with a small sum in the corner. The digits in a cage add up to that sum and never repeat. There is no story and no murder; "killer" refers to how hard it can get.
What Sudoku Murder is
Sudoku Murder borrows one idea from sudoku, the rule that nobody repeats a row or a column, and wraps it in a crime scene. You place suspects on a floor plan using short factual clues, and the placement reveals the killer: the only person who was alone with the victim.
Which one is for you
If you like arithmetic and long solves, killer sudoku. If you like reading clues and naming a culprit, Sudoku Murder. Both reward the same patience.