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How to Play Magnus Opus Sudoku
♦ Your Hole Cards
Like Texas Hold'em, you're dealt 2 hole digits at the start — gold-glowing cells that are free answers placed in different cages.
- Each hole card eliminates its digit from the entire row, column, and box (up to 20 cells affected per card)
- Constrains its cage — narrows valid combos, can flip cages from LIKELY to UNLIKELY
- Zone shifts track when placement changes cage zones — the board "texture" changing like poker community cards
Strategy: Check cages near your hole cards first. If they went UNLIKELY (1–2 combos), digits may be forced immediately.
★ The 5 Shapes
Every solve uses one of these 5 techniques, from easy to hard:
●1. Zone Lock
"Only one digit fits." A cell has 1 valid candidate after row/col/box + cage elimination. Tip: Use cross-hatch scanner — click a numpad digit to see where it can go!
◐2. Ghost Signal
"Combos agree." Every valid cage combo puts the same digit in one position. Tip: Green notes = cage-forced. If a note is green, all combos agree on it!
≡3. Beam Scan
"Cage points a laser." All empty cells of a cage are in one row/col/box, so their digits can't appear elsewhere in that unit. Tip: Small 2–3 cell cages inside one row or box are beam sources.
◇4. Psychic Resonance
"The 45 Rule." Each row/col/box sums to 45. Subtract cage sums to find innie/outie values. Tip: Find rows/boxes where cages almost cover everything — the gap IS the answer.
⟶5. Force Vision
"What if?" Try a candidate, propagate — if it contradicts, the other is correct. Tip: Only needed on expert. Pick cells with exactly 2 candidates.
★ The Cascade
♦ Hole cards dealt → create Zone Locks in rows/cols/boxes
→ Locks fill cells → combos narrow → Ghost Signals appear
→ Signals fill more → cages align → Beam Scans fire
→ Beams eliminate → 45 gaps shrink → Psychic Resonance clicks
→ Zone shifts from LIKELY to UNLIKELY signal the puzzle cracking open
⚙ Controls
- Click cell then numpad/keyboard 1-9 to place digit
- Click numpad without cell selected to cross-hatch scan — highlights where that digit can go
- N = toggle notes mode, C = auto-candidates, Z = undo (rolls back mistakes too!)
- H = hint (pulses target cell), B = best move (auto-places it)
🎮 Game Modes
- GUIDE — Coach walks you through each move with shape explanations
- PRAC — Free play with hint/best-move available
- CHAL — No solution highlighting, test your skills
- WSRF — Zone overlays show LIKELY/UNLIKELY cells
- LIKELY — Full zone vision with cage-level DE coloring
- DRILL — Learn one shape at a time! Only shows moves of the current shape type. Master each before advancing.
● Note Colors
- Gold = the actual answer digit
- Green = cage-locked (appears in ALL valid combos)
- Cyan = your manual note
- Grey = auto candidate