Kakurasu

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Kakurasu puzzle

Kakurasu puzzle

If the names Sudoku, Hitori and Kakuro are known all over the world, few have heard of the game Kakurasu, although it fully complies with the classic canons of Japanese puzzles.

It is also played on a rectangular grid field, filling it with dark and light figures, in this case simply by painting over the required cells.

The larger the playing field, the more interesting it is to solve the puzzle. But not everyone will be able to cope with Kakurasu; to solve it you will have to make maximum intellectual efforts!

Game history

Unfortunately, there is no reliable information about who and when invented the Kakurasu puzzle either in gaming encyclopedias or in printed publications, where it was published several times.

It is only known that the birthplace of the game is Japan, which gave the world hundreds of other, no less interesting logic games. Perhaps the author of Kakurasu was one of the unknown readers of Nikoli magazine, where it was published in the 90s of the last century. This practice was typical for Nikoli - new games constantly appeared on its pages, often without the names and pseudonyms of the authors.

If in its historical homeland the game was called Kakurasu (カクラス), then when transferred to Western editions it also became known as Index Sums. Today, both of these names appear on the Internet, belonging to the same puzzle. It's easy to recognize - it's one of the few number games in which a grid field is surrounded by numbers on all sides: bottom, top, right and left. At the same time, the playing field itself is empty at the beginning of the game, and the player’s task is to fill it correctly.

Is this game difficult? It's hard to say until you try to play a few games yourself. Those who have already delved into its rules and learned to solve complex versions of the game (with large fields) claim that this is one of the most interesting ways to spend leisure time. Perhaps they are right, and Kakurasu will also become one of your favorite puzzle games! We believe you will succeed!

How to solve Kakurasu puzzle

How to solve Kakurasu puzzle

The rules of the game in Kakurasu are somewhat similar to the Japanese crossword puzzle (nonogram). Here, too, numbers are used around the perimeter of the playing field, which you need to navigate when filling it out. But if in a Japanese crossword the numbers are placed only on the left and top, then in Kakurasu they surround the field on all sides.

Game rules

When considering different variations of Kakurasu puzzles, it becomes clear that the numbers located at the top and left of the playing field are simply the serial numbers of the cells. So, opposite the leftmost cell is a unit, next to it is a two, then a three, and so on. From the top, the countdown is from left to right, and from the left side, from top to bottom.

In the case of Kakurasu, these numbers mean not only the serial numbers of the cells, but also their weight. So, the second cell weighs two units, the third - three, and the fourth - four. The game rules are based on this.

To solve the puzzle, you need to navigate by the numbers located to the right and below the playing field. Each of them means the total weight of the shaded cells on a given line. For example, if the first, third and fifth cells should be shaded along one of the horizontal lines, then the number to the right of this line will be 9, since 1 + 3 + 5 = 9. Initially, the player knows only this nine, and from which cells exactly it should work out, you need to find out during the game.

How to solve the puzzle

The entire gameplay is based only on logic and attentiveness, as well as on the ability to eliminate obviously incorrect options. Beginner players will find it difficult to deal with Kakurasu, but the following tips will help:

  • Always start the game with those rows and columns opposite which the smallest numbers are indicated below and to the right. In the case of one and two, the moves are completely uncontested. So, if one is specified, the first cell is filled, and if two is specified, the second is filled.
  • Mark empty cells with dots, crosses, or any other designation (except completely filled in). For example, if the first cell in a line with one is already filled in, all the rest can be marked as empty.
  • Give priority to those lines where there are already filled cells, taking into account their weight. For example, if the top right cell of a 6x6 field is shaded, it will have a vertical weight of “1” and a horizontal weight of “6.”

The numbers below and to the right of the field are the sums of the numerical values in the corresponding lines that need to be decomposed into individual terms. This is easy to do using simple mathematical rules. For example, "3" could be the third cell or the sum of the first and second, and "4" could be the fourth cell or the sum of the first and third.

Acting by analogy, you will quickly fill in the simplest areas first, and then, by elimination, all the rest on the playing field!