Variant rules guide
How Lumen Sudoku Constellation Paths Change a Puzzle
Constellation keeps every ordinary 9x9 Sudoku rule and adds four visible star paths. Along each path, digits must strictly increase from the large bulb toward the small gold tip. You can solve cells in any order; the path is another constraint to combine with the row, column, and 3x3 box.
What this guide helps you decide
What does the Constellation rule add to ordinary Sudoku, and how should I combine a star path with row, column, and box constraints?
This guide explains the shipping Lumen Sudoku Constellation rule and small synthetic rule examples. It does not expose a shipped puzzle solution, generator blueprint, or hidden answer state; play remains on the Lumen Sudoku page.
For the complete current shelf, browse Number & Logic.
Sudoku first, rising paths too
A candidate is legal only when it satisfies ordinary Sudoku and every Constellation path that contains the cell. The current interface keeps the direction cue visible and distinguishes digits blocked only by the variant.
Sudoku with increasing star paths
Lumen Sudoku
Lumen Sudoku Constellation uses four visible orthogonal paths whose digits strictly increase from the large bulb to the small gold tip while rows, columns, and boxes still obey standard Sudoku uniqueness.
Worked examples
These are compact rule examples based on the current public mechanic. They explain the deduction without revealing a live puzzle answer.
Rule example 1
Bound a missing digit between two path values
On one bulb-to-tip path, four consecutive positions currently read 2, 4, ·, 8.
- The path must strictly increase in the bulb-to-tip direction.
- The missing digit must be greater than 4 and less than 8.
- That leaves 5, 6, or 7 before row, column, and box exclusions are applied.
Takeaway: A path often narrows a Sudoku candidate range before the ordinary Sudoku groups finish the deduction.
Rule example 2
Let Sudoku remove a path candidate
A path gap can be 5, 6, or 7 from its neighbors, but the gap's row already contains 5 and its 3x3 box already contains 6.
- The rising-path rule leaves 5, 6, or 7.
- The row rule removes 5.
- The box rule removes 6.
- The only remaining candidate is 7.
Takeaway: Constellation does not replace Sudoku; the useful deductions come from intersecting both rule sets.
Rule example 3
Treat a crossing as two simultaneous path constraints
A cell lies where two star paths cross.
- Read the predecessor and successor bounds on the first path.
- Read the predecessor and successor bounds on the second path.
- Keep only digits that fit both path ranges and the cell's row, column, and box.
Takeaway: A crossing cell belongs to both paths, so a candidate must satisfy both increasing sequences at the same time.
First-party methodology
How we checked this
We checked the current Lumen Sudoku game metadata, Constellation GAME_SPEC, and shipping help behavior. The examples are synthetic rule states that combine ordinary Sudoku with the published bulb-to-tip increasing-path constraint; they are not extracted from a released puzzle answer.