Good point. The IB puzzle layout was intentionally kept different from the PB puzzle in this case. The puzzle itself was very easy, though. I don't think it would have affected much solving-wise, except for the surprise in the visual part of layout.

Good puzzles, but really not a huge fan of 6x6 puzzles that are actually non-trivial.
I feel the best strategy is to trial-and-error through them since they are hardly worth any points rather than logically working them out (which takes longer).
When I look at the 6x6 XV or the 6x6 Consecutive, I am not convinced that these are great introductions for solvers before they tackle the larger 9x9.
I think the reason they are worth a lot less is because they are more prone to lucky guessers.

I suggest either: A/ having it worth more, since the steps are non-straightforward or
B/ have the 6x6 actually be simpler since they are worth way less points.

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Just right
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Very nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Linked Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

This is an interesting point to discuss.

So first of all, at least for this contest, the test solvers have solved the 6x6s and 9x9s logically. So guesswork did not factor into the timings, and the points were calculated and assigned based on the timings and not any external factors. So in that sense, I'd say at least in theory that they weren't intentionally undervalued or given a lower value 'because' of a quicker solving path via guesswork. So I don't think A can be done here since it would just be random subjective overvaluing.

But about them not being great introductions, I would love to discuss further because I see it going both ways. I think that if there is an introduction, an intermediate and then a final level, then what you say is definitely the way to go because then we can have the intermediate preparing solvers to tackle the regular difficulties while the introduction can be easy to be most approachable. But since we just have a 6x6 directly leading into a 9x9, a straightforward 6x6 leading into a difficult 9x9 doesn't do much in preparing you for it. So personally I think it is fine to have some easy ones and some difficult ones among the 6x6 variants within the format used here, to give options both of approachable variants and of variants where, if you attempt the 6x6 logically, you'll be better equipped to deal with higher levels and difficulties.

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Just right
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Fairly Nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Linked Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Many puzzles were worth too much or too little

can someone please post an example of linked sudoku?how to solve?
and its solution too..

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Too many medium difficult puzzles
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Fairly Nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Overlapping Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

Hi. The Instruction Booklet will have a Linked Sudoku example with its solution. The corresponding shaded cells in both sudokus will contain the same digits. So, if you get any digit in a shaded cell in one of the sudoku, then you can directly fill up the same digit in the other sudoku in the corresponding shaded cell.

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Just right
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Very nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	XV Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Too many hard puzzles
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Fairly Nice
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

Where to look for password,since it is protected

Once you click on the "Start Converse and Twisted Classics" button, you will see the password on the screen and the countdown timer will start.

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Just right
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Average
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Overlapping Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Many puzzles were worth too much or too little

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Too many hard puzzles
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Very nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Consecutive Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Just right
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Fairly Nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Expanded Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Just right
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Fairly Nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Expanded Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Too many medium difficult puzzles
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Very nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	XV Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Just right
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Fairly Nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Linked Sudoku

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Too many medium difficult puzzles
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Fairly Nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Consecutive Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

Congratulations to Kota Morinishi (the current World Sudoku Champion), Jan Zverina, Seung Jae Kwak and Jan Mrozowski for taking the top four places. They were separated by less than 2 minutes overall.

Amongst Indian participants, Congratulations to Kishore Kumar, Rohan Rao and Shaheer Rahman for finishing the complete set within 90 minutes and taking the top 3 places.

Of the 293 participants, 128 were from India, 25 from Japan and 15 from USA. Denis Aurox (France) was the first to start the test while Ankur Murarka (India) was the last person to start the test. 31 participants completed the set within the allotted time. The median score of the test was 43.5.

Thanks Akash for the puzzles!

Participants may share feedback on the results page and rate the puzzles on the contest page.

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Just right
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Very nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Linked Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Too many medium difficult puzzles
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Very nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Linked Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Too many hard puzzles
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Very nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Consecutive Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Many puzzles were worth too much or too little

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Just right
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Very nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Average Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount