Death Blossom
Extreme
Reference only
A "stem" cell's candidates are each matched to their own Almost Locked Set (a "petal") — a digit common to every petal can be eliminated from any cell all the petals can see.
The solver does not attempt this technique, so Smart Hint will never suggest it. It is documented because you may still want to spot it yourself.
- First colour in the chain
- Second colour in the chain
- Cells that establish the pattern
- Where the conclusion lands
- Candidate ruled out
How it works
- A1 is the stem, with candidates {3, 6}. Its 3 connects to the petal D1+D2 (Almost Locked Set on {3, 9, 7}); its 6 connects to the petal A5 (bivalue {6, 9}).
- Both petals share digit 9 as a common candidate — whichever petal ends up "activated" by the stem's actual value, 9 is tied up inside it. Eliminate 9 from any cell (like E5) that sees every 9 across both petals.