Kraken fish: connect every fin to the target

A Kraken fish is a fish pattern whose fins are linked to a target through inference chains rather than direct visibility alone.

Key idea

The target is removable when the basic fish eliminates it if all fins are false, and every possible true fin also forces the target false through a chain.

See the move, step by step

Extend a candidate-7 fish through the conjugate pair in column 2.

Step 1 of 4

Find the fish and its escape candidates

Start from the near-fish in rows 1 and 3 and identify the extra 7 that prevents a normal elimination.

Fish and chain regions

Step 2 of 4

Attach an inference chain to the fin

The fin at R1C2 links through the conjugate pair in column 2 to R7C2, then across row 7 to R7C3.

Fish regionsFish plus fin chain

Step 3 of 4

Prove every case attacks the target

If the fin is false, the fish removes R8C3's 7. If the fin is true, the chain reaches R7C3, which also removes it.

Kraken fishCandidate to remove

Step 4 of 4

Apply the common conclusion

Remove 7 from R8C3 while leaving the fish and its chain unresolved.

Kraken fishUpdated target

Try it on today's puzzle

List every fin explicitly. The elimination is valid only when the finless fish and a chain from each possible fin all reach the same target.

Play today