| Today's puzzle... (Saturday, 28th July 2007) |
he_he
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 2007
Best Total: 14m 41s | Posted - 2007.07.28 16:51:08
.....has several words to describe it, unfortunately none are printable so I'll restrain myself. |
biohazard930
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 666
Best Total: 24m 33s | Posted - 2007.07.28 18:51:49
That was, indeed, the most ridiculous puzzle I have set my eyes on in a long while.
(Keep in mind that I try to avoid looking at some of those user-created puzzles.) |
he_he
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 2007
Best Total: 14m 41s | Posted - 2007.07.28 19:01:39
By the way, in case anyone is wondering, I didn't spend the whole of my 8 hours constantly doing the puzzle. After about 3 hrs I gave up, came back to it later in the day, and then promptly solved it in 15 mins. TYPICAL!!!!! |
turtlepi
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 2246
Best Total: 20m 39s | Posted - 2007.07.28 21:37:29
this puzzle kicked my butt. I think this is the first puzzle that I was completely stumped on. I had to end up randomly guessing till I got it right. Foilman, no more puzzles like this  |
m2e
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 607
Best Total: 16m 43s | Posted - 2007.07.29 00:32:20
I stuffed it up 3 times in a row! Still it was good as a change, just wouldn't want it every week  |
PuzzleLover
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 1033
Best Total: 38m 17s | Posted - 2007.07.29 10:31:18
foilman, your puzzle selector used too much non-human logic in picking this one. Please try to pick puzzles that are more humanly solvable. |
foilman
Kwon-Tom Admin
Puzzles: 3615
Best Total: 24m 6s | Posted - 2007.07.29 10:50:25
Actually, checking the database to see how that puzzle was ranked, it was well up into the top of the "very hard" category - maybe I should start adding a difficulty classifier to the weekend ones too? Still, it's nice to have a challenge every now and again. |
chairman
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 1397
Best Total: 17m 32s | Posted - 2007.07.29 17:03:47
I'd like to see this type of difficulty more often, even though it took me two resets and over half an hour. |
PuzzleLover
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 1033
Best Total: 38m 17s | Posted - 2007.07.30 00:54:19
Does this puzzle have a solution using human logic? If so I'd really like to see it. |
procrastinator
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 1083
Best Total: 12m 56s | Posted - 2007.07.30 04:26:18
Quote: Originally Posted by puzzlelover Does this puzzle have a solution using human logic? If so I'd really like to see it. |
I can do it without FP, but I certainly can't do it quickly that way. I chipped away at the middle and bottom and a bit on the bottom left until I could start to use contradictions threatening links that excluded the left side, then eventually ones that enclosed the bottom left corner, but left the upper left stranded. So some pretty deep reading. |
gadget1903
Kwon-Tom Addict
Puzzles: 325
Best Total: 23m 39s | Posted - 2007.07.30 05:22:09
This highlander can finish the right side (the blanks must be blanks, the ? can be any number):
then a lucky guess with an line on top of the 1 at col 1 row 8 and you can get all the way to the finish (albeit not easily) |
procrastinator
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 1083
Best Total: 12m 56s | Posted - 2007.07.30 15:39:59
Quote: Originally Posted by gadget1903 This highlander can finish the right side... |
On a larger scale, I get to here with common patterns:
Then there's a slightly less common pattern (relying on the X above the second 2) that forces the four ?s not to be all Xes. That's another way to set off a simple chain of reasoning that finishes the whole region. (it includes a bit of counting)
But if you spotted that highlander, surely you'd first spot the much more common one which only relies on the 5 blanks and the 4 Xes I've drawn?
Regardless, the right hand side is not the part we're worried about.
Quote: Originally Posted by gadget1903 then a lucky guess with an line on top of the 1 at col 1 row 8 and you can get all the way to the finish (albeit not easily) |
Wow! That is lucky. I'd never have followed such a thing that far through, particularly since it tells you almost nothing if it fails. But it's a whole lot faster than any way I've found to solve it without guessing. |
gadget1903
Kwon-Tom Addict
Puzzles: 325
Best Total: 23m 39s | Posted - 2007.07.30 17:31:52
Quote: Originally Posted by procrastinator
But if you spotted that highlander, surely you'd first spot the much more common one which only relies on the 5 blanks and the 4 Xes I've drawn?
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I would have got to it in a few more extra clicks...yes, much easier than the one I pointed out.
I just remembered seeing the highlander with the ones a little sooner.
Quote: Originally Posted by procrastinator
Then there's a slightly less common pattern (relying on the X above the second 2) that forces the four ?s not to be all Xes.
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I didn't need it...but I wonder if Jankonyex saw that one...he posted it in Logical Thinking:
Quote: Originally Posted by procrastinator
Wow! That is lucky. I'd never have followed such a thing that far through, particularly since it tells you almost nothing if it fails. But it's a whole lot faster than any way I've found to solve it without guessing.
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PuzzleLover
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 1033
Best Total: 38m 17s | Posted - 2007.07.31 05:25:13
I got the top quickly and the lower right wasn't too bad. But the lower left and center was a killer. I couldn't see anything. Even most trial and error attempts didn't reach a point where I could see a contradiction. |
