| Trial and Error |
tesr
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 674
Best Total: 28m 21s | Posted - 2015.12.29 19:45:06
Hi, I'm a newbie here.
I learned some basic techniques and now I can solve many Monday puzzles without guessing (though I'm slow). In harder puzzles, I need to use "Fix current position" button - try various variations until I find something that lead to contradiction.
However, I have trouble with Friday/weekend puzzles. We can't use "Fix current position" button twice here and that's not enough for me. What do you do when you need to fix multiple positions? Maybe this situation doesn't happen for experienced people? |
arbor8
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 5595
Best Total: 13m 24s | Posted - 2015.12.29 19:55:38
You can try opening multiple windows but it gets easily messy. Better to use only a single fix - position |
JohnAtEcs
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 1091
Best Total: 14h 54m 58s | Posted - 2016.08.04 15:57:33
You always have two 'fixed positions' - you can save your puzzle [this will provide your first fix point, returns you to the home page and so then load it back].
Then use the local fix the next time you want to remember the position.
Can then either reset to the fixed position or abandon the puzzle and go back to your home page and 'Load' the last saved puzzle. |
MondSemmel
Kwon-Tom Obsessive
Puzzles: 6159
Best Total: 7m 47s | Posted - 2016.08.04 18:40:51
If I have to do multiple nested trial & error explorations, I struggle just like you do*. However, as you acquire more and more experience, more patterns and more tricks (e.g. highlander deductions), you'll need to do less and less of those nested trial & error deductions.
EDIT: Oh, and also, as you acquire more experience, you identify locations where trial & error is more likely to yield quick progress. In some ways, it's like doing science: You're trying to identify hypotheses (like "there's a line here" or "there's a cross there") and to falsify them as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
* For instance, this puzzle from Friday, 01.07., took me forever to solve, though I think everyone struggled a lot with it.
Last edited by MondSemmel - 2016.08.04 18:46:49 |
