Category Archives: Puzzle

Puzzle 8: Surveyors Heyawake

Surveyors Heyawake, 10×10. Should be rather easy.

Puzzle 8: Surveyors Heyawake

Hm things seem pretty easy. That’s what happened when I tried making a “normal” Heyawake with absolutely no symmetry. The 6×6 room is pretty fun to toy with though; think of it as a Minesweeper. Oops spoiler; but you don’t think that 11 is going to be a Minesweeper clue don’t you -_-

Hm, Surveyors Heyawake and Smullyanic Dynasty can make some great hybrid, due to both having Minesweeper clue-style. I’ll see how I can toy with it…but I need to try making a Smullyanic Dynasty first.

Puzzle 7: Number In Order

Second puzzle. After this, I (hopefully) return to the IMO 2012 series.

Number In Order. Rules:

– Enter an integer between 1 and x inclusive to each white square. x is a number that vary between puzzles. If you want to go technical, then x is defined as the longest white square run in the puzzle, but this also might be changed depending on the puzzle. So, just assume it’s given.
– Each “run” of white cells (consecutive white cells in the same row/column) must contain all different numbers, and the numbers must be consecutive (for example, 2,5,3,4 is okay, but 1,2,4,5 isn’t).

Yeah, I think that’s it.

Number In Order, 10×10, maximum number in puzzle is 6. Should be easy-medium.

Puzzle 7: Number In Order

Also do you notice that the black cells are exactly like in Puzzle 6? I wanted to go a little further (given a grid with all-filled white cells and some-filled black cells, solve the Akari using the black cells; the lightbulbs denote the squares which are given in Number In Order) but I failed. Well, these two separate puzzles are pretty good enough too.

Puzzle 6: Antisymmetric Light Bulbs

Akari Put some light bulbs on the cells of the grid. Light bulbs illuminate all squares in the four orthogonal directions (up, down, left, right), up until reaching an edge of the grid or a black square. Illuminate all squares, but no light bulb may illuminate another light bulb. A number on a black square determines the number of light bulbs orthogonally adjacent to it.

Expected difficulty Easy • Answer • Comment/E-mail if you want a solution to be published

Puzzle 6: Akari

Puzzle 6: Antisymmetric Light Bulbs
Akari

We interrupt the IMO 2012 series for this post and the next post.

Yay for puzzles. Guess I’m back at “logicsmithing”.

This one is a pretty easy Akari. However, the aesthetic part of this puzzle is rather high by my standards. Opposing givens add up to 3, just like some Slitherlink I’ve seen…

*went browsing for like 30 minutes*

Oh hey I can’t find that puzzle. Whatever; it means I can make it some time soon and claim it as the only one in the last [insert a small time interval (less than a year)] 😛

Whatever. Akari, 10×10. Would go to an easy or something. Did I repeat myself?

Puzzle 5: Word Puzzle

30-Jan-2014: The original puzzle is broken, so here’s a replacement.

Expected difficulty Medium • Answer and solution follow below the puzzle

On an island, there are two kinds of people: knights who answer questions truthfully and knaves who answer questions falsely. You encounter five people from this island, named Alice, Bob, Charlie, Dave, and Erin. As a bored person, you want to figure out whether they are knights or knaves. When questioned, these are the answers, each answer stated by a different person. Statements in parentheses are statements that you know to be true.

Alice: At least one of us is a knight.
Bob: Exactly two of us are knights.
Charlie: At most three of us are knights.
Dave: The number of knights among us is not four.
Erin: YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY

Which of them are knights?

Answer and solution; highlight below:

Alice and Charlie must tell at least one truth. If Bob is a knight, then Dave too; this is impossible as together with Alice and Charlie we have at least three knights. So Bob is a knave.

Since Alice and Charlie must tell at least one truth, there is at least one knight, so Alice is a knight.

If Charlie is a knave, then there are at least four knights. But Bob and Charlie are knaves, so there are at most three knights remaining, impossible. So Charlie is a knight. Thus the number of knights cannot exceed three, and so Dave is a knight, and so Erin is a knave.

Thus, the knights are Alice, Charlie, and Dave.

Puzzle 4: Take One

Surveyors Heyawake (v0.1) Follow regular Heyawake rules: Follow dynasty rules. Additionally, no connected white cells in the same row/column may span over one bold border.

There are numbers in the grid. For each “region” (bold-bordered area), exactly one of the numbers act as a Heyawake clue: the number is equal to the number of black squares in the region. All other numbers are Minesweeper clues: each number is equal to the number of black squares on the number or adjacent to the number.

Expected difficulty Hard • Answer • Comment/E-mail if you want a solution to be published

Puzzle 4: Surveyors Heyawake

Puzzle 4: Take One
Surveyors Heyawake

Original text
Yeah bad title maybe. But I think this one has some pretty tricks waiting (besides the tricks of Heyawake)… I’m trying to get a few basic tricks I figured out here. However, this would be rated somewhere like medium, or 4 out of 10. Whoa.

And yes, I miscounted; I didn’t see Puzzle 3 in my book so I reported that I had only two puzzles ready, while I have three. 😛

Additional text on 27 September 2013
Take One of Surveyors Heyawake. When the rules are still rather crude. (The finalized version is actually much more complex x3 )

Puzzle 3: Obligatory Douglas Adams Reference

Fillomino Follow regular Fillomino rules.

Expected difficulty Medium • Answer • Comment/E-mail if you want a solution to be published

Puzzle 3: Fillomino

Puzzle 3: Obligatory Douglas Adams Reference
Fillomino

Original text of post
The answer to Life, Universe, and Everything. Or is it the answer to this Fillomino? This Fillomino is not as easy as it seems, although it is indeed still easy for regular Fillomino solvers. But the theme is funny, right?

Additional text on 27 September 2013
*facepalming at my own choice of words a year and a half ago*

Last updated 27 September 2013

Puzzle 2: Whirlpools

Jigsaw Slitherlink Follow Slitherlink rules: Draw a loop along the gridlines (only horizontal and vertical movements between the dots) such that the loop never touches or crosses itself. A number on a square indicates the number of edges of the square that are on the loop (not inside, on).

In addition, the board has been broken into pieces. Assemble the pieces before solving. The pieces cannot be rotated nor reflected.

Expected difficulty Medium • Answer • Comment/E-mail if you want a solution to be published

Puzzle 2: Jigsaw Slitherlink

Puzzle 2: Whirlpools
Jigsaw Slitherlink
(click to enlarge)

Original text of post
Yes I’m doing weird variations now. Shouldn’t be too hard with several forced clues actually, but well, it’s first attempt on Slitherlink Jigsaw.

Last updated 27 September 2013