Puzzle Ramayan & Sudoku Mahabharat 2024

Updates

IPC Instruction booklet V1 without points distribution can be downloaded here.
Round 4 of IPC can be downloaded here.
ISC Instruction booklet with points distribution can be downloaded here.

Venue

Logic Masters India (LMI) is conducting the Indian Puzzle Championship (IPC) 2024 on August 10th, 2024, and the Indian Sudoku Championship (ISC) 2024 on August 11th, 2024. The venue for the double event is:

Rialto Hotel
Address: 20-21, Seshadri Rd, Gandhi Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560009, India.
Website: https://www.rialtohotel.in/
Map Link

Day format

While we do not have the number of rounds, etc. for ISC or IPC yet, the format of the event will follow a similar structure to previous years. Day 1 will have the IPC competitive rounds, followed by Puzzle Ramayan Playoffs for eligible solvers, followed by a small casual puzzle event. Day 2 will have the ISC competitive rounds, followed by Sudoku Mahabharat Playoffs for eligible solvers, followed by a small casual Sudoku event. Expect the main competition to have 4-5 rounds as always.

Registration

The top 60 of the SM online rounds will be invited for ISC. The top 60 of PR online rounds will be invited for IPC.
Participants who are only eligible on the Sudoku side may register for both days. Participants who are only eligible on the Puzzles side must wait till 4th July to get confirmation that they may register for both days.
For now, they may register for just the Puzzle side. They may also indicate interest to attend the Sudoku date, so that later if/when slots become available, they can still avail the combination discount.
Also, note that if we get no approach or indication of interest by 18th July, it may be difficult to get slots after that even for those in the top 60.

Registration is a two-step process.

Fill the form here - https://surveyheart.com/form/6675ef67a1adcf778c293e0a.
Pay the registration fee (or the advance as shown below).

Prizes

All players who appear for the offline finals will receive a certificate.
Additionally,

Top-4 players at the offline finals will be awarded medals / trophies.
All players at the offline finals Under-21yrs and over-50yrs will receive special prizes.
All players travelling from other countries (non-Indians), will receive special prizes.

Participation fee

There will be participation fees, mainly to recover the charges of the venue, prizes, etc. to provide the best experience to participants. The payment structure is as follows:

	Online	Advance & On-Spot
SM & ISC	Rs. 1100	Rs. 300 & Rs. 900 (Rs. 1200)
PR & IPC	Rs. 950	Rs. 300 & Rs. 800 (Rs. 1100)
Joint	Rs. 1800	Rs. 500 & Rs. 1500 (Rs. 2000)

Definitions & Further details

Online - This is for making the full fee payment and confirmation online. The full amount must be transferred. In case of cancellation, A full refund (or partial refund _PLUS_ agreement for content like the advance & on-spot option) can be given up to one month before the events (11th July). After that, participants may consider the amount non-refundable, but if we manage to fill out numbers in spite of late cancellations, that could change (i.e. if enough of the waiting list below are able to make the event and we recover costs, we may get back to you about refunds).
Advance & On-Spot - This is for participants who register but choose to pay on the spot. In this case too, a deposit must be sent online. This deposit is non-refundable, but note that if the participant does not attend the finals, this amount entitles them to receiving all the competition content after the finals. For example, If you wish to attend SM & ISC, you may pay Rs. 300 online now and then Rs. 900 more at the venue. If you do not attend the event, the Rs. 300 will give you all the Sudokus as they appeared at the finals to solve at leisure after the event. If you avail of this option and at any stage know that you won't be attending, please tell us so we can move along the waiting list.
More Notes -
- In both cases, the online transfer can be done via UPI to 7019678898. In case UPI isn't suitable for someone, please reach out to us at logicmasteradmin@gmail.com or via whatsapp to 9819261933 and we can work out alternate payment methods. We will send back a confirmation for any payments made within 24 hours.
- In general, we have tried to keep the structure as participant friendly as possible, but we appeal to the participants to understand that this is a no-profit event.
- Our main goal is to recover our costs, so the earlier we can get confirmations with full payment, the more ideal it is for us to plan the event.
- If participants are bringing guests, the hall may not have space on the day of the event during competition times, but they may join in for lunch. In this case, the online fee is all that applies whether they pay online or on-spot (because the goody bags/prizes costs are negated), but we would appreciate some indication from the participants as early as possible to know the numbers to give the hotel for lunch.
- The Participation fee includes
  - Afternoon lunch and evening snacks.
  - Participation in the day's competitive rounds and recreational rounds.
  - The Participation fee does not include
    - Travel Plans
    - Stay arrangements.

Waiting List

This year, like last year, we have a waiting list. This is for participants outside the top 60 who wish to attend the finals. If we fill up the venue with eligible participants, we will not get to the waiting list. But if there are slots remaining with 2 weeks to go, we will begin going through this list and inviting participants. All waiting list participants who get invited and can attend will need to pay the on-spot totals (i.e. advance _PLUS_ on-spot as above e.g. Rs. 1200 for SM & ISC), but do not need to pay an advance.
Waiting List participants will get goodie bags, but they may not be personalized with their names.
The link for the waiting list is here - https://surveyheart.com/form/6675efc29836f1767246264d.
We will be going on a first-come-first-serve basis through the waiting list if spots open up.

Travel and Stay

We expect participants to make their own travel and stay arrangements. If a participant wishes to participate on both days then a night stay is required on the 10th of August. Please look at hotels near the venue to select your preferred stay option. Please contact us for any assistance like pairing up for stay in double rooms. If participants want to stay at the Rialto Hotel itself, please let us know. We will confirm by 20th July if we have enough bookings to do a group booking at better rates than presented online.

Why you should attend

We are providing a once-a-year experience of meeting fellow Sudoku & Puzzle enthusiasts and experts in the field. Most of India's top solvers are happy to share their input on solving strategies and so this is a great opportunity even if you are a beginner who can't target a top spot yet in your solving career. For talented/accomplished solvers, there is a chance to represent India at the World Championships held in Beijing, China in October of this year. The playoff experience is a rare opportunity for top inexperienced solvers. Lastly, it's just two days of enjoying one of your favorite hobbies ;)