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Richard
Posts: 191
 
Country : The Netherlands | Richard posted @ 2013-03-24 11:27 AM kishy72 - 2013-03-24 11:06 AM
A beautiful test.Many thnks to the author for this wonderful test.I had great fun solving the test.
Got a deja vu of the masyu puzzle in puzzle marathon after seeing the primes without any dots.It is a good way to take the players by surpise.The conventional thinking gets disrupted totally.I was hoping to tackle this puzzle by making pencil marks of 1379 at the end of the dots. Because of the surprise factor this puzzle took me more time to solve than the hot/cold thermometer!
Hope to solve the remaining puzzles some time later.
One thing i would love to add here is the practise puzzles that the author posted before the test laying the foundation for the test beautifully.
Excellent test!!!I really enjoyed it!!
Thanks a lot for your kind words! 
I will be happy to post full feedback on (practise ) puzzles after the test is over. |
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PuzzleScott
Posts: 42
Country : United States | What do the instructions mean, in Perfects Squares and Primes, when they say "This constraint is not valid for vertically adjacent cells"?
Does it mean vertically adjacent cells aren't constrained, so they can even have or not have the pattern? (square or prime)
Or does it mean no two vertically adjacent cells can have the pattern? If the latter, kropki-like puzzles usually handle that by the presence or absence of a square or diamond, without a confusingly worded rule. |
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Richard
Posts: 191
Country : The Netherlands | Richard posted @ 2013-03-24 12:10 PM PuzzleScott - 2013-03-24 12:03 PM
What do the instructions mean, in Perfects Squares and Primes, when they say "This constraint is not valid for vertically adjacent cells"?
Does it mean vertically adjacent cells aren't constrained, so they can even have or not have the pattern? (square or prime)
Or does it mean no two vertically adjacent cells can have the pattern? If the latter, kropki-like puzzles usually handle that by the presence or absence of a square or diamond, without a confusingly worded rule.
...without a confusingly worded rule...
Of course I don't want to confuse solvers, but I thought this was the best way to clarify the rules. Sorry if it's not...
What I mean is that it doesn't matter what digit combination appears in the columns, primes, squares, doesn't matter, so your first interpretation Does it mean vertically adjacent cells aren't constrained, so they can even have or not have the pattern? (square or prime) is correct. |
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PuzzleScott
Posts: 42
Country : United States | Thanks, that was my guess. Perhaps "constraint does not apply" instead of "constraint is not valid"?
Also, working the IB examples clarifies the question. Thanks! |
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An LMI player
| An LMI player posted @ 2013-03-24 4:59 PM | How balanced do you think the puzzle types of this test were? | Perfectly balanced | | | What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? | Just right | | | What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? | Very nice | | | How did you feel about the length / time limit for this test? | Just right | | | Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did their point values reflect the difficulty/time spent? | Most puzzles were worth the right amount | | | What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? | Just right | |
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rajeshk
Posts: 542
Country : India | rajeshk posted @ 2013-03-24 5:35 PM | How balanced do you think the puzzle types of this test were? | Fairly balanced | | | What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? | A bit hard | | | What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? | Very nice | | | How did you feel about the length / time limit for this test? | A bit too many puzzles | | | Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did their point values reflect the difficulty/time spent? | All puzzles were worth the right amount | | | What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? | Just right | |
Thanks for this great test. I really enjoyed solving it. |
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Gotroch
Posts: 83
Country : Czech Republic | Gotroch posted @ 2013-03-24 6:32 PM | How balanced do you think the puzzle types of this test were? | Perfectly balanced | | | What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? | Just right | | | What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? | Very nice | | | How did you feel about the length / time limit for this test? | Just right | | | Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did their point values reflect the difficulty/time spent? | Most puzzles were worth the right amount | |
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Fred76
Posts: 337
Country : Switzerland | Fred76 posted @ 2013-03-24 7:29 PM Thank you for this wonderful test !
The set was really enjoying, well balanced, and all sudokus were perfectly constructed.
On a personal note, I broke the thermo-sudoku 2 times and hadn't enough time the 3rd time (there was 3 minutes left). It's a pity, because without these mistakes, I think it was within my reach to solve all sudokus in 120 minutes.
Fred
P.S.: and I forgot to say that I look forward to solve more of your sudokus during the next DSM (and I hope without mistake)
Edited by Fred76 2013-03-24 7:36 PM
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debmohanty
Country : India | Fred76 in WPF Sudoku Grand Prix — Indian Round
... thermo (even if I broke it twice and could not solve it during the competition time), ...
Fred
Fred76 in V2V — March Sudoku Test
... I broke the thermo-sudoku 2 times and hadn't enough time the 3rd time (there was 3 minutes left). ...
Fred
That is interesting co-incidence. |
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Fred76
Posts: 337
Country : Switzerland | Fred76 posted @ 2013-03-24 8:03 PM debmohanty - 2013-03-24 7:51 PM
Fred76 in WPF Sudoku Grand Prix — Indian Round
... thermo (even if I broke it twice and could not solve it during the competition time), ...
Fred
Fred76 in V2V — March Sudoku Test
... I broke the thermo-sudoku 2 times and hadn't enough time the 3rd time (there was 3 minutes left). ...
Fred
That is interesting co-incidence.
Phew !
I didn't remember that ! Perhaps next time I'll skip the thermo until I solved all other puzzles !
Fred |
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tamz29
Posts: 225
Country : Thailand | tamz29 posted @ 2013-03-24 8:34 PM I went straight for the Greater Than X and systematically tried X=1,2,3,4,5. None worked for me. Can't wait for the answers and the intended solving path.
Basically this was a 100 minute test for me because that first puzzle took away 20 minutes with no points. :(
Great sudokus from Richard as usual. I liked how there's plenty of practise puzzles that are available before the test. |
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Zormac
Posts: 15
Country : Hungary | Zormac posted @ 2013-03-24 8:34 PM | How balanced do you think the puzzle types of this test were? | Perfectly balanced | | | What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? | Too many hard puzzles | | | What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? | Very nice | | | How did you feel about the length / time limit for this test? | A bit too many puzzles | | | Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did their point values reflect the difficulty/time spent? | All puzzles were worth the right amount | | | What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? | Just right | |
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An LMI player
| An LMI player posted @ 2013-03-24 8:53 PM | How balanced do you think the puzzle types of this test were? | Fairly balanced | | | What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? | Just right | | | What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? | Very nice | | | How did you feel about the length / time limit for this test? | Just right | | | Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did their point values reflect the difficulty/time spent? | Most puzzles were worth the right amount | | | What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? | Just right | |
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Fred76
Posts: 337
Country : Switzerland | Fred76 posted @ 2013-03-24 8:55 PM tamz29 - 2013-03-24 8:34 PM
I went straight for the Greater Than X and systematically tried X=1,2,3,4,5. None worked for me. Can't wait for the answers and the intended solving path.
Basically this was a 100 minute test for me because that first puzzle took away 20 minutes with no points. :(
Great sudokus from Richard as usual. I liked how there's plenty of practise puzzles that are available before the test.
I hesitated to write that the Greater than X was overvalued, because I found it not so hard...
Here is a way you can find X:
-box 4: there are 4 pairs: the only possibilities are 1,2,4 or 5.
-you can eliminate the 2 with the 4 and 6 in Row 9 (4 cannot be next to the 6 ). It remains 1,4 or 5
-you can eliminate the 5, because in box 8, 1 has to be "X-consecutive" and it cannot with the 6, already present in the box. ->1,4
-It's a bit more difficult to eliminate the 1: If you place the 2 in R1C6, then you have 1 and 2 in R78C4, then it's impossible to place the 3 in box 8 (cannot be next to 2 or 4, and it cannot be consecutive to another digit ).
So X=4 !
Hope that helps !
Fred
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uvo
Posts: 21
Country : Germany | uvo posted @ 2013-03-24 9:05 PM Actually, I got X=4 very easily, but found the remaining Sudoku very difficult. |
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Richard
Posts: 191
Country : The Netherlands | Richard posted @ 2013-03-24 9:09 PM uvo - 2013-03-24 9:05 PM
Actually, I got X=4 very easily, but found the remaining Sudoku very difficult.
I have written a full walk through for this puzzle, that will be published immediately after the test is over. The puzzle has a perfectly logical solve if you know the way.
But I like to publish the notes to all puzzles at once, so I ask for a little bit of patience...  |
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An LMI player
| An LMI player posted @ 2013-03-24 9:20 PM | How balanced do you think the puzzle types of this test were? | Fairly balanced | | | What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? | A bit hard | | | What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? | Very nice | | | How did you feel about the length / time limit for this test? | A bit too many puzzles | | | Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did their point values reflect the difficulty/time spent? | Most puzzles were worth the right amount | | | What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? | Just right | |
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Para
Posts: 315
Country : The Netherlands | Para posted @ 2013-03-24 10:32 PM uvo - 2013-03-24 9:05 PM
Actually, I got X=4 very easily, but found the remaining Sudoku very difficult.
Me too, getting X was really quick. The rest was a big problem and I still kept breaking it. |
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Bram28
Posts: 35
Country : The Netherlands | Bram28 posted @ 2013-03-25 2:26 AM | How balanced do you think the puzzle types of this test were? | Fairly balanced | | | What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? | Just right | | | What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? | Very nice | | | How did you feel about the length / time limit for this test? | Just right | | | Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did their point values reflect the difficulty/time spent? | Most puzzles were worth the right amount | | | What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? | Just right | |
Thanks Richard! Nice puzzles! |
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skywalker
Posts: 42
Country : Serbia | | What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? | Just right | | | What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? | Very nice | | | How did you feel about the length / time limit for this test? | Just right | | | Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did their point values reflect the difficulty/time spent? | Most puzzles were worth the right amount | | | What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? | Just right | |
Richard, thanks for excellent test (nothing less expected ). Branko |
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Eykir
Posts: 11
Country : United States | Eykir posted @ 2013-03-25 2:56 AM | How balanced do you think the puzzle types of this test were? | Fairly balanced | | | What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? | A bit hard | | | What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? | Fairly Nice | | | How did you feel about the length / time limit for this test? | Just right | | | Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did their point values reflect the difficulty/time spent? | Most puzzles were worth the right amount | | | What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? | Just right | |
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tamz29
Posts: 225
Country : Thailand | tamz29 posted @ 2013-03-25 5:23 AM Yes I got X=4 as well. I had the 1-5, 2-6, 3-7, 4-8 pair laid out quickly and it didnt work.
Then I found out that 5-9 was also a pair and it still didnt work... :( |
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An LMI player
| An LMI player posted @ 2013-03-25 9:31 AM | How balanced do you think the puzzle types of this test were? | Fairly balanced | | | What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? | Just right | | | What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? | Very nice | | | How did you feel about the length / time limit for this test? | A bit too many puzzles | | | Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did their point values reflect the difficulty/time spent? | Most puzzles were worth the right amount | | | What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? | Just right | |
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An LMI player
| An LMI player posted @ 2013-03-25 11:22 AM | How balanced do you think the puzzle types of this test were? | Perfectly balanced | | | What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? | Just right | | | What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? | Very nice | | | How did you feel about the length / time limit for this test? | Just right | | | Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did their point values reflect the difficulty/time spent? | Most puzzles were worth the right amount | | | What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? | Just right | |
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PuzzleScott
Posts: 42
Country : United States | Delightful puzzles! Thanks for a great contest! |
@ 2013-03-24 11:27 AM (#10391 - in reply to #10390) (#10391) Top