Hello,
at last, the final HCS contest has been set up, and the instruction file is available now. As always, feel free to ask questions about the puzzle types.
Link to the contest page:
http://www.logic-masters.de/Wettbewerbe/wettbewerb.php?id=61
In case you already had a look at the file: I have just uploaded an updated version which includes a few amendments to the puzzle instructions and a 3D image for the Rolling Block Maze. (Many thanks to uvo who gave me access to his image files for the HCS.)
Regarding the solution keys: In puzzles where the solution key consists of directions, an E may be entered instead of an O for Ost (=East). The notations RLOU (Rechts, Links, Oben, Unten) or RLUD (Right, Left, Up, Down) will also be accepted.
Hausigel

Hello,
the contest starts tomorrow, I hope you enjoy the puzzles. Regarding the solution keys:
As said earlier, different notations are accepted in puzzles where the directions must be entered. Other solutions than the intended ones (especially those with extra loops) will of course be accepted, too. If your entries differ only slightly - by my jugdement - from the correct ones, I will inquire myself. Apart from that, you are as usual welcome to request manual score adjustments until Wednesday (hcs@hausigel.de). Please note that some of the answer keys might be very long; that is why there will be no penalties for manual adjustments in this contest whatsoever, as long as I can expect that you have solved the puzzles correctly.
Hausigel

Hello,
another short remark: Since some of the mazes are very large, the pages 6-18 of the contest file contain only the puzzle diagrams; the instructions can be found on the pages 1-5. Please note furthermore that the second Escher maze (puzzle 8) has been rotated by 90° to fit on the page.
Hausigel

The contest HCS 12 is over. Congratulations to James on a great victory! You will find a few closing remarks in the German forum.
The total scoring table will be updated within the next few days.
Hausigel

Hello,
the total scoring has been updated; changes are still possible. If you find any mistakes, please let me know until Sunday. After that, I wll officially close the HCS.
Hausigel

Dear puzzle friends,
the HCS is now officially closed, there will be no more changes in the scoring table. Congratulations to Ulrich Voigt (uvo), Hideaki Jo (deu) and Nikola Zivanovic (nikolaz), and to the following participants in the table as well.
I would like to thank again all participants. Many thanks especially to the Japanese delegation which took part in all the individual contests in great numbers, and which has raised the overall level of the HCS considerably. Of course, I also thank all the other participants, the regular ones as much as the occasional ones.
You will find a few statistics in my blog.
Hausigel

Hello,
I have set up another contest on the LM initial page, "Dream within a Dream". The contest takes place in "Rallye" mode, which means that there will not be a short time window for solving the puzzles; the contest will run over a year in total. Since I designed the puzzles at the same time as the HCS, you are welcome to view this contest unofficially as "HCS 13". Otherwise - just view it as a Christmas present.
Hausigel