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Special 8 — January Sudoku Test — 25th-27th January41 posts • Page 1 of 2 • 1 2
@ 2014-01-21 10:09 AM (#14150 - in reply to #14149) (#14150) Top

Administrator



2000100050020
Country : India

Administrator posted @ 2014-01-21 10:09 AM

No online solving

LMI's solving interface does not support some of the sudokus (e.g. Dragons, Eight Fit). To some extent, REALLY LATIN SQUARE will also be difficult to solve online with pencil marks overriding the given symbols.

So, online solving will not be available for this Sudoku test.

@ 2014-01-21 6:12 PM (#14151 - in reply to #14149) (#14151) Top

Gabrieleud



Posts: 12

Country : ITALY

Gabrieleud posted @ 2014-01-21 6:12 PM

achan1058 - 2014-01-21 5:24 AM

Isn't it supposed to be "Wood", not "Snow"?


Well... you are right. That was the original idea

But the kanji (or hanzi, for chinese readers) for "wood, tree" is far too similar to "water" or "fire" and "earth" to a non-trained eye. This could have been a disadvantage for players who are not used to read ideograms.
So I decided myself for using a kanji that looks different in shape to the others.
@ 2014-01-22 10:24 AM (#14156 - in reply to #14151) (#14156) Top

Yuhei Kusui



Posts: 42
2020
Country : Japan

Yuhei Kusui posted @ 2014-01-22 10:24 AM

Gabrieleud - 2014-01-21 6:12 PM

achan1058 - 2014-01-21 5:24 AM

Isn't it supposed to be "Wood", not "Snow"?


Well... you are right. That was the original idea

But the kanji (or hanzi, for chinese readers) for "wood, tree" is far too similar to "water" or "fire" and "earth" to a non-trained eye. This could have been a disadvantage for players who are not used to read ideograms.
So I decided myself for using a kanji that looks different in shape to the others.


Reference for who have interested in Kanji:



(kanji.jpg)



Attachments
----------------
Attachments kanji.jpg (19KB - 4 downloads)
@ 2014-01-22 8:09 PM (#14157 - in reply to #14142) (#14157) Top

Gabrieleud



Posts: 12

Country : ITALY

Gabrieleud posted @ 2014-01-22 8:09 PM

Hello Yuhei, nice seeing you partecipating in this competition. And thanks for the visual contribution!
@ 2014-01-22 8:46 PM (#14158 - in reply to #14157) (#14158) Top

kishy72



Posts: 417
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Country : India

kishy72 posted @ 2014-01-22 8:46 PM

Can the duration of this test be extended by 8+8+8+8 mins?
@ 2014-01-23 3:23 PM (#14161 - in reply to #14150) (#14161) Top

devarajand



Posts: 114
100
Country : India

devarajand posted @ 2014-01-23 3:23 PM

At least where possible on line solving be permitted
@ 2014-01-23 4:20 PM (#14162 - in reply to #14158) (#14162) Top

prasanna16391



Posts: 1763
1000500100100202020
Country : India

prasanna16391 posted @ 2014-01-23 4:20 PM

kishy72 - 2014-01-22 8:46 PM

Can the duration of this test be extended by 8+8+8+8 mins?


Having test solved it, I think 88 minutes is suitable for this one.
@ 2014-01-23 4:27 PM (#14163 - in reply to #14161) (#14163) Top

Administrator



2000100050020
Country : India

Administrator posted @ 2014-01-23 4:27 PM

devarajand - 2014-01-23 3:23 PM

At least where possible on line solving be permitted


Unfortunately, time constraints play a part in these things too. We will certainly consider enabling partial online solving in the future, but it's a bit too late to prepare it for this test. Please make do this time.
@ 2014-01-24 12:22 PM (#14169 - in reply to #14142) (#14169) Top

TiiT



Posts: 139
10020
Country : Estonia

TiiT posted @ 2014-01-24 12:22 PM

In the first puzzle it has said, that there are highlighted 3x3 regions and then it says puzzle number 2 and 3 contains digits from 1 to 8. Do we need to keep one cell empty, do we have to expect 2x4 boxes or can we expect the highlighted areas to be irregular?
@ 2014-01-24 12:32 PM (#14170 - in reply to #14169) (#14170) Top

prasanna16391



Posts: 1763
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Country : India

prasanna16391 posted @ 2014-01-24 12:32 PM

TiiT - 2014-01-24 12:22 PM

In the first puzzle it has said, that there are highlighted 3x3 regions and then it says puzzle number 2 and 3 contains digits from 1 to 8. Do we need to keep one cell empty, do we have to expect 2x4 boxes or can we expect the highlighted areas to be irregular?


2x4 boxes. Normal 8x8 Classic. You're right, the rules aren't completely clear in the IB. Missed that.
@ 2014-01-24 3:50 PM (#14171 - in reply to #14147) (#14171) Top

Christian



Posts: 4

Country : France

Christian posted @ 2014-01-24 3:50 PM

In puzzle 16 there is a missing symbol, at the bottom, right side : 3-7 is not only odd but also prime
@ 2014-01-24 4:34 PM (#14173 - in reply to #14171) (#14173) Top

Gabrieleud



Posts: 12

Country : ITALY

Gabrieleud posted @ 2014-01-24 4:34 PM

Christian - 2014-01-24 3:50 PM

In puzzle 16 there is a missing symbol, at the bottom, right side : 3-7 is not only odd but also prime


You're right, a symbol is missing. Sent an update for the IB. Thanks for your contribution.
@ 2014-01-24 7:23 PM (#14174 - in reply to #14142) (#14174) Top

neerajmehrotra



Posts: 328
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Country : India

neerajmehrotra posted @ 2014-01-24 7:23 PM

Two puzzle booklets have been uploaded....which one to download????
@ 2014-01-24 7:58 PM (#14175 - in reply to #14174) (#14175) Top

Gabrieleud



Posts: 12

Country : ITALY

Gabrieleud posted @ 2014-01-24 7:58 PM

neerajmehrotra - 2014-01-24 7:23 PM

Two puzzle booklets have been uploaded....which one to download????


You can download either one.
"16 pages test" contains 1 puzzle every page.
"9 pages test" contains 2 puzzles every page, and it's meant to save paper printing at the cost of cell dimensions. Arrow+8 and Symbols puzzles anyway are on a single sheet.
@ 2014-01-24 9:33 PM (#14176 - in reply to #14175) (#14176) Top

Gabrieleud



Posts: 12

Country : ITALY

Gabrieleud posted @ 2014-01-24 9:33 PM

WARNING: correction needed to contest puzzle n.16
If you are going to solve puzzle nr 16 before the file is updated, please bear in mind this change.
A symbol was missing in 2nd row, right side. This is the correct layout:



(symbols8.jpg)



Attachments
----------------
Attachments symbols8.jpg (9KB - 0 downloads)
@ 2014-01-25 12:34 AM (#14179 - in reply to #14142) (#14179) Top

prasanna16391



Posts: 1763
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Country : India

prasanna16391 posted @ 2014-01-25 12:34 AM

Announcements

  • New Instruction booklet uploaded.
    Change -
    Classic 8x8 rules are clearer. Example of N.16 Symbols fixed.

  • New Puzzle Booklets uploaded.
    Change - Slight error in puzzle 16 fixed.

  • @ 2014-01-25 7:03 AM (#14180 - in reply to #14142) (#14180) Top

    debmohanty




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    Country : India

    debmohanty posted @ 2014-01-25 7:03 AM

     What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? I have a different complaint


    I think including a (bit-map based) logo in every page of the password protected booklet slows down the printing.

    It is better to have no additional frills in the passwod protected booklet, other than just the puzzles/instructions/points. After the test is over, we can put whatever else is desired.
    @ 2014-01-25 8:02 AM (#14181 - in reply to #14142) (#14181) Top

    Gotroch



    Posts: 83
    20202020
    Country : Czech Republic

    Gotroch posted @ 2014-01-25 8:02 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? Too many easy puzzles
     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
     What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? Just right


    @ 2014-01-25 8:23 AM (#14182 - in reply to #14142) (#14182) Top

    achan1058



    Posts: 80
    20202020
    Country : Canada

    achan1058 posted @ 2014-01-25 8:23 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? Too many easy puzzles
     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 the point values reflect the difficulty? Most puzzles were worth the right amount
     What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? Just right


    @ 2014-01-25 4:32 PM (#14184 - in reply to #14182) (#14184) Top

    kishy72



    Posts: 417
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    Country : India

    kishy72 posted @ 2014-01-25 4:32 PM

    i)Can someone give me the start in the example puzzle for symbols?I am just not able to see the breakthrough.It looks as though the puzzle requires a combination of strategies and not just one to rely on.

    ii)In Really Latin square am i right in stating that the following are the conversions possible ? :
    1 - 1234678
    2 - 2378
    3 - 38
    4 - 4
    5 - 45678
    6 - 678
    7 - 78
    8 - 8
    @ 2014-01-25 5:14 PM (#14185 - in reply to #14142) (#14185) Top

    TiiT



    Posts: 139
    10020
    Country : Estonia

    TiiT posted @ 2014-01-25 5:14 PM

     How balanced do you think the puzzle types of this test were? Fairly balanced
     What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? Average
     How did you feel about the length / time limit for this test? Just right
     Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty? Many puzzles were worth too much or too little
     What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? Just right


    I don't know how about the others, but these symbols just were so confusing. Two of them are almost the same.
    @ 2014-01-25 8:48 PM (#14186 - in reply to #14142) (#14186) Top

    Fred76




    Posts: 337
    10010010020
    Country : Switzerland

    Fred76 posted @ 2014-01-25 8:48 PM

    Thanks for the nice test.

    the test has lot of funny innovations, I appreciated every sudoku. Strictly speaking, brickdoku and really latin square are not sudokus, but latin squares. But as a "sudoku specialist" I prefer to have a few latin squares variants than puzzlish sudoku variants. So it was not a problem for me.

    My only small concern was with formatting. It's probably not a bad idea to have 2 pdf's and the player can chose to have 2 sudokus each page or only one bigger. For me it's ok to have 2 sudokus each page, so I opened the 9 pages pdf. But I found that the grids were too small. You can certainly enlarge the sudokus with a different layout (rules smaller, on the side of the sudokus, codes indications smaller, etc...).

    I don't feel very competitive this month, so I just decided to take part and have fun, without giving me pressure. Looking at my result could make think that I'm not able to solve hard puzzles, as I missed the 3 high-pointers. I certainly had a very bad strategy as I just solved the sudokus in order of appearance. After 75 minutes, I had all but the arrows+8 and symbols, but I did a mistake at the end of toroidal dragons, inverting some 6's and 7's. Then I took around 1 minute to look at the symbols but didn't found the entrance, so I tried to solve the arrows+8. I was a bit slow, it took me ~15 minutes to solve it. After the test, I solved the symbols (around the same solving time as arrows+8) and it's perhaps my favorite of the set. Very nice logical solving path .

    Thanks again !

    Fred
    @ 2014-01-25 8:52 PM (#14187 - in reply to #14184) (#14187) Top

    prasanna16391



    Posts: 1763
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    Country : India

    prasanna16391 posted @ 2014-01-25 8:52 PM

    kishy72 - 2014-01-25 4:32 PM

    i)Can someone give me the start in the example puzzle for symbols?I am just not able to see the breakthrough.It looks as though the puzzle requires a combination of strategies and not just one to rely on.

    ii)In Really Latin square am i right in stating that the following are the conversions possible ? :
    1 - 1234678
    2 - 2378
    3 - 38
    4 - 4
    5 - 45678
    6 - 678
    7 - 78
    8 - 8



    i) Have you noticed that a converse rule applies?
    ii) Yes.
    @ 2014-01-25 9:13 PM (#14188 - in reply to #14186) (#14188) Top

    debmohanty




    1000500100100100202020
    Country : India

    debmohanty posted @ 2014-01-25 9:13 PM

    Fred76 - 2014-01-25 8:48 PM
    My only small concern was with formatting. It's probably not a bad idea to have 2 pdf's and the player can chose to have 2 sudokus each page or only one bigger. For me it's ok to have 2 sudokus each page, so I opened the 9 pages pdf. But I found that the grids were too small. You can certainly enlarge the sudokus with a different layout (rules smaller, on the side of the sudokus, codes indications smaller, etc...).
    Apart from being a personal perference, lesser # of pages will also print faster. Some recent examples of how to fit in 2 sudokus per page without sacrificing on grid size - Portrait layout (ISC 2013) OR Landscape layout (Best of LMI sudoku tests)
    @ 2014-01-25 10:08 PM (#14190 - in reply to #14142) (#14190) Top

    kishy72



    Posts: 417
    100100100100
    Country : India

    kishy72 posted @ 2014-01-25 10:08 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? Too many medium difficult 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? Way too many puzzles (too little time)
     Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty? Most puzzles were worth the right amount
     What was your opinion of the booklet formatting and printing? Just right


    All right!I was waiting for my head to settle and that has finally happened!.I felt as if my head was going to explode during the test.
    The throbbing and the pulsation have dropped now and the grey matter definitely got kicked around during the test!

    I certainly tried to solve at a pace which I had never attempted before and would never try when I solve leisurely.So this sprint test did help me to try out something new .

    While it would be interesting and innovative to have these kind of sprint tests once in a while,I am never really in favour of tests with a shorter duration continuously.Apart from killing the fun quotient to an extent(you never really get to remember what actually made you solve a difficult puzzle which is very essential to getting better or get a sense of completion) there is also the danger of getting stuck eternally on a single puzzle and never really be able to 'move on'.

    For instance,I was close to going crazy after I got stuck in the Consecutive sudoku for about 15 mins.The panic level began to rise astronomically and my mind never really felt like proceeding to the next sudoku after spending so much time on that.But thankfully I gave up on it and tried the killer and came back on to the consecutive once again to make a guess and take it to completion.That single sudoku managed to eat up 25 mins i.e more than one fourth of the allotted time.But the risk was certainly there and I would have left 2 puzzles and thus lost 120 points in the process if I had not gone to the next.This would be even worse when the same scenario occurs much earlier in the test and when people are clueless whether to persist or to proceed.

    Unfortunately these kind of sprint tests seem to be the order of the day as even the WPF Grand prix rounds favour 'shorter formats'and the sooner I get used to these sprint tests the better I think.

    The test by itself was nice but just short on time and on a lighter note it looks as if only the Japanese would be completing the Japanese symbols sudoku!.

    Lastly,Thanks to the Italian Authors for taking the pain to create this test!!
    Special 8 — January Sudoku Test — 25th-27th January41 posts • Page 1 of 2 • 1 2
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