Thank you. This is noted for future contests.

@kishy72: I’m done here, this isn’t a school playground, and I won’t waste my time further with childish taunts of “you started it”. You’ve twice dissected my posts line by line and remararkably you have failed to come close to addressing my point. I don’t think there’s anything more I can say to such a person.

That said I’m sorry if you thought I was initially making a jibe or belittling the contest. Perhaps you are not aware, but I have been organising online contests for nearly 10 years and I have an interest in all aspects of running them. I certainly know that running a contest is no easy thing to do, that it’s certainly possible to make mistakes, and I am grateful to all those who give up their time to do so, you included.

If you feel you have run the perfect contest, then maybe you have the right to be so touchy about any kind of criticism. If not, then I urge you to react with a little more maturity in the future, and take the positives rather than inventing some straw man negatives to get so upset and offended over.

I may as well try and put all this bad blood behind me and take something useful out of the other “discussion” - given the similarities to other symbolic type variants then some of the same principles apply. I thought larger, centred and greyed out clues worked nicely for Morse on the recent GP round, and perhaps something similar might work for this. Another idea is to apply Pinocchio style outlined clues rather than solid clues.

Thanks for the suggestions. We will definitely consider this approach when we come across such a scenario in future.

Please, no digits that occupy the whole cell and are not part of the solution, even if they are grey or outlined. This is my (personal) advice for formatting. See here for a past discussion on the subject:
http://gp.worldpuzzle.org/content/sudoku-round-6-liar-sudoku

Fred

I think it is more a problem of online solving interface than grid formatting. The harder part of the job on LMI is to get friendly format for both paper and online solving. Perhaps it's better to concentrate first on paper format, because official championships are based on paper solving. Having a possibility of online solving is a great tool for people who don't have access to a printer, but I don't think it should be the priority for formatting grids.

Concerning interface, there are basically 2 models for writing pencil marks: the one here, used for example on the website argio-logic.net too, and the model of fed-sudoku.eu and sudokucup.com (pencil marks are confined on the top of the cell and don't erase when entering the final digit). I'm more fan of the second one, I think some potential formatting issues could be fixed more easily with this model.

Fred

Consider this as thrice.This is the way I respond to posts and if you can't take them then so be it.You say that I fail to address your point .I think your post has been given more attention than it needs to and your query has been well answered (just not in the way that you might have expected or wanted it to be).I already told you that TOL is not very different from a pencil mark sudoku and even explained whatever differences I thought they had.I further added that it is a more beginner friendly version than a pencil mark sudoku.I don't know what more you expect me to say.I would be glad too if you don't have anything to say because I am getting tired of answering your posts.

I am well aware of that having been a regular of UK puzzle association myself and the sudoku contests there but that doesn't mean that you can keep posting ditzy queries elsewhere like the one you raised here or in WSC 17 regarding the printing ink and paper standing to the use of an eraser.

I never boasted anywhere nor am I related to running contests here except co-authoring this round which is a first.There is nothing called a 'perfect contest'.There will always be room for improvement which is why feedbacks are given serious importance here.Perhaps you haven't taken cognizance of that fact and don't try to play the moral high ground here asking me to be mature.You are neither a parent or a superior to me and nobody is inventing anything here except answering your trivial and silly queries .

LMI encourages healthy, constructive discussions but there is no scope for comments which are personal in nature. One of the sub-discussions in this thread is not happening in the right spirit and we request the concerned participants to please put a stop to that discussion. Thanks.

At the same time, all are free to ask any questions even if those questions are trivial in nature.

What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles?	Just right
What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test?	Average
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Odd Even Count Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth too much or too little

Well said. I regret the spirit in which this discussion has taken place and I apologise where my tone became personal or non-constructive as this was not my intention.

However, speaking for myself in light of that last post in particular which hints at a long-standing grudge, I no longer feel free or welcome to ask questions, promote discussions or to provide feedback at LMI - and therefore I will no longer do so going forward. Given my good friends here this is something that greatly saddens me.

Tom,

You don't know me. I hope you reconsider. As a fringe member of this community, I appreciate the diverse points of view presented by the more experienced and engaged members like you. It will be a loss to this community if you choose not to participate further.

Thanks.

That would indeed be sad Tom. I have known you for ages, through sudoku and personally too. Maybe people are not aware on the bigger role you are handling with WPF regarding the Sudokus and their definition, and I think I can safely assume your questions were a result of the efforts you are putting in that. Maybe I am wrong, but as the Admin pointed out, no question is unwelcome. Having said that, irrespective of what our personal style of response is, a certain decorum needs to be maintained in a public discussion.

Edited by purifire 2019-02-12 3:23 PM

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
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	2 Odd 2 Even Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

This was indeed a beautiful set of puzzles. Loved the construct. Absolutely beautiful. Had the trademark Ashish stamp on them.

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
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	True or Lie Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth too much or too little

Thanks a lot for your feedback but co- authoring also helped me get suggestion on theme and solve path too. it woudnt be possible without Kishore to get it done nicely.
Thanks again.

Im sorry if my post came out unintended. My intention was not to sideline Kishore. Of Course it is a team effort and congrats to both of you. It is just that I have gotten so used to your style of creation, that it was easy for me to relate to and identify your puzzles . :)

this SM3 round not gone well to my expectation.may be due to my over confidence on varients.I would have practiced atleast IB before do the competition. I have finished all the puzzle which are left in the competition. My favorite is True or Lie then coded sudoku.Thanks for Aashish and Kishore for creating very good puzzle for this round. But one thing i want to say here is too hard puzzle in classic will demorale the budding players in LMI which is unwarrented.Top players have places to compete on hard puzzles.Here we have to bring lot of players who are only know classic to lmi contest. we can train those who are capable to compete in the higher level.It is my view

Thanks kumaresan for your valuable feedback. We will look forward to your suggestions which seems valid and will surely see to it that we feature some easy puzzles too.. thanks.

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?	Fairly Nice
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Odd Even Count Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Many puzzles were worth too much or too little

Thanks LMI for extending the test based on my request. Travelling and fatigue took a toll on me in this test. I pesonally found most puzzles harder or rather I got stuck/broke in most puzzles. Other than that, the test is pretty good or may be of a regular LMI monthly test standard than an SM. Thanks Ashish and Kishore for the puzzles.

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
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	2 Odd 2 Even Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

Congratulations to Hideaki Jo, Jakub Ondrousek, Tiit Vunk and Tantan Dai for taking the top four places.

Amongst Indian participants, Congratulations to Rohan Rao, Rishi Puri and Shaheer Rahman for completing the set and taking the top 3 places.

Of the 291 participants, 95 were from India, 31 from Japan and 22 from USA. Philippe Meyer (France) was the first to start the test while Priyam Bhushan (India) was the last participant to start the test. 25 participants completed the set within the allotted time. The median score of the test was 42.

Thanks Ashish Kumar and Kishore Kumar for the puzzles!

Participants may share feedback on the results page and rate the puzzles on the contest page.

Before, I add a little about the contest, I would like to clarify a few things.I don't have any enmity that's being harboured for a long time towards detuned and whatever were stated were said spontaneously.Given that I hardly know or talked to @detuned in person, it makes no sense to have an animosity over a period of time.I would also like to point to one of the posts which indirectly suggests that I am not aware of what detuned does with respect to sudokus and their definition, to an earlier post wherein I had stated I am a regular of the uk puzzle association which is the centre point of definition related discussion and what encompasses a sudoku.Further, I also think that decorum needs to be maintained from both parties involved in discussion and it's not one way.

Having said that, it doesn't feel right to me that detuned decided to stop posting here because of my replies since whatever were mentioned in some of my later posts were solely my opinion and is no way related to what others may or may not think about him here.I apologize if my tone had been scathing on occasions and if it's of any little use, I will refrain from involving myself in queries that detuned may raise in future.He's in no way unwelcome here.

Now, about the contest, as feedbacks from many have indicated, this is indeed a difficult set.Thank you for all those who gave their feedback ! The idea behind the test was to create a hard set which is challenging to complete.Since scores are normalized anyway and it's best 4 of 6 episodes, I think it's fine if 1 or 2 contests become outliers.The original versions where were submitted had lesser givens and clues were added in the following sudokus to achieve a balance in difficulty :
Coded 9X9 is solveable without R2C1 and R8C9
TOL is solveable without R1C9 and R9C1
OEC is solveable without R4C6 and R6C4.On a side note, one of the classics also got replaced with a relatively easier one for being on the harder side .

Originally coded pair sudoku and not coded was created for SM3 and was scheduled to occur in this episode but we were surpised when it became a variant in the previous episode and so the sudoku created for contest was decided to be posted as a practice here : http://lifeinsudoku.blogspot.com/2019/01/coded-pairs-sudoku-by-gues...

Congrats to all top solvers : international as well as India. Finally, I thank Ashish for his valuable feedback in my creations and for being tremendously supportive whenever the quality was not good in creation.I hope I get to co-author with him sometime in future too and a big thanks to LMI for organizing this contest.

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
Which set of puzzles did you like the most?	Odd Even Count Sudoku
Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty?	Most puzzles were worth the right amount

will we get current standings while the SM online rounds are going on ?

Thanks everyone for your participation. Congratulations to all the top solvers.

I would like to Thank LMI for giving me an opportunity to co-author an SM round.
I would like to thank Rakesh Rai for helping us in maintaining the difficulty of the set ( was tough previously ) and making all the eps work and pdf work. It is the most difficult and important task and i always admire him for his selfless effort in everything.

I would like thank kishore who helped me create such sudokus which came out to be good enough for a set. His suggestions helped me to understand a solvers point of view too.

At last i would thank each and every participant who took time to solve the set. It was indeed still a difficult set and there is always a way for improvment. I would thank everyone who gave feedback and helped us get an idea for future sets.