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Casual and Word - 22nd - 27th May 2020 - Puzzle Ramayan & IPC Qualifier 202049 posts • Page 1 of 2 • 1 2
@ 2020-05-22 11:56 AM (#28251 - in reply to #28249) (#28251) Top

rakesh_rai




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rakesh_rai posted @ 2020-05-22 11:56 AM

kiwijam - 2020-05-22 2:20 AM

With Matchsticks, sometimes you can get a lower number by moving less than N matchsticks. I assume this is ok?

For example: N=2, start="70". With 1 move I can get to 18, but if 2 matches have to be in new places then the answer will be higher.

Exactly N matchsticks need to be moved. Solution obtained by moving "Less than N matchsticks" will be invalid. I hope this clarifies.
@ 2020-05-22 4:28 PM (#28253 - in reply to #28233) (#28253) Top

tamz29



Posts: 225
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Country : Thailand

tamz29 posted @ 2020-05-22 4:28 PM

Thanks for the test!
Like last year, I tore through the Word half and was seriously bogged down by the Casual section, especially Curve Data.
The gimmick in #5 Mastermind was beautiful, the solving path of the hard Scrabble with the H's was also nice.
The continuous theme of easy, medium, hard deserves praise.
I'm not sure if #3 Matchsticks was prone to hacking.
I bypassed the entire solve by realizing that there are 23 matches and the smallest number you can make with that is 1888.

Wondering if the last puzzle's answer key was intentional :)

Loved this set, but obviously biased due to my love of Word puzzles.
Look forward to Casual and Word PR 2021 already!

Edited by tamz29 2020-05-22 4:33 PM
@ 2020-05-22 7:28 PM (#28254 - in reply to #28233) (#28254) Top

Puzzle_Maestro



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Puzzle_Maestro posted @ 2020-05-22 7:28 PM

 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? Word Division
 What was your opinion about the answer key extraction? Perfect answer keys
 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


Lovely puzzles, and lovely theme! All the puzzles were thoroughly logical which I very much appreciated.

In my opinion, the curve data puzzles were a little overrated, as I finished the set in a little over 3 minutes. But maybe I just got lucky.
@ 2020-05-22 9:14 PM (#28255 - in reply to #28253) (#28255) Top

amitsowani




Posts: 349
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Country : India

amitsowani posted @ 2020-05-22 9:14 PM

Thanks for the feedback Tawan.

The 3rd matchstick puzzle was open to hacking and we were wondering whether to reduce the points for the puzzle. In the end the points were kept high to reward those who got the trick.

The answer key for the last puzzle was not deliberate, but since it turned up like that I thought I might as well sign off with that :)
@ 2020-05-22 9:28 PM (#28256 - in reply to #28254) (#28256) Top

amitsowani




Posts: 349
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Country : India

amitsowani posted @ 2020-05-22 9:28 PM

Puzzle_Maestro - 2020-05-22 7:28 PM

Lovely puzzles, and lovely theme! All the puzzles were thoroughly logical which I very much appreciated.

In my opinion, the curve data puzzles were a little overrated, as I finished the set in a little over 3 minutes. But maybe I just got lucky.


Thanks.
Curve Data and Matchsticks are high variance puzzles. Curve data especially benefits from having a good intuition about the type.
@ 2020-05-23 12:54 AM (#28257 - in reply to #28233) (#28257) Top

An LMI player



An LMI player posted @ 2020-05-23 12:54 AM

 What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? Just right
 What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? Fairly Nice
 Which set of puzzles did you like the most? Double Cross
 What was your opinion about the answer key extraction? Mostly perfect answer keys
 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


@ 2020-05-23 6:49 AM (#28258 - in reply to #28233) (#28258) Top

WA1729




Posts: 60
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Country : United States

WA1729 posted @ 2020-05-23 6:49 AM

 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? Matchsticks
 What was your opinion about the answer key extraction? Perfect answer keys
 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


Really fun - the theme was fantastic!

Favorites:
3 Matchsticks
5 Mastermind
10 Letter Weights
14 Letter Scrabble
17 Double Cross
18 Double Cross
@ 2020-05-23 2:43 PM (#28259 - in reply to #28258) (#28259) Top

amitsowani




Posts: 349
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Country : India

amitsowani posted @ 2020-05-23 2:43 PM

Thanks Walker, I will be publishing the remaining puzzles which complete the sets of 3 theme after the competition is over.
@ 2020-05-24 5:12 AM (#28260 - in reply to #28259) (#28260) Top

prasanna16391



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prasanna16391 posted @ 2020-05-24 5:12 AM

I always dread this round most in the PR series (mostly something I should work on improving), but this was super fun, and also had a very neat theme. I loved how the thematic sets represented the correct difficulty too for the most part.

I got in my own head with the HARD Curve Data. I should have done it much sooner and omitted a key possibility visually which I shouldn't have. I came back to it with a fresh mind at the end and immediately saw it. Really dumb of me. Also, I have a phobia of Masterminds and so avoided them till the end but I probably shouldn't have as these were way more clearly logical than most Masterminds I have done in the past (or I may just have spotted it quicker) and I zipped through them right after the contest. Probably if the Curve Data mess up hadn't upset my rhythm I could have finished this set.

Other than all that personal drama, this was an excellent contest. My favorites were probably the Cross Words section. Thanks Amit!
@ 2020-05-24 5:13 AM (#28261 - in reply to #28259) (#28261) Top

prasanna16391



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prasanna16391 posted @ 2020-05-24 5:13 AM

amitsowani - 2020-05-23 2:43 PM

Thanks Walker, I will be publishing the remaining puzzles which complete the sets of 3 theme after the competition is over.


Awesome. Can't wait! :)
@ 2020-05-24 5:25 AM (#28263 - in reply to #28233) (#28263) Top

kartal



Posts: 1

Country : Hungary

kartal posted @ 2020-05-24 5:25 AM

 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? Word Division
 What was your opinion about the answer key extraction? Perfect answer keys
 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? Too many pages / too large grids


@ 2020-05-24 1:15 PM (#28264 - in reply to #28233) (#28264) Top

vopani



Posts: 739
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vopani posted @ 2020-05-24 1:15 PM

 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? Curve Data
 What was your opinion about the answer key extraction? Perfect answer keys
 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


Too hard but what an incredible set of puzzles. Most of the themes were fantastic and the answer key of that Word Nurikabe was a cute little touch.
It also looks like no one would have completed this set without Instant Grading (based on the first 13 players to complete it at the time of posting this).

Favourites: Hard Matchsticks, Medium Curve Data, Hard Curve Data.

Clearly I spent more time admiring the puzzles than checking my answer keys :D

Can't remember the last time I gasped 'Oh Wow' during the solve of a test.
Thanks Amit for the fun and hard puzzles as always!

@ 2020-05-24 3:25 PM (#28265 - in reply to #28260) (#28265) Top

amitsowani




Posts: 349
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Country : India

amitsowani posted @ 2020-05-24 3:25 PM

prasanna16391 - 2020-05-24 5:12 AM

I always dread this round most in the PR series (mostly something I should work on improving), but this was super fun, and also had a very neat theme. I loved how the thematic sets represented the correct difficulty too for the most part.



Thanks Prasanna, for most of the puzzles I used the grid size to adjust the difficulty. The larger grid sizes also allow to introduce more subtle logic for solving.
@ 2020-05-24 3:28 PM (#28266 - in reply to #28233) (#28266) Top

Gyuszi13



Posts: 17

Country : Hungary

Gyuszi13 posted @ 2020-05-24 3:28 PM

 What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? Just right
 What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? Fairly Nice
 Which set of puzzles did you like the most? Double Cross
 What was your opinion about the answer key extraction? Mostly perfect answer keys
 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


I am quite inexperiences in these type of puzzles but I managed to finish some of the hardest puzzles within the time limit besides easy ones.
@ 2020-05-24 3:30 PM (#28267 - in reply to #28264) (#28267) Top

amitsowani




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Country : India

amitsowani posted @ 2020-05-24 3:30 PM

Thanks Rohan.

Agreed on the instant grading. Till now there is'nt any full score without mistakes.

We tried to adjust the puzzle difficulty for the test. Word Nurikabe was introduced later to lend some balance.

Will post the slightly harder puzzles after the test.
@ 2020-05-24 6:14 PM (#28268 - in reply to #28233) (#28268) Top

pranavmanu



Posts: 55
2020
Country : India

pranavmanu posted @ 2020-05-24 6:14 PM

 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? Word Division
 What was your opinion about the answer key extraction? Perfect answer keys
 Of the puzzles you solved/attempted, how well did the point values reflect the difficulty? Most puzzles were worth the right amount


Fantastic test! Even though i did not come close to finishing, the feeling of having attempted a good number of puzzles brings some satisfaction. The logic in the puzzles were very clean and thorough. Favourites were Word Division 2, Mastermind 2 and 3.
Not being able to complete the Word Nurikabe 6 ptr and the 9 ptr Letter scrabble was a disappointment. Look forward to finishing the set later.

Thanks Amit, Great puzzles!
@ 2020-05-24 11:05 PM (#28269 - in reply to #28233) (#28269) Top

Grizix



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Grizix posted @ 2020-05-24 11:05 PM

 What was your opinion of the distribution of easy/hard puzzles? Just right
 What did you think about the puzzle quality of the test? Fairly Nice
 Which set of puzzles did you like the most? Letter Scrabble
 What was your opinion about the answer key extraction? Answer keys could have been better
 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


@ 2020-05-25 7:46 AM (#28271 - in reply to #28268) (#28271) Top

amitsowani




Posts: 349
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Country : India

amitsowani posted @ 2020-05-25 7:46 AM

Thanks Pranav.
@ 2020-05-25 7:50 AM (#28272 - in reply to #28269) (#28272) Top

amitsowani




Posts: 349
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Country : India

amitsowani posted @ 2020-05-25 7:50 AM

Grizix - 2020-05-24 11:05 PM




Hi Grizix I respect you opinion on the puzzle quality and point distribution.
However I felt the answer keys for any online test cannot get simpler than they were for this round.
Do you have any specific suggestions on improving the answer keys?
@ 2020-05-25 4:06 PM (#28273 - in reply to #28233) (#28273) Top

kishy72



Posts: 417
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Country : India

kishy72 posted @ 2020-05-25 4:06 PM

 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? Letter Weights
 What was your opinion about the answer key extraction? Perfect answer keys
 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


That was a beautiful and high quality set of puzzles. It was frustrating at the end to have completed the Word division (11 pointer) but then having the timer run out before answer key entry.

I lost faaaaaaaaaaaaar too much time on the Letter Scrabble having put HARD in place of HERD and HERD in place of HARD and the ERA in R3C1-3. I checked and double checked to find where my error existed ?!.It took me a despair and agony filled 10 minutes to realize that the words are not connected in the above pattern.So swapped HERD and HARD and put the ERA in between.Lost a lot of time in the above process.Could have hit 70 barring this skirmish.

Very interesting set of puzzles.Would love to finish the rest later. Thanks a lot Amit!
@ 2020-05-25 9:32 PM (#28274 - in reply to #28233) (#28274) Top

An LMI player



An LMI player posted @ 2020-05-25 9:32 PM

 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? Letter Scrabble
 What was your opinion about the answer key extraction? Perfect answer keys
 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


@ 2020-05-25 10:09 PM (#28275 - in reply to #28233) (#28275) Top

An LMI player



An LMI player posted @ 2020-05-25 10:09 PM

 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? Word Division
 What was your opinion about the answer key extraction? Answer keys could have been better
 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


@ 2020-05-25 11:39 PM (#28276 - in reply to #28233) (#28276) Top

chaotic_iak




Posts: 241
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Country : Indonesia

chaotic_iak posted @ 2020-05-25 11:39 PM

 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? Curve Data
 What was your opinion about the answer key extraction? Perfect answer keys
 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


Overall a very nice test. The theming is excellent (although it's questionable that the curve data has "easy" worth 5 points and "medium" worth 4 points...) and the puzzles themselves were mostly nice.

Matchsticks is a very weird genre, and I'm not sure it's logical. I'm sure most of the penalties by people are in this genre. One good thing about commonly encountered puzzles (Nikoli-style etc) is that you can verify your answer easily; here, verifying your answer to Matchsticks requires you to practically solve the whole thing again. (All optimization puzzles fall in this bucket too.) Not that it's a bad idea to include them, but you need to be really careful with how you do it. I'd say Matchsticks 2 is the most difficult puzzle in the test; Matchsticks 3 is in fact fairly easy (you have enough room to make practically any number you want, so getting a proof is really quick).

Some minor quibbles: Easy as Snake doesn't need the word separation (spaces are irrelevant for the puzzle), but it's fine. For Word Division, with how many native English words are used, I largely intuited the solves by trying to read some reasonable words I can see from the board; people not used to English won't be able to do this.

Double Cross turned out to be particularly enjoyable, compared to my first reaction of "huh, won't this be really trivial?"

Edited by chaotic_iak 2020-05-25 11:42 PM
@ 2020-05-26 6:21 AM (#28277 - in reply to #28251) (#28277) Top

kiwijam



Posts: 181
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kiwijam posted @ 2020-05-26 6:21 AM

.

Edited by kiwijam 2020-05-26 6:22 AM
@ 2020-05-26 6:22 AM (#28278 - in reply to #28251) (#28278) Top

kiwijam



Posts: 181
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Country : New Zealand

kiwijam posted @ 2020-05-26 6:22 AM

rakesh_rai - 2020-05-22 6:56 PM

kiwijam - 2020-05-22 2:20 AM

With Matchsticks, sometimes you can get a lower number by moving less than N matchsticks. I assume this is ok?

For example: N=2, start="70". With 1 move I can get to 18, but if 2 matches have to be in new places then the answer will be higher.

Exactly N matchsticks need to be moved. Solution obtained by moving "Less than N matchsticks" will be invalid. I hope this clarifies.


Well that wasn't true.
The solution to #3 requires moving 4 matchsticks, not 7, and is therefore invalid according to your statement!

I spotted the 'obvious' answer (smallest number using 23 matchsticks) immediately, then spent a long time looking for larger numbers that needed more moves.
At least with instant grading I eventually gave up and put it in just in case I could move on.
Casual and Word - 22nd - 27th May 2020 - Puzzle Ramayan & IPC Qualifier 202049 posts • Page 1 of 2 • 1 2
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