A Staircases puzzle

A Staircases puzzle, like the one below, is a Latin square where a cell–connecting path indicates identity between connected cells' contents.

 

The above problem is my first attempt at getting published on Puzzle Picnic, under the moniker Term. Puzzle Picnic is a great idea: a community database of grid–based logic puzzles, which provides applets for both constructing and solving online. In short, it is a great place to present puzzles of standard types and reasonable size. Under the fold, I'll be discussing the experience, both of using the site and of creating the problem.

A complementary Sudoku problem

Inspired by the original T. Snyder’s “What If” article, I tried my hand at constructing a Sudoku problem whose difficulty increased as much as possible when a single element is removed, while retaining human solvability. This resulted in this pair of puzzles, one of which can be used as an introduction to Sudoku, while its near twin requires considerable experience to complete in a logical manner. Scanraid’s grader assigns them ratings of Gentle(27) and Tough (151), which concurs with my gut.
The puzzle below is the difficult one, while the easy version, and some spoilery commentary follows after the break.

Massively Happy

This is a mystery puzzle in video form. By mystery puzzle, I mean a problem in which the player infers its rules from the activity itself, and its answer is (usually) in the form of a word, or short phrase. Mystery puzzles are typically “scored” on the basis of time you take to solve them; in this one, you can also choose to solve with less information, and use observation in lieu of logic, or vice versa. Please do not spoil the solution in the comments section.

Massively Happy

Inaugural prayer

 

I shall endeavour to bring my posts to a high sheen before uploading, and let the Three Wise Craftsmen be my moral compass.