A brief slalom

Slalom aka Suraromu problems (rules) are notoriously soft against uniqueness logic. For those not in the know, uniqueness is the label for the kind of logic which assumes that the puzzle is correct and has exactly one solution. This particular problem isn't susceptible. Much.

Lent Sudoku

Or why fasts are not diets.

An unpleasant Nurikabe

Well, a Nurikabe variation actually. The two squares with crosses must be of different colours.

This is a punishing puzzle, with no pleasant path to solution. So, why publish? Because I can use it to win an argument with a friend.

Art Deco

This post contains a rarely used puzzle type, with inconsistent naming. I shall add to this inconsistency by calling these puzzles Art Deco. Rules are:

Paint some cells black. Each outlined area is different to all others. Clues on the left and top indicate the length, in cells, of the longest consecutive area of the respective row/column painted black; clues on the right and bottom indicate the length, in cells, of the longest consecutive area of the respective row/column remaining white. Clues in a circle indicate the number of orthogonally contiguous regions of the circle’s fill colour.

I am not entirely happy with either of the above puzzles; I do like the way you earn your break-ins, but flow is lacking, and I’m not taking full advantage of the (rather large) rule set.

Friendly Ribbing

A Turkish shirt exported to Greece.

Greg, proud survivor of an ant attack (and a pretty good guy)

 

A simple mystery puzzle. Mystery puzzles have no stated rules, and their answers are usually a word or short phrase. I suppose I am getting in gear for this year's MIT Mystery Hunt. Some spoilery discussion of this particular kind of mystery puzzle follows.

A tiny Masyu

Masyu problems tend to grow a lot in size as they get more difficult, and I tend to note down trivial lengths of loop; my solving method has come to depend on this, and I am both slower and enjoying Masyus less for this. As a sort of a response, I wanted to create a Masyu one could solve in his head. The puzzle below fits that bill; it's an introductory level puzzle with a pattern that allows intermediate solvers to complete it without taking notes, should they so desire.

One tiny Masyu

A Tohu Wa Vohu foursome

A Tohu Wa Vohu is a puzzle where you fill each cell with either one of two symbols. The numbers of each symbol are equal in every row and column. Any three horizontally or vertically adjacent cells must contain both symbols.

I did say I was presentation curious.

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.