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#1: Minnie Fuerstnau (m.fuerstnau) on Aug 17, 2007

A little bit tricky- needs careful work. Nice picture! Thanks!

I wasn't able to do this puzzle. I got the bottom 5 rows or so and about 1/2 the way up on the edges with a little in the upper right corner. Does anyone have advanced solving tips when you have to place a bunch of 1s, 2s and 3s in an empty span of 20+ squares?

Excellent puzzle, a classic. I loved this one, there was one spot where I got really stuck and was about to do some guess work, but I found it, and sorry Scott, I forgot where it was and I cant help with your question above either. There are a few really smart people who use this site who could probably help you though. Lovely image Matt, thanx :)

I finally got it on my third try! I don't think this one required major if/then thinking -- just a lot of going over and over the same lines after one or two blocks are filled. Eyes-not-too-tired-to-see helps too. :-)

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A fun, challenging puzzle. It can be solved entirely with plain old fashioned line logic (the helper can almost solve the whole thing, and the spots it needs help with are just line logic things). I used border logic several times though.

I must be dense because I am getting nowhere with this puzzle after several attempts. What is border logic? How can you use the helper to solve the puzzle? I can randomly assign colored squares in many different ways and not get an error indicator as long as I assign the shaded squares in the same order designated for the column or line. Any tips or hints would be appreciated. Is there somewhere I can read up on more advanced solving techniques?

You can use the helper to solve the puzzle if (1) you created the puzzle, (2) you have already solved the puzzle, or (3) you are me. It's mainly meant as a tool for puzzle creators, who often have to solve different versions of a puzzle dozens of time as they are developing it. Without a program to help out, that would be a real pain and there would be many fewer puzzles here. I also use it sometimes to help decide if a puzzle is logically solvable.

So it's not really a helper for solving puzzles, but the fact that it can solve the puzzle means that no especially clever logic trick is needed to get to the solution. The helper is actually rather dumb (see the FAQ for more info) but it's very persistent.

Border logic is not actually needed on this puzzle, but it can be used here and is a good trick to know. It's the one of the most common kinds of logic that does not work by just looking at one line at a time. It usually is applied along the edges of a puzzle where you have a big number (like 12) on the edge of the puzzle, and nothing but smaller numbers (like 1 or 2) further inward. Then the 12 block can't cross more than one or two perpendicular rows that start with counts more than 1, because that would create a block in the second row of length greater than 1 or 2. You can often use this to narrow down the position of the 12 block.

And if you can figure it out from that description, it's a miracle. Puzzle #23 (I think) is designed as a demonstration of this kind of logic.

I slept on it and took yet another stab at this puzzle. Finally something seemed to click in the bottom right quadrant which allowed me go on and finish the puzzle one little square at a time. Very challenging but fun once things opened themselves up to me. The puzzle was this week's Everest for me.

Congratulations Scott! So glad that you gave it another climb. Great image isn't it?

Thanks Patricia. It was haunting me for quite a while. It bugged me that it was solvable by logic alone and I just wasn't getting it. I don't know what I did differently the last time but it was indeed solvable by logic alone even though it didn't seem that way at first.

I often have the same problem. You should see how long my list of partially solved puzzles are! Really baffles me when I return a week or 2 later and am able to finish it. Maybe the pixel fairies are messing with us ^>^

Those fairies had me vexed for quite a while :^) It gives me the itch to create a new puzzle. I just don't know what to do yet.

Scott, let's see, you do great portraits, loved your Rolling Stones logo and your "sassy" was priceless. Your puzzle talent covers a wide range. Can't wait to see what you come up with next! Gypso ^>^

Maybe you guys were a pixel short of a picture at the time?

Lol and *grins from ear to ear*
Perfect timing Marz!

Wow! Talk about teaching patience.

Very good. Took me some time, but it was worth it.

Insanely difficult! I got stuck just like Scott did and it took forever to get going again.

With regards to comment #7, the "helper" and "error checking" are two different things. Error checking will only tell you if the pixels you have filled are impossible, not if they are correct (which I love!) so you can use it to determne that a certain move is not possible, but not to determine if a move is the right move.

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Very tricky! Fun image and puzzle overall.

Great picture! Nicely done in such a little space.

Hard but nice

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Hey Nieboo and anyone else who is listening, how about an entry for WC # 18 ?

this puzzle has some definite hardness to it.

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BTW, it is a very nice picture, but I never want to see it again!

Wow! Great puzzle. Rrewarding solve.

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Great puzzle. Fantastic image. Nice neat package.

Tricky but fun. Very good image.

Ditto Ginkgo - a beautifully rendered image. And yeah, it was a b*tch to solve!

nice and interesting. solved by logic.

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