Puzzle Description:

(This puzzle was recovered from the 2016 database crash. Description not available.)

#1: Bill Eisenmann (Bullet) on Aug 6, 2023       classify

I have no idea what I'm looking at!

Me neither. Animal tracks at the bottom? A dog brings you a ball? A bird brings a worm?

Or is that a lobster ?

I think we're looking for the name of a band or singer...
Sun snake paw deer?
Moon stick print antler?

...what you find in the bottom of a junk drawer? (unidentifiable items)

Hm. I can get to 67% with moderate lookahead. This is what I did:

Line logic to 50%.

Edge logic on the 3 in column 20, starting at the bottom.

Line logic to 56%.

Edge logic on the 4 in column 18, starting at the bottom.

Line logic to 66%.

Looking again at the 4 in column 18: In any of the three positions it could go in, column 17 is blank in rows 12 and 13.

Next, looking at the 4 in column 13: If it reaches row 19 it makes it impossible to place the 2 in column 17. So we know column 13 row 19 is blank.

After that I am still finding ways to move forward, but only with very deep lookahead.

Found to have a unique solution by valerie.

As Valerie did,

Edge logic on 3 got me to 51%
Edge logic on 4 got me to 66%

The definition of deep lookahead is still nebulous to me & this is one of those borderline cases but here's what I got.

If C1R19 is black then C1R17 is a dot and C3R19 is black,andC3R17 gets a contradiction.

If C1R17 is black then C1-4R18 are dots creating a contradiction in R16.

Now R13C8 is black as R13C5-6 are dots so R13C7 is part of a 2.

If a 2 is in R15 C4-7 then we have a contradiction in row 18.

R17C9 black creates a contradiction in R15 (C10/C12 dots). R17C11 black creates a contradiction in R14 (C11/12/14 dots.)

Line logic.

Found to be solvable with moderate lookahead by wombatilim.

R1: EL marks C15 black. LL.

C20: EL marks R13-14 black. LL.

C18: EL marks R18-19 white. LL.

R13: If the black in C8 is a 1, R17 C1 and C5 both need to be white, which makes R17 invalid.

R12: If C3 is black, R14 is invalid. LL.

R17: If C10 is black, R15 is invalid. Minimal LL.

R17: If C11 is black, R14 is invalid.

LL to finish, and thanks to Andrew for those last 2 steps.

OH! OH!! I KNOW WHAT IT IS!!! I did a little digging, and...

Emily's prior puzzle was of a knit sweater with an "R" on it and the line "Mine's always Maroon" -- a Harry Potter quote when character Ron Weasley (R) receives a sweater for Christmas.

Emily's next puzzle after this one is an image depicting a sign that says "9 3/4", titled "Where the magic begins" -- a direct reference to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, a magical train station platform where the students of Hogwarts catch their train to the school, in the Harry Potter world.

So, coming back to this puzzle with a very "Harry Potter" mindset, we realize that the Marauder's Map, a magical piece of parchment that shows the locations of people in real-time, says at the top "Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs ARE PROUD TO PRESENT the Marauders Map."

"Moony" is the nickname for character Remus Lupin, a werewolf, symbolized by the FULL MOON.
"Wormtail" is the nickname of Peter Pettigrew, who turns into a rat, depicted by its long bald TAIL.
"Padfoot" is the nickname of Sirius Black, who turns into a large black dog, the kind that leaves a big PAW PRINT.
"Prongs" is the nickname of James Potter, who turns into a magnificent Stag, denoted by the ANTLERS.

All we needed was, in the wise words of Matt Easton of Scholagladiatoria, context! :D
(https://www.youtube.com/user/scholagladiatoria)

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