Comments on Puzzle #32742: Rowley (The Diary Of a Wimpy Kid)
By me me (qwertyqwerty)
peek at solution solve puzzle
version: 2 quality: 
difficulty: 
solvability: some guessing?
peek at solution solve puzzle
version: 2 quality: difficulty: solvability: some guessing?
Puzzle Description:
A cute face of Rowley, as seen in the book
#1: Web Paint-By-Number Robot (webpbn) on Aug 27, 2019
New version published by qwertyqwerty.#2: Jane Butcher (jane-o) on Aug 28, 2019
Cute picture! Thank you.#3: Janez (Janez) on Aug 29, 2019
Nice picture, but the puzzle is very hard to solve.#4: Wombat (wombatilim) on Mar 5, 2023 [HINT]
Very deep lookahead needed.
Initial LL completes 15%, all whitespace.
R20: EL places the 4 in C9-12. LL.
C1: EL marks R1-3, R5-7, and R11-13 white. LL.
C20: EL marks R1-3, R5-7, and R11-13 white. LL.
R2: The blacks in C9-10 can either be the 2nd 2 or part of the first 3. If they are a 2, it places blacks in R1C3 and R1 C6-7. If they are part of the 3, it places blacks in R2C3 and R2C6. Either way, the top 1s in C3 and C6 are used up, and R3C3 and R3C6 must be white. LL marks R3C2 white as well.
C3: We know from the previous step that the 1 is accounted for. If the 3 starts in R5, it creates a contradiction in C4, so R5C3 is white. LL marks R5C2 white as well.
R3: If C7 is black, it causes a contradiction in R1, so this square is white.
Deep lookahead C5: If R2 is white, R1C3 is black, R2C3 is white, and since we need at least one 2 in R2 C2-7, the only remaining location is in R2 C6-7. This makes the blacks in R2 C9-10 the 2nd 2, and R2C11 is white. However, the leaves the 5 in R1 with nowhere to go. Therefore, R2C5 is black. Minimal LL.
R2: If the blacks in C9-10 are a 2, it puts blacks in R1 C6-7 and R2C4. If the blacks in R2 C9-10 are part of a 3, it puts blacks in R2 C2-3, R2C6, and R1 C4-5. Either of these uses up the 1 clue in C4, and R3C4 must be white. LL.
Deep lookahead R2: If the blacks in C9-10 are a 2, it puts blacks in R2 C13-14 and C17-18, which makes R1 C13 and C17-18 white. This doesn't leave enough room for both the 2nd 2 and the 3 in R1. Therefore, the blacks in R2 C9-10 are part of a 3, and R2C11 is black. LL.
C18: EL marks R5 white. Minimal LL.
Currently sitting at 39% and I don't see a way forward. Trying to chisel off some of the left & right seems like a reasonable next step, but all of the attempts I've thought of so far have come up inconclusive.
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