Puzzle Description:

Girl asking a question: "What do you like best about solving a puzzle? The challenge of solving a tricky logic problem, or the 'Aha' experience of seeing the image appear?"

#1: Baklegakk (Baklegakk) on Jan 5, 2009

Both, but most the challenge.

Both. I would say the challenge of solving, but puzzles with no end result bug me, obviously it's not just the doing. It's the whole experience.

I love solving challenging puzzles, but ultimately it comes down to the quality of the image. No matter how much fun a puzzle is to solve, if the end result sucks, it is a complete letdown and not worth the time spent solving.

The challenge. If the image is cool, that's a bonus.

I thought it was supposed to be the Riddler from Batman! :-P

One part of me doesn't give a hoot what the image looks like. I just like solving the puzzles.

But, then, when the image turns out to be something wonderful, it's such a nice surprise, that it really takes my breath away. It's like seeing beauty when it is least expected.

I guess I am the only one who cares whether or not an image is great. I guess that's because I try so hard to make my images excellent quality. I thought there would be many others out there who felt the same way. So, I guess we should all start making crap that's fun to solve, right?

Personally, I don't like solving a puzzle with a lame image, no matter how challenging. I believe that the more serious puzzlers care about both the image and the challenge, so that's what I will strive for.

BTW, the little girl with the pigtails read what zandperl wrote and she ran away in tears and refuses to pose for any more Freeze Frame pictures.

Re "I guess we should all start making crap that's fun to solve, right?" -- It takes a certain talent to create an excellent image, and you certainly have it, as do many others who we all know and love on this site. This talent and effort is much appreciated, and I believe the comments reflect that! Thank you, thank you, thank you all for offering a continuous stream of challenging puzzles with excellent, rewarding outcomes.

Because you do have the proven talent, it would be a HUGE disappointment for you to offer us less than what we expect when we see your name. We're spoiled!

However, this is not to say that those who are less able should be prohibited from having the pleasure of posting to the site. A great final image is a terrific bonus, and a questionable image can be a letdown, but I think it adds to the beauty and diversity of the site and community who gather here.

I'll step down now... NEXT!

Thank you, Barbara... that was really sweet.

If I had choices beforehand I would always choose to solve a logically difficult puzzle with a clever twist on the image/title.

If I couldn't have that, I'd take a difficult logic puzzle with a so/so image.

I lose interest rapidly with big easy puzzles no matter how fabulous the finished image...on the other hand, doing small easy puzzles are like taking a quick toast break...wonderfully satisfying for what they are, but I couldn't live on them for a whole week.

BTW, I thoght this image was great but it was too easy...lol...except I really needed to do a quick easy puzzle right now.

For me its more in the quality of the image than the challenge. An easy puzzle with a great result would be fun ( but quick) but still fun. But a hard (or easy) puzzle with a lame final result is always frustating to me since it make me wonder why I took time ( even if so little) to solve something the autor did not took time to perfected before posting

I'm all with Adam on this one

I have two simultaneous full time jobs that require me to be present but not always active. I rarely have time to dig my teeth into a really difficult puzzle. Honestly, right now I like your puzzles best. They are nice pictures with a bit of a challenge but I can get them done in a relatively short time and not have to worry about getting back into the puzzle after being interrupted. On top of that your personality shines through and you really are a person I enjoy "hanging around".

Thanks, M2.

Cute puzzle. I like the "Aha eperience of seeing the image appear."

I love the wonderful images!!! I also love it when one of those images "unfolds." I get bored with the puzzles that I have to count every square in every line every time....tedious.

My pet peeve is a title which makes it painfully obvious what the image is that I am solving. When I got hooked on these puzzles in "Games" magazine, there were no titles at all, and I loved not knowing what I was going to end up with.

I totally admire the pixel masters who give both a detailed image and fun solving experience.

Thanks, y'all!

Mine may not always be fun to solve (hopefully some of them are), but I do try to provide detailed images, so I will repsond with a big "you're welcome!" and a "thank you" yourself for your comment.

I like both the quality of the challenge and the quality of the image. if it's challenging but really a boring or unpleasing image I often wish I hadn't solved it...and used my time on more worthy puzzles. But that's just me...the puzzles don't all have to be works of art. I just really hate pattern puzzles or ones that just look like scribbles.

Hmm...maybe there should be a "hide titles" option.

Mostly I think that having titles is a good thing. Games magazine has maybe 8 puzzles, we have thousands and it is good to be able to tell apart unsolved puzzles and find back ones you have solved. But they can be annoying when too obvious.

Oh I love the titles! Almost everyone here is clever in naming their puzzles, arousing curiosity and building anticipation.

I'm getting used to Shay's titles, and I no longer get irritated. That's just his style, no big deal.

Is the little girl in pigtails feeling better? Will we see her again ?
Really liked the puzzle and the questions... and all the answers.

Sarah, I will tell her you were asking for her, so maybe she will come back to give you another puzzle to solve. :)

I love Teresa's puzzles, cause they don't take too long and there's always a satisfying image. Actually, I just started on this site not too long ago, and 90% of the puzzles I've worked are Teresa's, so thank you Teresa! I'm not a big fan of huge puzzles because it doesn't feel like a coherent whole, and one section can be totally separate from another. Personally, I pick puzzles based on how fun the title looks, but I have it set to hide the title while I'm working them, and I usually forget it by the time I'm 2 minutes into it, so it's still a surprise. ^_^

Thanks, Diana. I like working the smaller ones myself. It's really easy to make a big one and get a nice image, so I like the challenge of making smaller ones. The titles of my series are not "fun" but I hope you enjoy the puzzles anyway. My favorite series is the oen that begins with "One, two..."

i like both. and your puzzles afford me both challenge and a good image. that's why over 90% of the ones i solve are yours.

Well, thank you. :-)

For me the answer lies somewhere in the middle. If a puzzle is too easy to solve there isn't much pleasure in that. By the same token, if I expend a lot of effort in solving a puzzle and the image is a bust I feel cheated.

I don't particularly get thrilled by puzzles that are a brain buster to solve either.

Yes.

I don't spend a lot of time on one puzzle, but interesting solutions are still a lot of fun. And, once the image appears, I love that moment of seeing what it is and how cleverly it was created.

So, the answer is "yes."

Thinking back to when I first started solving these (many years ago) at first, just being able to solve it was the most important. Then, as I became more adept, having a good solve as well as a good image became equally important.

Both aesthetics and logic are necessary. When the logic is weak or too easy you don't feel that strong thrill of conquering a challenge. But if the picture hurts your eyes because of lots of little dots of different colors next to each other, I can't say I much like that either. Or what if the picture is beautiful but required too much guessing to see it? Conversely, what if it was done by someone who is not so advanced in drawing (not their fault, but same result nonetheless) but the logic was a thrill? I don't need that actual "aha" moment, but I do like it when the final image makes a point, is pretty, or is well drawn. (To me, "aha" means I recognize it. I don't always due mostly to the gap between my age and that of most of the players here.) If the logic really kept me involved, however, and I couldn't break away, than it may not matter if the picture appeals to me or not. Both aspects have the power to raise and lower the rating of the overall puzzle. In short, the best puzzles really do have both. They use logic to make a statement. ;)

It's enjoyable to chew through a tricky solve, and watch it grow and develop, but it's tough to beat that little burst of endorphins when you read the description, and suddenly the picture pops into place!

Goto next topic

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