Puzzle Description:

#1: Adam Nielson (monkeyboy) on Jan 7, 2009 [SPOILER]

Cyclamen????

Looks like some sort of snail or something. Had to guess.

For once, a puzzle by Shay where I didn't know ahead of time what it would be, but all the guessing and the obscure image took all the fun out of it.

BTW, a cyclamen is a flower. I had cyclamen plants as florist gifts, but I can't keep them alive. Maybe I should have watered them? Shay's flower looks like it is wilting.

Here is a photo if you want to see what a cyclamen flower really looks like:
http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/graphics/1564/cyclamen.jpg

Wilting at least.

my mom has one of those, but I didn't know the name. thanks for the link, cuz I still didn't know after seeing the final image.

I've never saved and reverted on a 10 x10!

Lot's of trial and error ... and I still can't tell what it is. Looks like a misshappen hand holding a mace.

On these small puzzles with unique solutions I always feel like I *ought* to be able to find a way to logically solve them. No luck this time.

I think it looks like a flower, though maybe not a cyclamen. Maybe a wilted tulip. Leaves on the left, stem curled, blossom hanging down.

Ah! Ok!

I had to look about 3 moves ahead at several points to invalidate certain squares (what I would call recursion). Quite a challenge!

You will get to a point where most of R3C5 through R8C10 are not filled in except for R5C5 and R6C5 which are blank.

If you try to place the 2 clue on row 8 at columns 5 and 6, then the rest of columns 5 and 6 and row 8 are blank. This would make you fill in rest of row 7 (1 blank 2). This causes R6C9 and R6C10 to be filled in, which makes row 6 invalid. So, R8C5 is blank.

Next, try to place the 2 clue on column 10 at rows 7 and 8. This makes you fill in R7C9 and R8C9. Also, R7C8 and the rest of row 8 would be blank. This causes both R6C7 and R6C8 to be filled in, which makes row 6 invalid again. So, R8C10 is blank.

Next, try to place the 2 clue on row 8 at columns 6 and 7. This causes the rest of column 6 and row 8 to be blank, R7C7 to be filled in, and R6C7 to be blank. With that, you now have to fill in R6C9, which makes R6C8 and R6C10 blanks. This again makes row 6 invalid. So, R8C6 is blank.

This enables the rest of the puzzle to be solved normally.

requried a lot of guessing but fun

Looks like a fireball coming out of the back of a toilet.

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