Puzzle Description:

The harder version. See comments for more information.

#1: Gator (Gator) on Sep 18, 2009 [HINT] [SPOILER]

I was never satisfied with puzzle #5878 after I found out there was a different way (read: easier way) to solve it than I had intended. This is a new version that should be a bit more difficult. Once you reach a certain point in the puzzle, the rest will solve out easily, but getting over that hump should be harder now than in the old puzzle.

Please post how you tackled this one if you wouldn't mind.

And, yes, image quality is really bad, but that's not what this puzzle is about. :)

I started with edge logic on the 3 in C 20, and got 6 spots where that 3 could go. No real help. Then I was able to completely place the 3 in R2 (looking at how R3 would be affected by the 3's and 4's in the middle columns). That let me place two of the 3's in C20, and line logic = a few more black.

Then I used edge logic and placed 2 of the 3 in C17.

Then similar edge logic to place dots in C16, and 1 dot in the bottom row in C15.

I then looked at the 4 in R5. I found that it either had to start in C1 and be in C1-4, or had to be in C6-9.
Both locations played out for several turns.

Then what?

Focus on row 2.

I did it!

1.- The 3 in row 2
2.- The 3 in column 20
3.- The 3 in column 17
4.- The 2 in column 1

Voila!

How did you use the 2 in column 1? I was able to dot R6C1 and R13C1, but I could not see anything else that I could do with it.

Your steps 1-3 are the same as mine. My next step was to look at the 4 in row 5.

Found to be logically solvable by Gator.

I just did it again and only the first three steps are necessary. I checked my notes and actually I did step 4 before step 3 because i missed the fact that the #3 in column 10 had solved on it's own.

I then proved the 3 in C 11 couldn't go in the upper portion (C11 and R8 both couldn't be satisfied) so it had to go in R11-13.

Tough one!

waste of my time

On quality of image, absolutely agree.

On solving "funness," absolutely disagree.

Ditto #10. No one should vote above a 1 on the image quality.

Makes no sense. I guess I got lucky. I am still a little shaky about edge logic but I tried it and did it right. Solved very quickly once started.

Well, I feel like I did fall off the edge... of sanity! Totally too difficult for me. I think this one zapped my brain or something. :-)

I was able to get the first three columns with edge logic, and placed 2 of the 3 in C 20, but after that I was totally lost. I tried edge logic and ended up with a red dot, and started over. Tried edge logic again and ended up with another red dot. I was totally frustrated and checked the hints. They didn't really help me. I guess I just couldn't "see" it that far ahead in my head. So I tried guessing and that worked. But I hate guessing. I love edge logic, but this one was just too darn hard.

The image is kinda cool, I think. It makes me wanna shout "Be careful!!!" :-0

Teresa, did you really think my hint didn't help?

I think I basically did it the same as Jota and Adam...this one was tough with lots of edge logic...but so fun! Knowing that it was a Gator puzzle is what kept me going because I knew it would be logically solvable. Otherwise, I might have given up.

Adam, your hints are always helpful, but I think my brain was just too fried tonight to figure it out and I kept making mistakes. Maybe in the morning after a good night's sleep I'll be able to follow it better.

Hmmm... this was actually easier than I thought -- after restarting it a few times. :) I just placed 2 of the 3 clue in C20, which gave me 2 of the 4 in C18. A quick check showed the other half of the 4 could not go up, so finishing the 4 clue down allowed the rest of the puzzle to solve easily. Thanks for another good one, Gator!

I don't go so far as to take notes while I'm solving (that would be onerous for me: I'm more of an intuitive logician than a procedural one, and yes, I know that makes no sense), so I tend to forget what I did right afterward, but I know that I started this one with a series of edge logic and internal edge logic with the 3 in C15 and the 4 in C13.

There was a cascade of impossibilities downward that I think led me to ruling out some placements for 3 in R14. Then I played around with the 3 in R2 pretty handily given the 1 clues to the top and bottom of it. Other than that, I got nuthin'. :D

also agree with comment 10

after getting the cross at the top i used routine edge logic on the right and when it got more tough i solved it as in comment 8

used el in c15, iel in r's2 and 5 to place completely...maybe iel once more after that. fun puzz! entirely not as diff as it's made to sound in the comments though...

logically solved

Fun one. I solved it a bit differently than others here.

3 in r2 via EL,
LL,
2 of 3 in C20 via EL,
LL,
3 in C12 via EL,
moderate look ahead: If r8c11 is black, it leads to a contradiction, so it must be white. Same look ahead shows that r5c11 must be white.
3 in c11 is then placed via edge logic.
LL finishes it off.

el 3 c15 = r1, r8-15 w
iel 4 c13 = r13-15 w
ll
iel 3 r14 = c11-12 w
ll
iel 3 r2 = r5-15 w
ll
iel 4 r5 = c5-11 w
ll to finish

This was my first method. If I were try it again, I'd probably look at the 3 in r2 earlier.

Fun!

Goto next topic

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