Puzzlesmith 1 Results

[zotmeister]

I am pleased to report that I had only one fewer entry than I expected to receive. Both were perfectly valid, with a unique solution and rotationally symmetric givens. It turns out that with my own "entry" included, all three of us each used only eight givens. I'd imagine six would be impossible, but I certainly haven't proven this. All three puzzles are duplicated below - enjoy (see Puzzle 7 for instructions):



I thought it interesting to note the variances in our compositions. Cameron pulled off what I was aiming for at first and failed to do with only eight givens: no givens on the outer border; Jezendar has a parity apartheid thing going, with the even-celled polyominoes separated from the odd-celled (which e claims e didn't notice until after e built it); my givens are all different values.

With the assistance of random.org, Jezendar has been selected to receive the fifty-dollar prize. Congratulations! You should be getting an email from PayPal shortly.

Shameless plug: there's another way to get a hundred dollars out of me open right now. If that isn't your proverbial cup of tea, fear not - I'm already planning more puzzle contests. - ZM

Comments

[zotmeister]

I'm annoyed about the 'he', even if it doesn't bother you; I proof-read my post and originally I had two 'he's. Apparently I only caught and edited one of them. I've fixed it now, but of course the record is here in the comments.

Yes, I expected three entries. Just one would have been interesting. Actually, although the old Sanctum Puzzlers usually had a good number of entries - between ten and thirty, typically - two contests essentially bombed, one with three entries received (one of which was blank but still won a prize) and the other with zero entries received.

Any comment you want to make about the puzzles, feel free to do so. As these were composed as contest entries rather than particular challenges to solve, I see no reason why they should not be studied openly. In fact, some of these may outright stump a few people - though perfectly valid, they're not exactly orthodox - and I know I'd be willing to provide hints for my own puzzle, at least. - ZM

[jezendar.livejournal.com]

The comment I wanted to make is a second note on the variances between our three puzzles, specifically concerning the number of unmarked polyominoes. As you have already mentioned, your puzzle uses eight different givens. This also means that all eight polyominoes are labeled. In his puzzle, Cameron labeled seven polyominoes, leaving the monomino unlabeled. My puzzle continues this pattern, leaving both the monomino and the domino unlabeled. In addition, two of the givens in my puzzle (specifically the '4' and the '5') can switch positions without invalidating the puzzle.
I considered doing this when I noticed the 'parity apartheid', as you put it. But, I decided that the current setup was more interesting.

As for solving my puzzle, a hint I would give to people who have not read the contest rules is:
Add together the values of the eight givens and compare that total to the number of available squares in the puzzle.