zotmeister (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zotmeister) wrote2012-05-02 04:27 pm
zotmeister) wrote2012-05-02 04:27 pm
Puzzles 61-7: Seeking Syren^WScotchy
See Puzzle 14 for instructions; you can ignore the little gray letters. That will get you through the first six, anyhow; Puzzle 67 is "some assembly required". Permit me to explain.
For all of my puzzle followers that are not familiar with the MIT Mystery Hunt, here's a brief rundown for the both of you: Every year since 1981, during Martin Luther King Jr. weekend (which coincides with their Independent Activity Period), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been the home of a puzzle competition, which over the years has grown into the largest gathering of its kind. Dozens of teams with dozens of members stay up all night solving puzzles and metapuzzles in their quest for "the coin", with the prize being the honor - and heavy responsibility - of running the Hunt (and making all the puzzles for it) the following year.
Although I'd known about the Hunt for some time, it wasn't until 2009 that I actually got around to attending. As a member of the very appropriately named team Beginner's Luck, I found myself up at 3 AM Monday - after having trudged through snow and corridors for hours - when we located the Covertly Operational Inversion Node (or C.O.I.N.) and won. I created two "puzzles" for the 2010 Hunt; the seven grids below all constitute just one "puzzle" in Hunt terms. (I also created one "subpuzzle" for another's "puzzle". I'll stop putting that word in quotes now.) The graphics for the puzzles are the exact same ones originally used for the Hunt.
All Hunt puzzles reduce to a single solution phrase - often a single word - to be determined by following some manner of uncovered logic. I say "uncovered" as instructions are usually intentionally lacking, typically only alluded to by titles or flavortext, leaving solvers to try to find some internal consistency or pattern to follow in order to "extract" the final answer. You've probably noticed if you've peeked below that the first six grids all have peculiar titles; the seventh has a title as well, but you'll have to solve it first to learn it. That is the solution phrase for the entire puzzle, the one word all this reduces to. (Incidentally, this puzzle was made around - and inspired by - that answer word; in creating a Hunt metapuzzle, certain phrases are called for to be answers to puzzles, and this particular word is one of great significance to Zotanna, which is why I jumped at the chance to make its puzzle.)
Now I know what you purists are thinking: "I'm here for true DEDUCTIVE LOGIC, and I can't have that if I can't have RULES! I don't even know you anymore!!". You can relax: despite my apparent redefining of 'puzzle' in that last paragraph, I'm not changing the style of my journal puzzles one bit. This is still seven puzzles to me, which is why I've numbered them as such and am presenting them the way I am. I've felt for some time that these are fantastic little grids that deserve to be considered independently, and so here they are. However, I also find a certain beauty in the reveal of putting it all together to make that last grid, so I compromised with myself: I'll post the puzzles all at once as a heptaptych, and leave the final puzzle disassembled at first, letting those who are interested try to piece it together. Over the next few days, I'll add hints in the comments for those who want to put it together but are struggling; within the week a full set of instructions will be given, and lastly a week from today I'll put up the fully assembled Puzzle 67 without the answer-extraction bits so that both camps can appreciate the puzzles for what they are. I will likely only be doing this sort of thing again if my team wins the Hunt again.
So let's get to it, shall we? The rules are unchanged, but for thematic purposes (and for the final puzzle) I need to point out that instead of seeking Syren in these first six, you're seeking spirits - that is, bottles of alcohol (I'll explain later) - and the given title of each of these grids is the name of the spirit hiding within.
Puzzle 61
I made this first one with the fact that it'd be the very first Seeking Syren most of its solvers will have done in mind as I was making it; I kept it very simple and tried to make it as interesting an introduction as possible by squeezing in as many nodes as possible.
Puzzle 62
This one is actually my favorite of the bunch. I felt it important to show off a key nuance of the rules early on, while the grids were still on the easier side; this is probably the greatest "S-reveal" that can possibly be made. You'll see what I mean.
Puzzle 63
It was around here that I decided I'd try to make each of the six lead-in puzzles two-color, using each of the possible combinations once. I also figured this was the right place to put the requisite "backwards" puzzle, especially given the nature of the preceding one. There needed to be at least one of these to drive home the importance of actually solving these completely rather than just finding the spirit and moving on.
Puzzle 64
Things start to get technical around here. The constraints I had to adhere to forced some things about the nature of the later grids, which naturally led to harder puzzles as I needed to use more tricky techniques to get them to work. Figuring out the logic of the "islands" starts to become a greater driving factor here.
Puzzle 65
If I recall correctly, this one was actually the last of these initial six I made, but I felt it was the easier of the two, so I presented it first. This is probably the most Nurikabe-like puzzle here.
Puzzle 66
It had to get truly difficult sometime.
Puzzle 67
And so we arrive at the final grid...
...which obviously has seen better days. What happened to the node count? For that matter, what happened to the givens?! And not only is the 'S' showing, but it's freaking PURPLE! Well, when you're an alcoholic starship engineer that gets drunk, passes out, and then needs to appear in a Mystery Hunt puzzle, this is apparently the result. Who knew.
Scotchy was but one crew member of the Brass Rat that successfully escaped from Zyzzlvaria during the events of the 2009 Hunt, and the 2010 Hunt paid homage to some past Hunts, that one included - which entailed giving each crew member another puzzle. Upon blacking out whilst celebrating the previous year's escape, Scotchy dreamt e found emself in a parody of my old Sanctum Puzzler contests (which I've mentioned before [Detritus - please excuse the broken image link in that entry, that's Cox's fault]). Es envisioned conversation with our classic protagonist went thusly:
Lady Lyght apparently isn't here. Perhaps I should return to my Sanct- ...What in my father's name...
Stupid transporter malfunction! Captain, are you okay? Look at all this mist everywhe- wait, you're not Captain Blastoid! Who are you, where are we, and where's the rest of my crew?
Uh... you may call me Lady Terran, we are on an astral plane, and 'not here' is the best I can do for that last one.
A plane? I don't see the controls anywhere...
...It's not the kind that flies. This is a magical dimension, not a physical location - and it would seem your presence has corrupted it. Has your spirit been traumatized recently?
I just got BACK from being stranded - this is far too sobering for me... wait, where's my booze? I've lost it all! NOOOOOOOO!
...Ah! That explains it - it's your spirits that have gone astray! They must be on parallel planes interlaced with this one... Indeed! I can sense them. Six bottles, yes? Give me a moment and I'll recover them for you.
Thank you! I'm not sure how I could repay you...
Oh, no need. There is knowledge to be had from any journey, even errands such as this; that is sufficient reward for myself. I warn you, do not move from there until I've repaired the plane - trust me, you wouldn't want to wander into a deadly cloud of ambiguity. Once I'm done, I should be able to reveal the safe way across to me here, and in following it you will attain what you seek.
Thank you very much - will do. But please hurry - I must be hallucinating from withdrawal, as I swear we're talking in colors...
Contained within that purposefully garish text lies all the information needed to reassemble Puzzle 67 - you just have to think about it the right way - and solving it will reveal its title. Fair warning: this sucker is TOUGH!
One last bit of business needed to be carried out: since I made a Sanctum Puzzler, I had to award a Puzzling Otato, traditionally given to the most curious response the puzzle generated. I was going to offer it to the first person that got the reference at the Hunt, but no one did, so I decided to give it to Mike Selinker, who sort of inspired me to make a latter-day Sanctum Puzzler in the first place (and to be fair wasn't at the Hunt that year, so wouldn't have had the chance otherwise). Long story short - ambiguity intended - e asked for it. The game of Sanctum may be gone now, and who knows if it will ever return, but the memories shall remain.... - ZM
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Perhaps you remember me commenting on your blog two years ago about this puzzle and how we were unable to logically do the 7th one (team guessed the answer and moved on afterwards). My revenge was two years late, but I made mincemeat of it this time. Though I suppose compared to the me of two years ago my solving is on a different level now.
One thing about this type in general: I know you've mentioned in some of your earlier posts how you like making types that have a single exception in the grid. In this type it's that Syren can touch nodes. I have to confess I'm not a big fan of that kind of rule. Before finding that damn S, solving these puzzles usually has me doing irritating case analysis of whether some particular grid space touching a node might possibly be that S or not. The most enjoyable of these puzzles were 63 and 67, which both went backwards and did not require any of this thinking. Though I do confess 62 was as nice as promised.
Incidentally, for me the difficulty order of 61-66 seemed almost reversed. Probably because the later instances are heavier on the Nurikabe steps, which I am very well-versed in.
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Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
"Perhaps you remember me commenting on your blog two years ago about this puzzle and how we were unable to logically do the 7th one (team guessed the answer and moved on afterwards). My revenge was two years late, but I made mincemeat of it this time. Though I suppose compared to the me of two years ago my solving is on a different level now."
Glad to hear that - that's what it's all about. The Hunt, ironically, is a horrible environment for truly studying and appreciating puzzles - it's all about getting the answer at any cost by any means. That was a large part of why I wanted to take these otherwise-perfectly-fine puzzles out of that context. (The other puzzle I made for the Hunt can stay there.)
"One thing about this type in general: I know you've mentioned in some of your earlier posts how you like making types that have a single exception in the grid. In this type it's that Syren can touch nodes. I have to confess I'm not a big fan of that kind of rule. Before finding that damn S, solving these puzzles usually has me doing irritating case analysis of whether some particular grid space touching a node might possibly be that S or not."
I'm happy someone brought that up. I was wondering if anybody felt that way. Maybe my exploits as Sudoku Variant Boy have spoiled me, but I find I really like puzzles that have some sort of twist to keep me on my toes. Take Battleship Sudoku, for example. Amazing book, amazing author [I'm his number 3 fan for eight more months], amazing puzzles. But for any particular one I'm doing, after the ships are placed and numbered, I always find myself thinking, "and the rest is just Sudoku" - it doesn't feel like it's as much "puzzle solving" anymore as it is "mopping up".
But what I've found I can do is really use that apparent drawback in an almost narrative manner to become a strength. When I'm constructing a puzzle that has some exception to be kept in mind while solving, well, then I need to keep that exception in mind when constructing! It gives me a singular focus - the "plot of the episode", so to speak - and I wield it as a weapon to prevent the puzzle from becoming formulaic. I use it to taunt and tease, drawing the solver in, keeping the tension building and the solver wondering, until I can't hold it back anymore and the big reveal pours forth, the pencil doing its best Jessica Fletcher as it proves who the rulebreaker is. And what I've found is that if I've done that right, then what remains in the puzzle (which hopefully isn't much) feels like a relaxing, satisfying denouement rather than a janitorial duty.
Or at least, that's how it feels to me when I testsolve my puzzles.
For Seeking Syren in particular, there's a very explicit set of rules I use pre- and post-reveal during construction. There's one pre-construction rule I've found myself taking greater and greater advantage of lately, and I'm guessing by your description that it's something you've yet to discover. Remember that the node count is something I technically don't have to provide, as it could be easily calculated (add up all the given numbers, plus two for the 'Z' and 'S', and subtract that from the grid area)... but I provide it immediately anyhow. I do that because it's useful immediately. If you don't see how, meditate on it. And if you DO see how, good for you, and DON'T SPOIL IT FOR OTHERS!
"The most enjoyable of these puzzles were 63 and 67, which both went backwards and did not require any of this thinking."
LIKE THAT! Sure, I said the former was backwards, and it's an easy enough inference for the latter... but it's still an inference! It's perhaps not quite as bad as what mathgrant did back a bit, but you still get the you've-been-naughty icon for this reply.
"Though I do confess 62 was as nice as promised."
Thanks. I'm surprised I was able to pull that off, frankly. As you may recall,
"Incidentally, for me the difficulty order of 61-66 seemed almost reversed. Probably because the later instances are heavier on the Nurikabe steps, which I am very well-versed in."
I can see how that can happen. It takes all kinds, I suppose :) - ZM
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I perfectly understand what you mean about narrative; one of my top priorities when constructing is to make a puzzle that has my footprint on it. And I can see how such a feature in the rules is a big help for doing that and the advantages to doing so. Still, my preference is to avoid it and find other ways to give that distinctive experience. The last time I remember dealing with this in my own constructions was for the Interior Path variation on Slitherlink; there I pretty much always make the endpoints obvious within the first 1/4 of the puzzle, if not immediately.
And my apologies for the slight spoiler. I meant it to say it only for 63, then botched the wording (frequent habit of mine) and ended up accidentally saying something correct about 67 too.
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Must... resist... Ron... Burgundy quote...
What I have in mind works every time, and remains useful from the very beginning right up until the 'S' is found (at which point its usefulness is redundant). It affects every node located up until then. I could give it away with a single six-letter word. But that's enough hints. I'm not spelling it out unless I'm paid to do so (for example, by putting it in a book - something I'd love to do, by the way, complete with illustrations of Zotanna, basic puzzles without paths, a little plotline running through the whole thing, and so on... but I digress).
"Well, it's not so much that determining whether the S can go in a space or not is hard as that it's an annoying hiccup to deal with."
Annoying? Really? If I may continue my metaphor, you'd prefer Murder, She Wrote if it were just, well, She Wrote? Or are you simply in the camp that says no matter how good the mystery solver is, you still don't want to have anything to do with em because someone WILL get killed whenever e visits? XD Perhaps something in-between? We may have to simply agree to disagree on this one. Either that, or I need to leave the room when TV Land is on.
I've been known to get complaints for "backwards" Seeking Syren puzzles, actually - they're found disappointing. I see the logic in that, but feel even those are necessary at times to mix things up or prove a point. Heck, The One Ring is possibly the biggest puzzlesmith's toolbox out there, and I'm planning on making it bigger, but I think it a mistake to use every tool with every puzzle. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a vanilla Slitherlink - perhaps more than any other "classic" type, there's no need for rules variation to make it feel FAR from plain.
I see both sides of this argument, but the simple facts are that I enjoy playing around with these sorts of exceptions, and there are far fewer constructors who do than those that don't, so I'm happy - within reasonable moderation - to continue to cater to the former camp. Of course, with that said, there's a very good chance I'll be making a variation of Heartbreaker that does away with the snake thing entirely, since I think it can stand on its own without it. I'm actually sort of surprised no one else has already. [I know I could simply define decks without hearts and still be following the same rules, but I'm not sure I like the feel of that. ...Hmmm, what just came to mind may be a fascinating alternative... a very colorful and pointy alternative....]
"And my apologies for the slight spoiler."
Accepted. Grant didn't even acknowledge es gaffe, so I appreciate this. There was just too many other interesting points to delete your comment! - ZM
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Feel free to post this:
Yes, I've been doing the puzzles, and I did notice that you did make
the final rule mandatory (at least on the first six; I don't know how
to build the seventh), and I appreciated that.
Unfortunately, I suffer from
Has-Too-Many-F***ing-Passwords-To-Remember-Them syndrome, and Chrome
doesn't have my dreamweaver password.