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iRectangles

Josh — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:38:15 +0000

iRectangles is yet another puzzle app for the iPhone. This app is based on the nikoli puzzle sikaku. For the puzzle, you are given a grid of arbitrary size. Some of the individual squares in the grid have numbers in them. These numbers correspond to the number of squares in a rectangle. The object of the puzzle is to section off the grid into a collection of rectangles such that each rectangle has a single number in it that is the rectangle’s area. There should be no spaces left over in the grid.

I’ve found a couple sites, just by googling, that has some examples of the puzzle that you can try. And, of course, there is always the iPhone app.

Texas Holdem Puzzles on the web

Josh — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:07:47 +0000

Back in January, I wrote about an idea for Texas Holdem puzzles. One of the recent coments on that post directed me to a site with puzzles exactly like the ones I described. Check it out.

Tredoku

Josh — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:45:32 +0000

Tredoku is another sudoku variation. In a tredoku puzzle, the grid is laid out in varrying three dimensional patterns. The same rules still apply. The same numbers can not appear in the same rows or columns or the same internal square. In Tredoku, rows and columns continue even over 90 degree turns in the grid.

The main advantage here is that grid orientations are virtually endless. And it’s a little bit neater than massively overlapping sudoku grids. There’s currently a tredoku blog set up where you can go and try some of the puzzles. Enjoy!

Trigears

Josh — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:36:59 +0000

From the MAKE blog: A new puzzle called Trigears. Trigears is a set of three gears that must be positioned so that all three gears mesh at a single point and the gears do not jam when they spin. One of the creators notes that there are no other puzzles like it. I can’t think of one. The puzzles were made in a very limited run so, if you want to buy one at Puzzle Palace, it will cost you $425.

Will Shortz and Merl Reagle on The Simpsons

Josh — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:15:08 +0000

You read that right. Will Shortz and Merl Reagle will be guest starring in a crossword themed episode of The Simpsons this weekend. In addition, the New York Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle will be related to the show somehow. Read more about it here.

Grid Fill Puzzles

Josh — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:13:53 +0000

From The Griddle, a new puzzle called Grid Fill. In Grid Fill, you are given a set of words and a grid. The words fit into the grid taking up either an entire row, or one of the marked off internal areas. The puzzle part comes in because the rows and the marked off areas overlap. It’s really more of a logic puzzle like Sudoku instead of a word puzzle. Enjoy!

Beta Testers Wanted for iTunes Puzzle Game

Josh — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:32:47 +0000

Playful Planet Games is creating an iPhone version of their word puzzle game Konstroo. Currently they are looking for puzzle enthusiasts who would like to beta test the iPhone version. They only have limitted spots so, if you’re interested, make sure to sign up soon.

World Puzzle Championships 2008 Results

Josh — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:06:30 +0000

Results are posted for this year’s World Puzzzle Championships. Team USA won again this year. The individual winner was Ulrich Voigt from Germany.

What’s in Will Shotz’s Wallet

Josh — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:49:16 +0000

The Wall Street Journal blog, The Wallet, has a little video that shows us what’s in the wallet of famous puzzlers Will Shortz and Maki Kaji. Who knew that Will Shortz played table tennis? Maki Kaji’s wallet is filled with bar receipts and horse racing tickets. I kid you not.

2nd US Sudoku Championship Winner

Josh — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:24:02 +0000

Wei-Hwa Huang won the second US Sudoku Championship this weekend beating reigning champ Tom Snyder by 26 seconds. There is a nice little video that goes along with the Philadelphia Inquirer article in which a modest Wei-Hwa Huang says severa times that he does not expect to win.

Untouchable

Josh — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:27:12 +0000

There is a new puzzle up at Smartkit called Untouchable that was written by Peter Grabarchuk. The goal is to arrange a group of hexominoes in a grid so that they don’t touch. Smartkit is giving away prizes for those who can solve the puzzle first.

CrosScan

Josh — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:13:57 +0000

There was a post on Passion for Puzzles recently about CrosScan puzzles. CrosScan puzzles are billed as a combination of crossword puzzles and word search puzzle. What this means is that the puzzle is essentially a word search puzzle but instead of a list of words, you are giving a list of clues to decipher. You then need to find the word in the word search grid.

I have a couple thoughts on this puzzle type. First, it may be harder than a crossoword because the answers to clues don’t really help you at all for the others. The clues generally form a theme, but that’s about all you get. You don’t get letter clues. My second thought is that it seems like it’s possible to find the wrong answer. I may get the wrong answer for the clue, but as long as I can find the right letters in the grid, I’ll never know it was a wrong answer. I think there needs to be some kind of final answer, like a word made up of unused letters. That could help solve the problem.

Puzzles of Leonid Mochalov

Josh — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:52:36 +0000

I got an email from Leonid Mochalov, a Russian puzzle inventor. He was drawing my attention to his web site which features many original puzzles, some of which are very unique.

The puzzle types on his page include Squarewords, a sudoku like puzzle involving words, and Express-Labyrinth, a maze-like puzzle that requires you to visit every square in a grid. The site also shows us a number of Mochalov’s block puzzles including a “Chess Cube” that you can print out and try to construct for yourself.

The Hardest Logic Puzzle Ever

Josh — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 02:07:11 +0000

I found a blog post entitled “The Hardest Logic Puzzle Ever” and, naturally, it piqued my interest. The post points to a Wikipedia entry of the same name. Apparently, there is a puzzle commonly know as “The Hardest Logic Puzzle Ever” and it is attributed to Raymond Smullyan and John McCarthy.

It’s a kind of puzzle that most will be familiar with. The puzzler is presented with three gods. One that always lies, one that always tells the truth, and one that sometimes lies and sometimes tells the truth. Your task is to come up with three questions that will help you determine the identity of each god. The additional trick is that the gods speak their own language and you have to decipher that as well.

The solution to the puzzle is on the wikipedia page, so don’t read it all if you want to figure it out for yourself.

Soduro - Circle Sum Sudoku Returns

Josh — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:21:27 +0000

A recent commenter posted on a new puzzle type called Suduro, billed as a Sudoku/Kakuro combo. Readers of this blog should find Suduro familiar. It is identical to my Circle Sum Sudoku puzzle.