Monday Mutant 113: Blackbarrier Jam (multiplicative)
In this Blackbarrier Jam puzzle, a number indicates the product of two quantities: the number of white cells in an uninterrupted horizontal line from that cell (up to the perimeter or black cells, and including the cell itself), and the number of white cells in an uninterrupted vertical line from that cell (up to the perimeter or black cells, and including the cell itself). The rules are otherwise unchanged.
I'm being commissioned to write puzzles for an iPhone/Windows Phone app; here's a preview of the type of puzzling you can expect to see.
Puzzle 559: Solomon's Keep 4
I'm giving away some World of Warcraft Trading Card Game cards on BoardGameGeek, and all you have to do to enter the prize drawing is solve some exclusive puzzles or give me a GeekGold tip. Don't have a BoardGameGeek account? E-mail me your solutions, and you'll still have two-thirds the chances of winning. These puzzles are exclusive to BGG, so check them out even if you don't want the cards!
Puzzle 558: Blackbarrier Jam 19
It seems I have a terrible habit of letting my blog go unnoticed (particularly as regards Monday Mutants) whenever I'm being commissioned to write a bunch of puzzles. I will try to fix this.
In unrelated news, my blog is ranked #12 on InterestingBlogs.org's rankings, right ahead of some blog that hasn't been updated since 2010 and right behind a blog about cats. Come on, guys. You're doing a disservice to other great puzzlers like Tom Collyer, Palmer Mebane, and Thomas Snyder when the random Texan, and not any of the actual world puzzle champions, is the guy who's almost as good as cats. If you enjoy their blogs, please click the boost button on their respective directory listings, and do not, under any circumstances, click the boost button on mine.
In unrelated news, my blog is ranked #12 on InterestingBlogs.org's rankings, right ahead of some blog that hasn't been updated since 2010 and right behind a blog about cats. Come on, guys. You're doing a disservice to other great puzzlers like Tom Collyer, Palmer Mebane, and Thomas Snyder when the random Texan, and not any of the actual world puzzle champions, is the guy who's almost as good as cats. If you enjoy their blogs, please click the boost button on their respective directory listings, and do not, under any circumstances, click the boost button on mine.
Puzzle 557: Blackbarrier Jam 18
David Millar of The Griddle is currently seeking funding for a Kickstarter project! The goal is to raise $2000 in pledges to publish a book of paranormal-themed logic puzzles, including Area 51 (a hybrid of Masyu, Corral/Bag, and the Sheep and Wolves variation of Slitherlink) and Haunted Mirror Mazes (a puzzle about locating ghosts, zombies, and vampires based on the knowledge of each one's visibility with and without mirrors). There are rewards for backing at various levels, such as a free PDF copy of the final book, or (if you're feeling really generous) a personal visit from Mr. Millar himself! Do not be afraid to join me in backing this project. :)
A shout-out to Virmir, as well, for creating my blog's new banner!
A shout-out to Virmir, as well, for creating my blog's new banner!
Puzzle 556: Fencing Match 48
Mario Marathon 5 is on!
Some random
people are playing main series Mario games (from classics like Super Mario Bros. to the recent hits Super Mario Galaxy 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii). and raising money for the charity Child's Play! You should totally watch
and/or donate. (Speaking of donating, I'll donate $1 for every person who e-mails me [glmathgrant@gmail.com] a correct solution to this puzzle within the next 24 hours, up to a maximum of $10. Get to work.)
(Edit: I feel slightly more charitable. Each solution after the first 10 solutions is worth 50 cents, up to a maximum of $25. Get to work!)
(Edit 2: David Millar of The Griddle is going to match my donation! Now you have even more incentive to get to work!)
(Edit 3: I'm extending the deadline by 24 hours. That's my last grace, though. For the duration of this exciting offer, a countdown timer on the left side of this blog will tell you how much time remains. Get to work before it hits zero!)
(Edit 4: The timer has expired. $21 was raised! A list of solvers will be included in a comment on this post.)
(Edit: I feel slightly more charitable. Each solution after the first 10 solutions is worth 50 cents, up to a maximum of $25. Get to work!)
(Edit 2: David Millar of The Griddle is going to match my donation! Now you have even more incentive to get to work!)
(Edit 3: I'm extending the deadline by 24 hours. That's my last grace, though. For the duration of this exciting offer, a countdown timer on the left side of this blog will tell you how much time remains. Get to work before it hits zero!)
(Edit 4: The timer has expired. $21 was raised! A list of solvers will be included in a comment on this post.)
Letting Individuals Think Separately: Update 1
Spheniscine tells me that he has received his prize from Letting Individuals Think Separately. What was it?
My 25th birthday cake!
A bit overdue, but here's the picture!
I think I'll stick with smaller puzzles as much as I can in the future; smaller cells are slightly less readable on a cake.
Monday Mutant 112: Cross the Streams
Shade in some cells black such that the black cells are all connected to
each other through their edges, and no 2x2 cell area within the grid
contains all black cells. Numbers to the left of a row or above a
column represent the groups of consecutive black cells which are in
that row or column. For example, a clue of "3" means the row or column
has three consecutive black cells, and a clue of "3 1" means that the
row or column has a group of three consecutive black cells followed
by a single black cell, separated by at least one white cell. A
question mark (?) represents a group of consecutive black cells whose
size is unknown; an asterisk (*) represents any number of unknown
groups of black cells, including none at all.
Puzzle 552: Pearls of Wisdom 51
I recently received a monetary donation from Jon Michelson, and have decided to make some puzzles for him even though he didn't ask for any. This is the first of three.
Monday Mutant 111: Process of Illumination (queens / king clues)
In this Process of Illumination puzzle, every light bulb illuminates its own cell, plus all other cells in an uninterrupted horizontal, vertical, or diagonal
line, up to the perimeter of the puzzle, or a black cell (whichever is
closer). (In a regular Process of Illumination puzzle, the light bulbs
operate like chess rooks; here, they function as chess queens.) Additionally, a number on a black cell represents how many light bulbs are on cells which share an edge or a corner with that cell. The
rules are otherwise unchanged.
A reminder: like MellowMelon's queen-themed puzzle, the numbers refer not only to bulbs in orthogonally adjacent cells, but also diagonally adjacent ones.
Monday Mutant 110: Process of Illumination (queens)
In this Process of Illumination puzzle, every light bulb illuminates its own cell, plus all other cells in an uninterrupted horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line, up to the perimeter of the puzzle, or a black cell (whichever is closer). (In a regular Process of Illumination puzzle, the light bulbs operate like chess rooks; here, they function as chess queens.) The rules are otherwise unchanged.
A reminder: unlike MellowMelon's queen-themed puzzle, the numbers refer only to bulbs in orthogonally adjacent cells, and not diagonally adjacent ones.
Monday Mutant 109: Process of Illumination (queens)
In this Process of Illumination puzzle, every light bulb illuminates its own cell, plus all other cells in an uninterrupted horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line, up to the perimeter of the puzzle, or a black cell (whichever is closer). (In a regular Process of Illumination puzzle, the light bulbs operate like chess rooks; here, they function as chess queens.) The rules are otherwise unchanged.
I feel like I should point out that, unlike MellowMelon's queen-themed puzzle, the numbers still refer only to bulbs in orthogonally adjacent cells, and not diagonally adjacent ones.
Contest 5: Letting Individuals Think Separately (RESULTS!)
The deadline has passed for Contest 5: Letting Individuals Think Separately. In this contest, entrants had to solve a Tetra Firma puzzle and answer a bunch of questions relating to how I will run this blog, including the prizes in the contest and whether puzzle 575 will be giant or not. The results are in! Who is the winner?
Warning: the following results contain spoilers (obviously)! If you wish to solve the contest puzzle yourself, please do so before reading on!
Warning: the following results contain spoilers (obviously)! If you wish to solve the contest puzzle yourself, please do so before reading on!
Monday Mutant 108: Pearls of Wisdom (total / minesweeper)
In this Pearls of Wisdom
puzzle, there are no clues inside the grid. Instead, you are to both
draw a loop and place black pearls and white pearls in every cell
that could legally contain one. A number represents how many pearls are
in cells which share a corner or an edge with the cell containing the
number; the loop may not pass through a cell containing a number.
Boy, is it ever Monday. I had prepared a completely different puzzle this past Sunday, but after test-solving it and modifying it, I decided it didn't belong here on the blog. Maybe I'll let the winners of Letting Individuals Think Separately have a look at it. . . :)
Puzzle 550: Process of Illumination 39
There is a possibility (I'm not divulging how great or how slim the possibility is) that the votes in Letting Individuals Think Separately might prevent me from posting a 31x45 puzzle for quite a while. Better get this posted before the deadline!
(click to enlarge)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
