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)
Puzzle 548: Eliza Pseudonym of Puzzlania 13
No comment.
Rules of Eliza Pseudonym of Puzzlania
Eliza Pseudonym recently made an appearance on a local TV station's game show "Logic or No Logic", where contestants are faced with nine briefcases numbered from 1 through 9, each holding a different amount of money ($1, $2, $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $200, $250). Contestants get phone calls from a mysterious silhouetted figure known only as The Thinker, and must use his clues to determine which briefcase contains which amount of money. Due to a convenient twist of fate, Eliza won a prize drawing to decide who would get to appear alongside eight local celebrities to hold the nine briefcases. From the clues below, determine which person held which briefcase, and how much money was in each one.
1. Maui Handle, normally the master of ceremonies on "Logic or No Logic", was assigned by the producers to hold a briefcase on this episode. Maui's briefcase had precisely 10 times as much money as Eliza's briefcase. The numbers on Maui's and Eliza's briefcases had a sum of 10; Maui's briefcase was higher-numbered than Eliza's.
2. Morton Ramey, the fiery host of the reality series "Purgatory's Kitchen", had less money in his briefcase than Wilt Quinn, the leader of the Puzzlania Quilt Guild; Morton's briefcase's number was also exactly one-third that of Wilt's.
3. Annie Malone runs a local pet store which Eliza and her friends have patronized in the past; Annie's briefcase did not bear the number 5, and did not contain the $25 prize.
4. Haleigh Hawthorne plays the character Harmony on the soap opera "The Middle-Aged and the Narcoleptic"; in addition to being the only person with the same first and last initial, Haleigh held the only briefcase with the same number on it as the amount of money (in dollars) inside.
5. Mark Green, a vocalist who rose to fame on "Puzzlanian Idol", held a briefcase numbered exactly one higher than Haleigh's briefcase.
6. Moira Jackson, a veteran cruciverbalist who has become involved in the League of Puzzlers of the Nation in recent years, had a lower-numbered briefcase than the one containing $200 (which was not briefcase 9).
7. Floyd Webster, a renowned performer at the Euterpean Theatre, had more money in his briefcase than Moira, but less money than briefcase 5. Floyd did not hold briefcase 9.
8. The amount of money (in dollars) in briefcase 4, multiplied by the amount of money (in dollars) in briefcase 7, is a perfect square.
1. Maui Handle, normally the master of ceremonies on "Logic or No Logic", was assigned by the producers to hold a briefcase on this episode. Maui's briefcase had precisely 10 times as much money as Eliza's briefcase. The numbers on Maui's and Eliza's briefcases had a sum of 10; Maui's briefcase was higher-numbered than Eliza's.
2. Morton Ramey, the fiery host of the reality series "Purgatory's Kitchen", had less money in his briefcase than Wilt Quinn, the leader of the Puzzlania Quilt Guild; Morton's briefcase's number was also exactly one-third that of Wilt's.
3. Annie Malone runs a local pet store which Eliza and her friends have patronized in the past; Annie's briefcase did not bear the number 5, and did not contain the $25 prize.
4. Haleigh Hawthorne plays the character Harmony on the soap opera "The Middle-Aged and the Narcoleptic"; in addition to being the only person with the same first and last initial, Haleigh held the only briefcase with the same number on it as the amount of money (in dollars) inside.
5. Mark Green, a vocalist who rose to fame on "Puzzlanian Idol", held a briefcase numbered exactly one higher than Haleigh's briefcase.
6. Moira Jackson, a veteran cruciverbalist who has become involved in the League of Puzzlers of the Nation in recent years, had a lower-numbered briefcase than the one containing $200 (which was not briefcase 9).
7. Floyd Webster, a renowned performer at the Euterpean Theatre, had more money in his briefcase than Moira, but less money than briefcase 5. Floyd did not hold briefcase 9.
8. The amount of money (in dollars) in briefcase 4, multiplied by the amount of money (in dollars) in briefcase 7, is a perfect square.
Monday Mutant 107: Streampunk / Tetra Firma
Shade in tetrominoes 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. No two congruent tetrominoes may share an
edge, even if they are rotated or reflected versions of each other.
Numbers in a cell indicate the sizes of the orthogonally contiguous
groups formed by black cells sharing a corner or an edge with that cell.
For example, "3" means that the cell shares a corner or an edge with
three black cells, and they form a single group, whereas "1 3" means the
cell shares a corner with four black cells which form a group of three
cells and a single separate cell. Cells with numbers cannot be black.
Monday Mutant 106: Streaming Content / Tetra Firma
Shade in tetrominoes in simultaneous accordance with the rules of Streaming Content and the rules of Tetra Firma. (As the grid isn't partitioned into regions, the rule of Tetra Firma that every region contains one tetromino is waived.)
Monday Mutant 105: Polyominous / Quad-Wrangle
In this Polyominous puzzle, every region must be shaped like a rectangle. (Thus, the puzzle is similar to a Quad-Wrangle puzzle, but without the restriction that every region must contain exactly one number, and with the restriction that regions with the same area may not share an edge.) The rules are otherwise unchanged.
Contest 5: Letting Individuals Think Separately
Nikoli has a series of contests known as The Minority Decides. I have decided to take the concept a step further. . . .
How to enter:
This contest consists of a logic puzzle and a series of multiple-choice questions (and by "multiple" choice, I mean "two" choices). To participate in the contest, simply send an e-mail to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com containing the answer to the puzzle, your answers to the questions, and a name or pseudonym by which you want to be referred when I post the results afterwards. Only one entry is allowed per person, but you may change your entry at any time before the deadline, 11:59 PM (Central time) on May 25, 2012. The winners will be announced on my birthday, May 26, 2012.
How to win:
After the deadline has passed, only valid entries (including a correct answer to the puzzle and answers to all of the questions) will be considered. For each question, the number of valid entries which selected each possible answer will be compared; those who selected the less popular answer will receive 1 point for every entrant who selected the more popular answer. (For example, if 18 entrants select option A and 12 entrants select option B, then the ones who selected option B will get 18 points apiece.) In the event of a tie, the vote I cast before starting the contest will be used as a tie-breaker; the entrants who selected the answer I didn't select will receive points, but my vote will not count as a point. (For example, if 15 entrants select option A and 15 entrants select option B, and I have selected option B, then the ones who selected option A will get 15 points apiece.)
The entrant with the highest total score will be declared the winner of Letting Individuals Think Separately. In the event of a tie for highest score, the winner will be chosen from among the tied scores via random.org.
Terms:
By entering the contest, you agree to the following terms:
a) You agree to provide me with a mailing address in the event that you win. (In return, I agree not to use your mailing address for any malicious purposes, such as sending junk mail or other undesired things.)
b) You agree to wait patiently for your prize to arrive, without moaning or kvetching, especially if you don't live in the continental United States, Japan, or Turkey.
c) You are permitted to ask any questions about this contest, including clarifications regarding the questions, as comments on this post; any questions asked privately will be answered publicly.
Those are all of the rules. Good luck! :)
Part i. The Puzzle
Solve the Tetra Firma puzzle below (rules of Tetra Firma):
How many black cells are in each of the three indicated rows? These three numbers, from top to bottom (A, B, C), form the final answer.
Part ii. The Questions
1. History has shown me that logic puzzle fans enjoy winning logic puzzle books in contests. What language should these books be in?
A) Japanese! The winner will receive their choice of any single book from Nikoli's Pencil Puzzle Book Series.
B) Turkish! The winner will receive their choice of any single issue of Akil Oyunlari. (I highly recommend issues 73 through 76, as well as the upcoming issue 77, because I contributed to them.)
2. I feel like giving away a booby prize in this contest. Who shall the recipient be?
A) The second-place finisher (with random.org settling ties as before).
B) Any random participant with a valid entry, besides the winner, of course.
3. For some time, it has been traditional for every 25th puzzle posted on this blog to be of the giant size 31x45. I want to do something different for puzzle 575, but what?
A) Shortly after this contest is over, I will attempt to raise at least $90 on Kickstarter or a similar service. If successful, then puzzle 575 will be upgraded from the usual "giant" size of 31x45 to the "super giant" size 64x50!
B) Flying in the face of tradition, and saving me a buttload of work, puzzle 575 will be a 10x10 Dominnocuous, and no amount of monetary pledges will be able to change that. No puzzles with more than 289 cells in their grids will be posted until puzzle 600.
4. Zotmeister's Totally Rooked inspires me. Which of the following Process of Illumination mutations should I do as a Monday Mutant?
A) One which replaces the light bulbs with nightriders (a fairy chess piece whose function is explained in the aforementioned link).
B) One which replaces the light bulbs with chess queens (you do know how chess queens move, don't you? They combine the mobility of a rook and a bishop!).
5. It is commonplace for me to wear a shirt whenever I go out in public. Which of these shirts would look better on me? (I will take pictures of myself wearing it in several public places as proof.)
A) A self-promoting shirt! Last year for Christmas, I acquired a custom T-shirt via Zazzle, with Monday Mutant 104 on the front and my blog's logo on the back. This shirt allows me to advertise my faith and my love of puzzles at the same time, and also just makes me feel very, very happy. It is the best shirt in the universe.
B) A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic shirt! I loathe the show with a fiery passion, in part due to a pushy fandom telling me that my previously neutral stance on the show was based on watching the "wrong" episodes (yeah, because I had no idea that this series without a LOST-style narrative would require me to watch specific episodes first) and other crap like that. If this option wins, I will select the shirt myself from either a local store or an online vendor, and when I'm done wearing it, I'll foist the cursed thing onto a local Goodwill. Until the shirt has been donated, I will not be allowed to wear any self-promoting blog-related shirts in public.
6. While it is not commonplace for me to wear a hat whenever I go out in public, I will do so for the purposes of this contest. What hat should I wear? (Once again, pictures will be posted to prove it happened.)
A) A self-promoting hat! I will buy a trucker hat on Zazzle featuring my blog's logo and URL. It will be the best hat in the universe.
B) An Angry Birds hat! I detest Angry Birds, as it feels more like "find the winning pixel" than anything fun, like a logic puzzle. If this option wins, my mother, an Angry Birds fan, will select a hat for me to embarrass myself with (or, if she refuses, I'll select one). I will donate the hat to Goodwill afterwards.
7. I feel charitable. Sanctuary Home for Children is an organization which helps orphans and widows in Tenali, India. One of the board members in Abilene, Ray Pettit, is one of my closest friends and a gaming partner in real life. How much money should I donate to this cause?
A) 20 US dollars. A nice, round number.
B) 2d20 US dollars. I'll roll a 20-sided die twice, add the results, and make that my donation amount.
8. Who should get points for this question?
A) The participants with valid entries who selected option B.
B) The participants with valid entries who selected option A.
9. This question is not worth the normal point value. How much is it worth?
A) The normal point value multiplied by e (approximately 2.718).
B) The normal point value multiplied by the golden ratio (approximately 1.618).
Send your answers to the above puzzle and these nine questions, as well as your name or pseudonym, to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com to enter the Letting Individuals Think Separately contest.
How to enter:
This contest consists of a logic puzzle and a series of multiple-choice questions (and by "multiple" choice, I mean "two" choices). To participate in the contest, simply send an e-mail to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com containing the answer to the puzzle, your answers to the questions, and a name or pseudonym by which you want to be referred when I post the results afterwards. Only one entry is allowed per person, but you may change your entry at any time before the deadline, 11:59 PM (Central time) on May 25, 2012. The winners will be announced on my birthday, May 26, 2012.
How to win:
After the deadline has passed, only valid entries (including a correct answer to the puzzle and answers to all of the questions) will be considered. For each question, the number of valid entries which selected each possible answer will be compared; those who selected the less popular answer will receive 1 point for every entrant who selected the more popular answer. (For example, if 18 entrants select option A and 12 entrants select option B, then the ones who selected option B will get 18 points apiece.) In the event of a tie, the vote I cast before starting the contest will be used as a tie-breaker; the entrants who selected the answer I didn't select will receive points, but my vote will not count as a point. (For example, if 15 entrants select option A and 15 entrants select option B, and I have selected option B, then the ones who selected option A will get 15 points apiece.)
The entrant with the highest total score will be declared the winner of Letting Individuals Think Separately. In the event of a tie for highest score, the winner will be chosen from among the tied scores via random.org.
Terms:
By entering the contest, you agree to the following terms:
a) You agree to provide me with a mailing address in the event that you win. (In return, I agree not to use your mailing address for any malicious purposes, such as sending junk mail or other undesired things.)
b) You agree to wait patiently for your prize to arrive, without moaning or kvetching, especially if you don't live in the continental United States, Japan, or Turkey.
c) You are permitted to ask any questions about this contest, including clarifications regarding the questions, as comments on this post; any questions asked privately will be answered publicly.
Those are all of the rules. Good luck! :)
Part i. The Puzzle
Solve the Tetra Firma puzzle below (rules of Tetra Firma):
Part ii. The Questions
1. History has shown me that logic puzzle fans enjoy winning logic puzzle books in contests. What language should these books be in?
A) Japanese! The winner will receive their choice of any single book from Nikoli's Pencil Puzzle Book Series.
B) Turkish! The winner will receive their choice of any single issue of Akil Oyunlari. (I highly recommend issues 73 through 76, as well as the upcoming issue 77, because I contributed to them.)
2. I feel like giving away a booby prize in this contest. Who shall the recipient be?
A) The second-place finisher (with random.org settling ties as before).
B) Any random participant with a valid entry, besides the winner, of course.
3. For some time, it has been traditional for every 25th puzzle posted on this blog to be of the giant size 31x45. I want to do something different for puzzle 575, but what?
A) Shortly after this contest is over, I will attempt to raise at least $90 on Kickstarter or a similar service. If successful, then puzzle 575 will be upgraded from the usual "giant" size of 31x45 to the "super giant" size 64x50!
B) Flying in the face of tradition, and saving me a buttload of work, puzzle 575 will be a 10x10 Dominnocuous, and no amount of monetary pledges will be able to change that. No puzzles with more than 289 cells in their grids will be posted until puzzle 600.
4. Zotmeister's Totally Rooked inspires me. Which of the following Process of Illumination mutations should I do as a Monday Mutant?
A) One which replaces the light bulbs with nightriders (a fairy chess piece whose function is explained in the aforementioned link).
B) One which replaces the light bulbs with chess queens (you do know how chess queens move, don't you? They combine the mobility of a rook and a bishop!).
5. It is commonplace for me to wear a shirt whenever I go out in public. Which of these shirts would look better on me? (I will take pictures of myself wearing it in several public places as proof.)
A) A self-promoting shirt! Last year for Christmas, I acquired a custom T-shirt via Zazzle, with Monday Mutant 104 on the front and my blog's logo on the back. This shirt allows me to advertise my faith and my love of puzzles at the same time, and also just makes me feel very, very happy. It is the best shirt in the universe.
B) A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic shirt! I loathe the show with a fiery passion, in part due to a pushy fandom telling me that my previously neutral stance on the show was based on watching the "wrong" episodes (yeah, because I had no idea that this series without a LOST-style narrative would require me to watch specific episodes first) and other crap like that. If this option wins, I will select the shirt myself from either a local store or an online vendor, and when I'm done wearing it, I'll foist the cursed thing onto a local Goodwill. Until the shirt has been donated, I will not be allowed to wear any self-promoting blog-related shirts in public.
6. While it is not commonplace for me to wear a hat whenever I go out in public, I will do so for the purposes of this contest. What hat should I wear? (Once again, pictures will be posted to prove it happened.)
A) A self-promoting hat! I will buy a trucker hat on Zazzle featuring my blog's logo and URL. It will be the best hat in the universe.
B) An Angry Birds hat! I detest Angry Birds, as it feels more like "find the winning pixel" than anything fun, like a logic puzzle. If this option wins, my mother, an Angry Birds fan, will select a hat for me to embarrass myself with (or, if she refuses, I'll select one). I will donate the hat to Goodwill afterwards.
7. I feel charitable. Sanctuary Home for Children is an organization which helps orphans and widows in Tenali, India. One of the board members in Abilene, Ray Pettit, is one of my closest friends and a gaming partner in real life. How much money should I donate to this cause?
A) 20 US dollars. A nice, round number.
B) 2d20 US dollars. I'll roll a 20-sided die twice, add the results, and make that my donation amount.
8. Who should get points for this question?
A) The participants with valid entries who selected option B.
B) The participants with valid entries who selected option A.
9. This question is not worth the normal point value. How much is it worth?
A) The normal point value multiplied by e (approximately 2.718).
B) The normal point value multiplied by the golden ratio (approximately 1.618).
Send your answers to the above puzzle and these nine questions, as well as your name or pseudonym, to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com to enter the Letting Individuals Think Separately contest.
Puzzle 545: Polyominous 51
Stay tuned this Monday for a contest called Letting Individuals Think Separately!
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