I did it!

This is the place to complain about the latest <a href="http://www.sudocue.net/samurai.php">Samurai</a> or boast about being in pole position in the list.
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enxio27
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Posts: 165
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2007 1:20 am

I did it!

Post by enxio27 »

Well, it's not the Samurai Contest puzzle, but I finally completed the "First Samurai" puzzle on the Specials page. I can't devote the time to work on puzzles for more than an hour here and there, so it took me a while, but I'm really proud of myself!

It also took several tries. After botching the first couple of attempts, I decided to use a more systematic approach. I used Sudocue to print out the constituent puzzles with their candidates (I matched up the candidates in the overlapping boxes before printing).

Then I wrote down each and every step, so that if I made a mistake, I could backtrack rather than having to start over. It took extra time and 13 sheets of paper (!) to write everything down, but it saved me at least three or four times from having to start over again. Having to articulate the steps also helped me to work out the logic in my mind.

The only real snag I hit was that I had missed eliminating a candidate in one of the overlapping boxes when I was matching them up. Once I discovered and fixed that (about three-fourths of the way through the puzzle), the puzzle pretty much imploded from there.

The puzzle required nothing more advanced than locked candidates, but that's about the limit of my technique repertoire right now. As a matter of fact, I was a little shaky even on those, so this puzzle helped me to solidify that technique in my mind.

I highly recommend this puzzle for learners, although experts might find it too easy. Considering the time it took me, though, I don't think I'm going to be entering any contests anytime soon.
Pete
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Location: Cincinnati Ohio, USA

Post by Pete »

Most of the big puzzles arent too hard.

Ruud has been making them harder over the years.

The component puzzles are nothing like the nightmares .
intersections, some triples and sometimes a quad will get almost all of them.

There are a great many candidates to remove. It takes a lot of time.

The first one i did took a lot of cutting and pasting with notepad.

CluelessHelper keeps all the candidates on all the grids straight.

The watch and double clicking and the ^Z to take back moves does everything I ever desired in a program.

when it Highlites the centerdots in clueless explosions , i see most of the center dot pairs and intersections it works out really well.
"It gets dark at night" - Olbers
enxio27
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Posts: 165
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2007 1:20 am

Post by enxio27 »

Pete wrote:CluelessHelper keeps all the candidates on all the grids straight.

The watch and double clicking and the ^Z to take back moves does everything I ever desired in a program.

when it Highlites the centerdots in clueless explosions , i see most of the center dot pairs and intersections it works out really well.
I don't like doing puzzles on the computer. I print them out and do them with pencil and paper. Most of my puzzle time is either in bed before I go to sleep, or when I'm out of the house and waiting somewhere, or on long car trips.

I tried Clueless Helper, but since it doesn't print, I don't get much use out of it. About all I use Sudocue for is printing out the puzzles and letting it do the candidate pencil marks for me. I will probably also use the new collection maintenance features (when I get back to standard 9x9 grids again).
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