Normal Jigsaw sudoku puzzles

Handmade <a href="http://www.sudocue.net/jigsawkiller.php">Killer puzzles</a> with 100% irregularity warrantee.<br>If you can handle these monsters, we'd like to know how you did it.
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Would you like to see Regular (easy, medium, hard difficulty) jigsaw sudoku puzzles here?

I would love to!
4
80%
Not really
1
20%
I'd play it once in awhile
0
No votes
I'd never play them
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 5

lynn893
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Normal Jigsaw sudoku puzzles

Post by lynn893 »

Ruud, have you ever thought of putting 'normal' (as well as the 'killer') jigsaw puzzles on this site? I found them on the other site you moderate on and absolutely love them - although I am just starting out with them and am not a pro yet... it would be nice to see some here.
Last edited by lynn893 on Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
mhparker
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Post by mhparker »

Ruud,

Although I would also welcome some regular (i.e., non-killer) jigsaws, I definitely wouldn't like this to be at the expense of the Texas Jigsaws. Whereas the former can be found elsewhere, the latter are pretty well unique, and shouldn't be allowed to go the way of the dodo.

A dissapointing feature of other jigsaws found on the web is that they can often be solved without using any Law of Leftovers (even so-called "diabolical" ones!). I would therefore be in favor of any regular jigsaws posted here being pretty tough, without being ruudiculous. In other words, hard enough to generate a bit of talk on them on the forum, whilst remaining fun to solve.
Cheers,
Mike
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Post by Ruud »

I have modified my puzzle generator to create 'regular' 9x9 Jigsaws in SumoCue format.

Here is a sample (in tiny text):

SumoCueV1=6J0=9J0=0J1=0J1=0J1=0J1=0J2=4J2=1J2=0J0=5J0=0J0=0J1=0J1=0J3=0J2=8J2=0J2=0J0=0J0=0J1=0J1=0J1=0J3=0J4=0J2=0J2=0J0=0J0=0J5=0J5=0J3=0J3=0J4=0J4=0J2=0J5=0J5=0J5=0J5=0J3=0J4=0J4=0J4=0J4=0J6=0J5=2J5=6J3=3J3=1J4=7J4=0J7=0J7=2J6=0J6=9J5=0J3=0J8=0J8=1J8=0J7=3J7=4J6=0J6=0J6=0J3=0J8=0J8=0J7=0J7=6J7=9J6=0J6=0J6=0J8=0J8=0J8=0J8=0J7=4J7

I still need to work at a program to rate these jigsaws. Some seem to exceed the "extreme" levels found at the UK competition...

Ruud
“If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldn't.” - Emerson M Pugh
mhparker
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Post by mhparker »

That was quick! Thanks, Ruud. :D

As far as rating goes, I personally throw every jigsaw sudoku I see into one of the following five "buckets", the sample puzzle you just gave us fitting squarely into the second-highest category (category 4):

Category 1: Solveable via naked and hidden singles only. Probably only interesting for commercial publications that need to appeal to the masses.

Category 2: As for category 1, but also requiring line/"box" interaction (locked candidates).

Category 3: As for category 2, but also requiring knowledge of specific jigsaw techniques (Law of Leftovers, triangulation...). Note: This appears to be the end of the road for the Daily Telegraph, which appears to stop here and rate the puzzle "diabolical"!

Category 4: As for category 3, but also requiring medium level vanilla techniques (e.g., naked/hidden subsets, X-Wing, etc.). If The Times published jigsaws, it would probably stop here and rate the puzzle "super fiendish".

Category 5: As for category 4, but also requiring advanced vanilla techniques (e.g., chains/loops, ALS, etc.).

I personally would be interested in categories 3 and 4, but it would be interesting to find out what other people would like to see here (lynn893, are you still listening?!).
Cheers,
Mike
lynn893
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Post by lynn893 »

:D

I'm still listening!

:D

As I posted, I just found jigsaw puzzles. I'm not a pro in the solving techniques - I would say I'm 'medium ' I understand line / box candidates, twins, triples, quads, x-wing.

That is almost my limit - although I have gone farther on occasion - but I also use alot of bifurication (yes, I know I spelled it wrong - whatever - it all comes down to guessing between two numbers in a grid! I end up[ writhing [ g10 - 9 - r4/c9 or r5c9] - then i end p doing one until I can't anymore, then I always do the other as well - to see if one ends up in an error - one usually does - then at least I can continue on with the one bi - whatever - that was correct! :P )

Ruud, please set us up with jigsaw puzzles that are NOT diabolical!!!

Thanks so much from Canada!
Lynn893
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