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Post by Geodus on Jun 21, 2018 2:02:43 GMT -5
I have another puzzle I could use some feedback on. This is fairly small and self-contained. Solution of this puzzle should yield a 4 digit number (which will open a combination lock at my party). The puzzle is themed around comic books and superheroes/villains, and if you're not a walking comic book encyclopedia, you might need to use Google to help with the clues (which is fine). Some of the clues are a little too straightforward right now, but I may leave them that way because I don't want this to be too challenging. This is a "piece word" puzzle, where you arrange the triplets of letters in the table to solve the clues. Each triplet is only used once. I'm not entirely satisfied with this puzzle, and I'm not sure whether to abandon it or try it with some longer source material (coming up with a pool of 9-letter comic book characters was a challenge). docs.google.com/document/d/1qRB4wJrM0Htxz-Hkbl8X2MwtQFayW20SEYHSIXXJYSs/edit?usp=sharing |
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Post by rob on Jun 21, 2018 3:45:41 GMT -5
I think it's a very clever puzzle. You must have spent an inordinate amount of time finding, not only nine-letter names of comic book characters, but also ones that fill the shaded column properly. I've seen most of the Marvel movies, a few of the X-Men movies, the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, the better Netflix series and the Disney movie referenced (great movie!) I was able to solve 3, 6, 8, 11 and 12 without Googling. I guessed number 5 by its description and by looking at the remaining letter triplets. That's all I needed to figure out the 4 digit number. I feel within a group of casual superhero fans it's easily solved without needing to know the obscure characters. I sure as hell didn't know any of them  So, well done and don't you dare abandon this! EDIT: I was curious about the other answers and in Googling them, I'd guessed number 5 wrong. I went a different way with "smart skin" and used number 4's answer. By coincidence it yielded the same four digit number  |
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Post by Geodus on Jun 21, 2018 17:51:53 GMT -5
Thanks for the feedback, rob . My process for creating this was to first come up with a list of 9-letter names (I had 68 total), and then determine which were capable of producing a desirable answer in one of the columns between 2 and 8. Since I was trying to come up with words that could represent numbers, it turned out that only the 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th columns could work, so I tried each in turn to see where they got me. All but one (the 7th) ended up with insufficient usable letters or required a name that was so obscure I was loathe to use it. Even so, the 7th still had some pretty obscure names, which was why I wasn't sure this puzzle was feasible. But it sounds like a mix each easily recognizable names and obscure ones works since you have the letter triples to help. |
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Post by Todd on Jun 21, 2018 18:17:20 GMT -5
I'm not terribly familiar with comic books after about 1966, but all were readily findable by googling. Definitely a functional and successful puzzle.
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Post by Geodus on Jul 2, 2018 19:51:04 GMT -5
And I have one more puzzle that I'll like to get feedback on. This is a (mostly) straightforward crossword puzzle that ties into the logic puzzle I posted previously. Two of the long answers (17 and 64 across) will either require solving the logic puzzle first, or, they will provide additional clues to the logic puzzle (depending on the order in which they are solved). My hope is that groups working on these will communicate and the connection between the two will facilitate solving them. This puzzle will yield two answers: the circled letters will provide a code to unlock an alpha combination lock, and later a grid (not supplied here) with holes will reveal a code to unlock a four digit numeric lock. I've tried to make this puzzle as simple as possible, but I discovered how difficult it is to set a themed crossword, so there are a few obscure words. crossword.info/puzzles/pfreese/COVCrossword/COVCrossword.pdf |
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Post by amanda on Jul 3, 2018 3:46:02 GMT -5
And I have one more puzzle that I'll like to get feedback on. This is a (mostly) straightforward crossword puzzle that ties into the logic puzzle I posted previously. Two of the long answers (17 and 64 across) will either require solving the logic puzzle first, or, they will provide additional clues to the logic puzzle (depending on the order in which they are solved). My hope is that groups working on these will communicate and the connection between the two will facilitate solving them. This puzzle will yield two answers: the circled letters will provide a code to unlock an alpha combination lock, and later a grid (not supplied here) with holes will reveal a code to unlock a four digit numeric lock. I've tried to make this puzzle as simple as possible, but I discovered how difficult it is to set a themed crossword, so there are a few obscure words. crossword.info/puzzles/pfreese/COVCrossword/COVCrossword.pdfFor the most part, this was pretty smooth. If people are coming to this without the logic puzzle first, you might want to take another look at the lower left corner, as it has more specialty words crossing the presumably unknown theme word than elsewhere. Also, I don't think 44 down is clued properly--the clue is one thing, and the answer is actually a different thing, though it's easy to see how they may have been conflated. You may also want to consider recluing 39 across--the clue is worded in a way that tends to be misleading, and given it is in an area with more specialty words, you might want to reduce the difficulty there if that is a concern with the intended audience. Hope this helps. I know the pain of theme setting grids all too well, and I think this one worked well overall. |
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Post by Geodus on Jul 3, 2018 11:03:12 GMT -5
If people are coming to this without the logic puzzle first, you might want to take another look at the lower left corner, as it has more specialty words crossing the presumably unknown theme word than elsewhere. Also, I don't think 44 down is clued properly--the clue is one thing, and the answer is actually a different thing, though it's easy to see how they may have been conflated. You may also want to consider recluing 39 across--the clue is worded in a way that tends to be misleading, and given it is in an area with more specialty words, you might want to reduce the difficulty there if that is a concern with the intended audience. Thanks, Amanda - exactly the sort of feedback I was looking for. I changed 44 down to "Bosman's primate". It's very specific, but it's an obscure word and I don't want to make it too difficult (like 41 down, but I struggled to fit anything else there). For 39 across, the clue should have had a question mark, i.e, "Lay waste?", as I was trying to be punny. If it still fails, I'll provide a more direct clue. I agree that the lower left corner is troublesome -- I really had difficulty filling it. I tried re-setting it and managed to come up with (hopefully) easier words. Here's the version with the lower left re-set: Crossword.pdf (329.99 KB) |
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Post by amanda on Jul 4, 2018 22:37:24 GMT -5
Thanks, Amanda - exactly the sort of feedback I was looking for. I changed 44 down to "Bosman's primate". It's very specific, but it's an obscure word and I don't want to make it too difficult (like 41 down, but I struggled to fit anything else there). For 39 across, the clue should have had a question mark, i.e, "Lay waste?", as I was trying to be punny. If it still fails, I'll provide a more direct clue. I agree that the lower left corner is troublesome -- I really had difficulty filling it. I tried re-setting it and managed to come up with (hopefully) easier words. Here's the version with the lower left re-set: View AttachmentI think that new version smooths out many of the rougher spots. Hopefully you will get fresh eyes to confirm that, though, since I obviously wasn't coming in with a blank slate for this version. |
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Post by centaurofattn on Jul 17, 2018 14:11:39 GMT -5
The only issue I ran into (assuming you still needed input haha) is the right center area (like 34 down). Everything else worked out for me.
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Post by Geodus on Jul 17, 2018 15:28:41 GMT -5
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Post by Todd on Jul 17, 2018 18:01:43 GMT -5
Let me meditate on it.....
Ohmmmm.....
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Post by Geodus on Jul 18, 2018 23:35:34 GMT -5
And here's one more. I need to polish the iconography and appearance for this, but I think it is functional. This is a maze which provides the combination to a "speed dial" directional lock. Enter the maze from the bottom, and exit out at the top. The cells with arrows only allow passage in a horizontal or vertical direction (I still need a name for these). Entering the cells with the target icon will cause all the arrow cells to rotate 90 degrees, so that horizontal-only cells become vertical-only, and vice-versa.  The solution will be a sequence of directions, where each step in the sequence is one of Up, Down, Left, or Right. |
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Post by centaurofattn on Jul 19, 2018 10:24:36 GMT -5
I haven't gone through it fully yet, but depending on how skilled the puzzle-solvers are, you may want to include how many lock movements there are total. So far I have one pattern that is five and one that is seven. I suppose in real life I could just try both.
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Post by Geodus on Jul 21, 2018 21:11:34 GMT -5
I made this puzzle today. If you've ever done an Akari puzzle before, you'll immediately recognize this type of puzzle. The solution to the puzzle will unlock a four digit combination lock. drive.google.com/open?id=1P0mLvgM_i8JmK0if6Tpt35cD0iHGYsHwI'm pretty satisfied how this puzzle turned out. Let me know what you think. |
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Post by centaurofattn on Jul 23, 2018 9:02:56 GMT -5
That was fun! My only suggestion would be if someone isn't familiar with the rules (like me), they might need something added like "sensors cannot be attached to corners of buildings." I went with minesweeper rules and eliminated some fair game squares in the first run through before I looked it up haha. I'm also notorious for missing this particular coding for the final combination until it's purposely pointed out, so I'm glad I saw it this time.
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