go

done

Done

go

Difficulty score 21. An easy medium.

im finding it slow-going so far...

Don't be discouraged. Most people here think that the medium puzzles are the hardest, but this one isn't like that, in my opinion.

still pluggin - trying to avoid greens, only 13 filled...

stuck at 16 filled going green

i filled in one or two more - but i must be missing something obvious cuz im going to start going red now...

wellp, my first guess solved it - but i still have no rationale for the choice i made... sigh.

I thought that was pretty easy - no need for any advanced techniques. I had to use greens (manual, not auto - makes things much clearer) but then it all fell out reasonably easily.

go

done

used greens but needed no advanced solving techniques

Done, but I agree with "h'. I needed to guess and I don't see a solution method.

Spreadeagle; I was slowed till I noticed a solution with 8 in the upper boxes and I thing a 4 along to right boxes. Just cross hatched, I think.

go

done. felt a bit tougher than a 21, but needed no greens. just cross-hatching, scanning, missing number, whatever. nothing fancy.

Go.

The computer listed cross-hatching, missing digit scan, and region intersection analysis (or virtual cross-hatching) as the techniques it used. All can be done without green.

DrWho, has your program ever found a non-unique solution?

It can, but I don't believe it has ever detected any published puzzle to have more than 1 solution.

When there is more than 1 solution the program aborts with an error message.

That's good. Because I frequently find that the uniqueness breaking technique can be used.

Unique rectangles requires faith in the puzzle publisher. The program cannot use that technique or it could not detect ambiguous puzzles.

How does it detect non-unique solutions?

When the puzzle cannot be solved by any technique it knows, it guesses. If a guess succeeds, it remembers that but tries another distictly different guess. If the second guess succeeds the puzzle is ambiguous.

Oh, I see.

DRWHO::

GmAn!

DRWHO---TRY TODAYS BRAINBASHER, SUPER TOUGH PUZZLE & LET ME KNOW IF YOU SOLVE IT WITHOUT GUESSING. I THINK IT REQUIRES BOTH X WING AND Y WING SOLUTIONS

Obviously a 2nd guess could fail. In that case the guess is eliminated from the "greens". If the puzzle is truly ambiguous the program will be reduced to guessing again later. Eventually with all the wrong guesses eliminated it will discover multiple right guesses and quit.

Ok gman, I'll have a go at it.

Done. I don't think I used anything but crosshatching, intersections and pairs. I used greens, but shouldn't have needed them. One intersection was hard to spot without greens.

Done. No greens and no complicated moves. Seemed more like an easy.

ooh, i hate intersections. always miss them

dammit, messed up, must start over

and a second time, have to start over. i'll try again later!

Brainbashers' "super hard" one needed multiple xy-wings and that was about it. None of the ugly across-the-board maneuvers that the expert puzzles over here usually need.

hello how is everyone today?

whoa - doing yesterday's 'easy', and ... damn, it's hard

done

something's broken when it takes that long to find an opening in an easy puzzle!

Gman, today's super hard at BrainBashers could be done with X-wings and XY chains.

chebuctonian, do you mean the March 29th puzzle? Yesterdays started fast for me.

can somebody help me please? just one number....

Done! Not too difficult. One guess and then it all fell into place.

nobody?

What number?

oh somebody is talking to me

the 7th number in the first row

How many blank cells do you have in the first row?

right now just two...why?

Is the other empty cell just to the left of this one?

i chanced it already....i tried it with logic...now i try it with guessing....messed up twice already

changed i meant

There are only 2 possible digits that can go in the 7th number of the 1st row.

tell me

Check the buddies (all the digits filled in in the 1st row, 7th column and upper right block). There are at most 2 missing.

Do you know how to use the mark up system (little green or red numbers)?

yep but it drives me nuts

i tried that one already

i tried with brittlefish

Have you found the 9 in the lower right hand block?

In fact the lower right hand block is probably the first one you will complete.

that's very true

Then all the 7s.

i did

Then the 7th row.

i did

Have you located the 5 in the upper right hand block?

yep finally

Then the number you are looking for should be obvious :)

yep i think i was a little bit blind ;-) ...thanks a lot

DONE !!!

I knew you could.

thank you....now it's time for babble :)

You're welcome.

GO!

done

i was just looking thru the chat - if drwho (or someone) could explain how to determine the 5 in the upper-right block, then i might figure out what had me stumped...

I think you can find naked pair in the top center block and there is a 5 given in the top left block so, that leave only one place in the top right block where a 5 may go.

At least it only leaves one place for the 5 after you have filled in the bottom right block.

hmmm - thanx for trying to help, but i dont see the naked pair in top center, so i still am left in ... oh CRAP - finally see it... intersection problem with top left opens up the thing i was missing... thanx!

go

done

go - drunk

you know why i can tell?

don't fall off the computer chair, hk!

just put my bagel in the ashtray instead of on th napkin

so that's what that means

LESLIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

ew, better go get another one, hk

so - when is the get-to-get-her

wow, i didn't know i warranted that much punctuation

how can one confuse a bagal with a cig?

it is so damned hard finding the actual letters on these keys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

eek, we need to get on that, huh?

yes - leslie - 1 bottle of puligny notnrachet after a funeral & everyone warrents everything~

!

What would you expect from someone named HellenKeller who can't find the keys to a keyboard

puligny notnrachet?

limer - good wine & grief = confusrion beyond beflief!!!!!!!!!!!! ooooooh - you get lots of !'s too!

no - NOT 'no'ntrachet , instead MOntracet

LOL limer - you know i love you, right?

confusion is ok, as long as you are not that way all the time.

(that's what drunk peeps sya, yes?0

Love you 2, HK

nah, she's not blitzed that often

Hey HK, I didn't go ape over a little bagal in ashtray.

I was just wondering if that was a habit or not.

wait - whaddaya mean by "that often" ???

no, the bagel is stilll good

ewwwwww!

5 second rule, eh?

doesn't it have ashes on it?

funeral today - first one after step-son died, so there's the added residual (TONS OF) grief

LA - who the f cares>

*hugs* to hk

I d

do

stupid computers

My condolences

ok, so the get - to get- her : i take it you're in charge now? LOL, since you gave out your e-mail addy to everyone!

who's in charge around here?

yeah, i am missing a few e-mail addresses though... i'm going to see if I can find those now

later people

love you all

gotta go

ROFL - YES! 5 sec rule! that's the ticket!

bye limer!

you all know that drunk people shout alot, right?

yes ma'am. oh shoot haven't signed in to my yahoo in a while, you sent me lots of e-mail :)

tyvm - LA & limer - it has been a hell of a last almost 4 months -i want you (& everyone in the universe too) to go to the web addy on my babble profile to read about him - bubba was one of the best people i've ever had the priviledge to know

bye limer

i did go look at that a while back, hk, and read his obit as well. you did an excellent job writing it.

did you realize that alcohol slows your reflex time? in my phd level social psych class - the prof had a great idea, he said that if you taught people to drive while they were drunk

then they would have better drivign sills - like if i'm driving & i'm a little ti-psy, then i just focus on the car's tail lights in front of me more than i usually would

you should teach them in bumper cars or something though, so there's no damage

leslie - had a phone call, thank you very much for you compliment & for your sympathies - mean sooooo much to me - life can be very sucky

also, i can't wait to meet veryone

oooh - i should say i had a phone call in there, sorry

do you have e-mail addresses for any of these people?: espritdjean, yvo, knutmeg or jai, arb or tazpink?

LOL leslie - good one!

hmm, is that a no?

jai does not live here- that much iknow, knutmeg i have seen recently in late nite (flip time) chat in babble but i do not know any of these addys

you know, the sad thing is -i don't keep the e-mail addys - yvo - i might have somewhere

i feel like i'm organizing a high school reunion

i will look at all my strewn notes for yvo - i gotta go now - gettogether better in good weather anyway, no worries mate (ooooh, i've met too many aussies, LOL)

LOL - gee - BULLSHIT - i've seen pics of damn-what's-her-name (no, really) that just g0t married & NO ONE at my reunion looked like that!!!!!

ok, just shoot me an e-mail if you find it. have a good drunk night, hk

who just got married - with the wild bachelor parties?

damn, can't think of who it is!

thankx LA - see you soon!

go

FINALLY EFFIN DONE