2010 US Puzzle Championships
Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
Does your claim of 180 include the 15 minutes required to type in the answer keys correctly? hehe, just teasing, that's an awesome score! Well done!
Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
On that point, was I the only person to type in each key as I solved it? It certainly didn't seem to take up an excess of time doing it that way, but I suppose if you're not actually doing it in front of a computer, then that's not an option...ronaldx wrote:Does your claim of 180 include the 15 minutes required to type in the answer keys correctly? hehe, just teasing, that's an awesome score! Well done!
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Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
Fair point! No it doesn't... Nor does it take into account the fact that I had no pressure, which is a big advantage. And I'd have probably typed one of the answer keys wrong!! So a fairer score is probably... Blimey... A lot less!
A totally unrelated question: I want to subscribe for the Logicmasters magazine - does anyone know if this is possible for UK based folk?
A totally unrelated question: I want to subscribe for the Logicmasters magazine - does anyone know if this is possible for UK based folk?
Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
Which magazine's that? I've got a subscription to the Turkish Akil Oyunlari, but could do with another appropriate magazine, apart from Sudoku Extra, of courseSimonAnthony wrote: A totally unrelated question: I want to subscribe for the Logicmasters magazine - does anyone know if this is possible for UK based folk?
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Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
The obvious one is the dutch Breinbrekers - I keep meaning to subscribe to that one...drsteve wrote:Which magazine's that? I've got a subscription to the Turkish Akil Oyunlari, but could do with another appropriate magazine, apart from Sudoku Extra, of courseSimonAnthony wrote: A totally unrelated question: I want to subscribe for the Logicmasters magazine - does anyone know if this is possible for UK based folk?
Oh, and I typed in answers as I solved (which wasn't very often!!)
Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
Last time I checked, Breinbrekers wasn't around any more
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Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
Whe I spoke to Hans Eendebak in November it was alive and well, but my online searches aren't finding it.drsteve wrote:Last time I checked, Breinbrekers wasn't around any more
It WAS published by Sanoma, but I think they changed publishers a while back.
Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
Last time I enquired, it was being published twice yearly by Tazuku, but their website links back to Denksport and there's no sign of it there.PuzzleScot wrote:Whe I spoke to Hans Eendebak in November it was alive and well, but my online searches aren't finding it.drsteve wrote:Last time I checked, Breinbrekers wasn't around any more
It WAS published by Sanoma, but I think they changed publishers a while back.
Er... should we move this to a separate thread - we're getting a bit off-topic
Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
http://www.denksport.nl/default.aspx?id ... enkshop%26
That seems to be a link to a Breinbrekers subscription. If anyone tries it, let me know if it works...
That seems to be a link to a Breinbrekers subscription. If anyone tries it, let me know if it works...
Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
Back to the subject - the results are out. Only the top scores, but no evidence I'm afraid of fresh blood for the UK this time.
And on a personal note - I beat Wei-Hwa!!!!
And on a personal note - I beat Wei-Hwa!!!!
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Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
Summarised here: (from http://wpc.puzzles.com/uspc11/results.asp)
As a reference point: Former 4 times World Puzzle Champion Wei-Hwa Huang = 140!
As a reference point: Former 4 times World Puzzle Champion Wei-Hwa Huang = 140!
Code: Select all
Rank Name Score
1 Steven Barge 160
2 Gareth Moore 145
3 Ronald Stewart 135
4 Tom Collyer 110
5 Michael Collins 105
6 Alan O'Donnell 90
7 Frances Evans 90
8 Nick Deller 85
9 Hugh Proctor 75
10 Murray Hughes 75
11 Paul Slater 65
12 Kenneth Wilshire 40
13 Chris Dickson 35
*end*
Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
Many congratulations to Steven and Gareth! I'm delighted to see several very competitive scores from UK solvers; people should be proud of themselves. I'm less delighted to see some more modest scorers suffer the ignominious fate of not even having their finishing scores published; fingers crossed that I shall not join their number next year...
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Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
Do they not list everyone then? Do we know how many entrants there were for the UK in total, if it's not 13?
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Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
I'm guessing there is a 25 point cutoff (that being the lowest score shown on the boards, and there's always someone with less, if not negative!)
Looking through my records, it appears we managed to whip up zip all interest in the USPC for all that effort!
Everyone with >=25 points (except detunedtom) has entered a USPC previous to this year. Pah!
Looking through my records, it appears we managed to whip up zip all interest in the USPC for all that effort!
Everyone with >=25 points (except detunedtom) has entered a USPC previous to this year. Pah!
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Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
I guess it's true that anyone new who looked at it went away in horror!
If you know you're not going to be winning from a glance at it, without (m)any obvious "fun" puzzles to a casual puzzle player I suppose there's absolutely no point taking part.

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Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
By the way, can some kind soul please explain to me what the reference to counting concave vertices in the Count Me In puzzle solution means? The brevity of the note on the solutions implies it is obvious, but it's not obvious to me!
I don't understand what the labelling on the solution diagram shows either.

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Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
As I see it, there were no convex pentagons in the figure, and there were no pentagons with 2 concave vertices, so 'simply' counting how many pentagons can be made from each concave vertex will give you your answer! Easy huh? So these were marked in situ on the answer page. (I'm still not sure I can see them all!)can some kind soul please explain to me what the reference to counting concave vertices in the Count Me In puzzle solution means?
http://wpc.puzzles.com/uspc11/stats.asp
There is a nice little chart on the stats page of the guesses for this question. Appears practically no-one caculated an even number!
Of the 31.6% of people who were confident enough to have a stab, only 12.9% of those got it right.
But only 3% even entered an answer for Hex Equation, and 2.6% for PentaPath! Understandably only 2.2% attempted X-Agony. 100% of entries for Hex Masyu were correct.
It's official - that was hard!
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Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
Labelling the vertices of the shape L-R Top-Bot.
A B (top tips); C (centre); D E (crossovers); F G H (base). I can see (labelling clockwise round pentagons, with concave vertex marked):
1. ACBGH (N of C)
2. ACBHF (N of C)
3. ACBHG (N of C)
4. ADBGF (N of D)
5. ADBHF (N of D)
6. ADCHF (N of D)
7. AEBHF (N of E)
8. AEBHG (N of E)
9. BHFCE (N of E)
10. AEGFD (W of D)
11. ACDGF (E of D)
12. BHGEC (W of E)
13. BEHGD (E of E)
14. AEGDF (S of D)
15. AHGDF (S of D)
16. BHEGD (S of E)
17. BHEGF (S of E)
A B (top tips); C (centre); D E (crossovers); F G H (base). I can see (labelling clockwise round pentagons, with concave vertex marked):
1. ACBGH (N of C)
2. ACBHF (N of C)
3. ACBHG (N of C)
4. ADBGF (N of D)
5. ADBHF (N of D)
6. ADCHF (N of D)
7. AEBHF (N of E)
8. AEBHG (N of E)
9. BHFCE (N of E)
10. AEGFD (W of D)
11. ACDGF (E of D)
12. BHGEC (W of E)
13. BEHGD (E of E)
14. AEGDF (S of D)
15. AHGDF (S of D)
16. BHEGD (S of E)
17. BHEGF (S of E)
Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
This is the first chance I've had of reporting my (albeit unofficial) results. I was out Saturday evening, and on holiday from Sunday, taking a printout of the test with me.
Timing was a bit of a problem because of interruptions from my toddler daughter.
1: Battleships - solved in about 15 minutes
2: Sudoku - didn't attempt
3: Count Me In - didn't attempt
4: Islands - solved in about 15 minutes
5: Groundhog Day - I think I solved it (D4F3/C5B3/B5C1) in about 10 minutes
6: Hex Equation - didn't attempt
7: Mirror Mirror - didn't attempt
8: Masyu - solved in about 20 minutes
9: Rectangular Maze - spent about 5 minutes on it initially, and about 15 minutes after time-up, all to no avail
10: Digitile - lost about 10 minutes, didn't solve
11: Route - didn't attempt
12: Takeout - solved in about 20 minutes
13: Corral - didn't attempt
14: Sukoro - lost about 5 minutes - no solution
15: Constant Sum - solved in about 20 minutes
16: Criss Cross Sums - didn't attempt till after time-up, then solved in 40 minutes
17: Penta Path - didn't attempt
18: Sukazu - lost 5 minutes, didn't solve
19: Hex Masyu - got stuck after about 5 minutes - never came back to it
20: X-Agony - didn't attempt
21: Four Square - didn't attempt till after time-up, then spent about 10 minutes - didn't solve
And I think this works out at about 90 points, which I'm quite pleased with as a first attempt. Of course it wasn't under strict conditions, so I don't know how I would have fared on the night.
Elliott
Timing was a bit of a problem because of interruptions from my toddler daughter.
1: Battleships - solved in about 15 minutes
2: Sudoku - didn't attempt
3: Count Me In - didn't attempt
4: Islands - solved in about 15 minutes
5: Groundhog Day - I think I solved it (D4F3/C5B3/B5C1) in about 10 minutes
6: Hex Equation - didn't attempt
7: Mirror Mirror - didn't attempt
8: Masyu - solved in about 20 minutes
9: Rectangular Maze - spent about 5 minutes on it initially, and about 15 minutes after time-up, all to no avail
10: Digitile - lost about 10 minutes, didn't solve
11: Route - didn't attempt
12: Takeout - solved in about 20 minutes
13: Corral - didn't attempt
14: Sukoro - lost about 5 minutes - no solution
15: Constant Sum - solved in about 20 minutes
16: Criss Cross Sums - didn't attempt till after time-up, then solved in 40 minutes
17: Penta Path - didn't attempt
18: Sukazu - lost 5 minutes, didn't solve
19: Hex Masyu - got stuck after about 5 minutes - never came back to it
20: X-Agony - didn't attempt
21: Four Square - didn't attempt till after time-up, then spent about 10 minutes - didn't solve
And I think this works out at about 90 points, which I'm quite pleased with as a first attempt. Of course it wasn't under strict conditions, so I don't know how I would have fared on the night.
Elliott
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Re: 2010 US Puzzle Championships
Elliott, that is an impressive attempt for a first-timer! Maybe before next year you can get some practice in, and sit the test officially? I think you will do well! Well done!