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I was doing a cryptic crossword this morning and I came across the following clue:
> Circus equipment has chimpanzee, say at the centre
The answer is "TRAPEZE" (confirmed by "check answers"). The APE is easy to see (chimpanzee), but I can't figure out where the TR___ZE comes into the clue. From my understanding, ... |
Why is "trapeze" the solution to this cryptic crossword clue? |
There are a number of conventions you can count on fairly consistently in the New York Times crossword.
One is that abbreviated answers are "signaled" somehow - an answer that is an acronym/initialism, or a shortened form of a longer word, has something to indicate it in the clue.
To my understanding, any abbre... |
What are the conventions telegraphing when answers are abbreviated in New York Times crosswords? |
[Rush Hour](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Hour_(board_game)) is a well-known sliding-block puzzle in which you push cars around (each car moves horizontally or vertically) to let a red car escape the grid.
You cannot get the red car to escape with brute force; solving the gridlock sometimes requires some complic... |
What is the Rush Hour puzzle with the most steps in its solution? |
I'll give an answer that pertains to puzzles in general, not specifically this puzzle or information puzzles. You asked about "word puzzles", but I don't think there is anything specific to word puzzles as opposed to other kinds. Anyway, most puzzles are word puzzles (one kind of a non-word puzzle is a [cryptarithmetic... |
Is there a rule/method to know how "random" should the cube be when solving it? in order for it to be a "valid" score? |
How Random does a 3x3x3 (or other rubik cubes) need to be in speed solving? |
I'll give an answer that pertains to puzzles in general, not specifically this puzzle or information puzzles. You asked about "word puzzles", but I don't think there is anything specific to word puzzles as opposed to other kinds. Anyway, most puzzles are word puzzles (one kind of a non-word puzzle is a [cryptarithmetic... |
I have been solving the Rubik's Cube 2x2x2, 3x3x3, 4x4x4 and 5x5x5, because things are very similar I though a 6x6x6 wouldn't be a challenge much. So I bought the C4U 3x3x7 see image. What I want to know is how to solve it, what algorithms do I need? I can't find any good YouTube tutorials and also not a good website w... |
I have been solving the Rubik's Cube 2x2x2, 3x3x3, 4x4x4 and 5x5x5, because things are very similar I though a 6x6x6 wouldn't be a challenge much. So I bought the C4U 3x3x7 see image. What I want to know is how to solve it, what algorithms do I need? I can't find any good YouTube tutorials and also not a good website w... |
If one has a very large puzzle of an image that one desires to mount and frame; what kind of glues would damage the puzzle piece over time?
I have heard of 'puzzle glues', but question if this is anything more than just a glue sold by a puzzle company.
Does anyone have experience with puzzles that were mounted... |
What kind of glues are not conducive to long-term puzzle preservation? |
[Rush Hour](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Hour_(board_game)) is a well-known sliding-block puzzle in which you push cars around (each car moves horizontally or vertically) to let a red car escape the grid.
You cannot get the red car to escape with brute force; solving the gridlock sometimes requires some complic... |
[Rush Hour](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Hour_(board_game)) is a well-known sliding-block puzzle in which you push cars around (each car moves horizontally or vertically) to let a red car escape the grid. The standard board is a 6x6 grid, with four 3x1 cars and twelve 2x1 cars available to place on the grid. Only ... |
There are a number of conventions you can count on fairly consistently in the New York Times crossword.
One is that abbreviated answers are "signaled" somehow - an answer that is an acronym/initialism, or a shortened form of a longer word, has something to indicate it in the clue.
To my understanding, any abbre... |
A word problem is a problem that's stated in words, usually in terms of a story or a situation that dresses the problem up.
Although generally all problems will use words, a word problem relies on the words to make the problem interesting and relatable. An example of a word problem is as follows:
> An ant crawls ... |
I found this puzzle [online](http://www.folj.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=12849):
>On the top floor of a castle lives a princess. The floor has 17 bedrooms arranged in a row. Each bedroom has doors connecting to the adjoining bedrooms as well as to the outside corridor. The princess sleeps in a different bedroom each nigh... |
Why does this solution guarantee the puzzle is solved? |
The solution assumes that she cannot ever stay in the the same room. Either on even days she is in even rooms or on even days she is in odd rooms.
As he is going from room 2 to room 3 he is going from an odd day to an even day. She can go from room 3 to 2 if she is in even rooms on even days. She can never pass him... |
There are a number of conventions you can count on fairly consistently in the New York Times crossword.
One is that abbreviated answers are "signaled" somehow - an answer that is an acronym/initialism, or a shortened form of a longer word, has something to indicate it in the clue.
To my understanding, any abbre... |
I have been solving the Rubik's Cube 2x2x2, 3x3x3, 4x4x4 and 5x5x5, because things are very similar I though a 6x6x6 wouldn't be a challenge much. So I bought the C4U 3x3x7 see image. What I want to know is how to solve it, what algorithms do I need? I can't find any good YouTube tutorials and also not a good website w... |
I am making a puzzle based on a [Project Euler](http://projecteuler.net/) problem. Here is the puzzle at present:
> What path in the triangle below, starting from the top number with each step moving to one adjacent number in the next row, gives the greatest possible sum?
35
12 80
88 7... |
What size of puzzle is appropriate? |
I am making a puzzle based on a [Project Euler](http://projecteuler.net/) problem. Here is the puzzle at present:
> What path in the triangle below, starting from the top number with each step moving to one adjacent number in the next row, gives the greatest possible sum?
35
12 80
88 7... |
Though there is [no strict mathematical proof][1], it has been shown via brute-force that no arrangement of 4 or fewer queens can control every square on a standard 8x8 chessboard.
So, out of the 64 squares on an 8x8 chessboard, what is the **maximum number of squares** that can be controlled by only 4 queens?
... |
How many squares can 4 queens control? |
There's a common category of mathematical puzzle which involves determining missing numbers in a [long multiplication problem](http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Long-Multiplication).
As an example from [this site](http://www.edhelper.com/math/missing_digits_14.htm) (problem 10):
1,7__ | ( 1736)
x ... |
How many numbers can be removed from a multiplication problem and still give only one answer? |
I'm going to look at your question from a slightly different angle, and argue that there _is_ no correct size for this puzzle; the question isn't a function of the quantity of solving work that's done here, but its very nature.
To my mind, the core issue with the triangle-path problem as a 'human' puzzle is that it'... |
First, a little background: as I noted in [my answer to another question here][1], most of the puzzles that seem to stay popular for extended periods of time are canonically 'hard' in an algorithmic sense: for instance, Rush Hour is known to be PSPACE-complete, Sudoku is known to be NP-complete, Nurikabe is ([at least]... |
Are there any popular puzzles with polynomial-time algorithms? |
How many digits can be removed from a multiplication puzzle and still give only one answer? |
Is there an algorithm to help me solve the Rubik's [360](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubik%27s_360)?
![enter image description here][1]
Usually I just do it at random, but I rarely succeed.
[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/Sx70w.jpg |
*First, I apologise for asking a question that's not strictly in the right Q&A format; I'm hoping there are quality answers anyway.*
Are there any puzzle or solitaire games based on chess? By this I mean
- Does not require more than one intelligent player (e.g. if there is a second player, their moves can be mech... |
Are there any puzzle/solitaire games based on chess? |
**Notation** <br>
We need to have some notation for the algorithms. We use:
- \$U\$ for the upper layer and \$u\$ for the middle upper layer.
- \$R\$ for the right layer and \$r\$ for the middle right layer.
- \$L\$ for the right layer and \$l\$ for the middle left layer.
- \$F\$ for the front layer and \... |
The ones I've seen mostly show a board position (often one that occurred in a real match) and the challenge is to figure out how to force checkmate in some given number of moves. These are often seen in one-a-day calendars. A quick [google search](https://www.google.com/search?q=chess+puzzles) shows a number of online ... |
Unfortunately, I no longer have a picture of the board in question, but I was playing with a group. We have the usual twelve cards out and all agreed that there was no set. We then increased the number of cards to fifteen and were still unable to find a set. Is this even possible? Were we all just really, really ti... |
What are the odds that there is no solution on a given Set board? |
What are the odds that there is no solution on a given Set board? Unfortunately I no longer have a picture of the board in question, but I was playing with a group. We had the usual twelve cards out and all agreed that there was no set. We then increased the number of cards to fifteen and were still unable to find a ... |
I was playing a game of Set with a group. We had the usual twelve cards out and all agreed that there was no set. We then increased the number of cards to fifteen and were still unable to find a set. (Unfortunately I no longer have a picture of the board in question, so it's impossible to verify.)
Is this even po... |
This puzzle appears as puzzle #13 on [this page](http://www.brainbashers.com/showpuzzles.asp?page=3), and is the property of [brainbashers.com](http://www.brainbashers.com).
>Once upon a time, and old lady went to sell her vast quantity of eggs at the local market. When asked how many she had, she replied:
>Son, ... |
Aside from brute force, how can I solve this puzzle? |
From the [Guardian Cryptic crossword No 26,271](http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/26271), set by [Chifonie](http://www.theguardian.com/profile/chifonie):
> Mean to confine flower that's fibrous (7)
The confirmed answer is
>! STRINGY
I can see the definition, and I think part of the wordplay, but... |
Is there any specific way to play Solitaire? |
I'm stuck on the last clue of a cryptic crossword. The clue is:
> A non-PC American woman overseas? (6)
The cross letters are A_R_A_, confirmed by "check answers."
<sub>Cryptic Crosswords iPhone app, Pack 1, Puzzle 16, Clue 16</sub> |
What is "A non-PC American woman overseas?" |
As I was typing this up, I figured it out:
>! ABROAD
>! [A] [non-PC American woman = broad] [overseas = abroad]
>!
>! I'm not quite sure if "American" is there for a particular reason besides just being filler. Is "broad" really restricted to American women?
|
>Once upon a time, and old lady went to sell her vast quantity of eggs at the local market. When asked how many she had, she replied:
>Son, I can't count past 100 but I know that:
>If you divide the number of eggs by 2 there will be one egg left.
If you divide the number of eggs by 3 there will be one egg left... |
What do we know about your numbers?
Well it's 1 greater than a multiple of 2.
1 greater than a multiple of 3.
1 greater than a multiple of 4.
...
1 greater than a multiple of 10.
a multiple of 11.
The first 9 properties are easy. `10! + 1` will cover that. The only question is, is it divisible... |
Here's a relatively easy puzzle that's actually entirely my own creation.
> An old guru in an Asian monastery is showing his beloved student his gallery of items that he has either collected or kept from previous generations.
> One item that he is particularly fond of is an odd-looking walking stick. He shows it ... |
Well we can easily rephrase the question as follows (the subtractor being `k + (k - 1) / 2` obviously for mod k)
(n - 1) ≡ 0 mod 2
(n - 3) ≡ 0 mod 3
(n - 10) ≡ 0 mod 5
(n - 21) ≡ 0 mod 7
(n - 45) ≡ 0 mod 10
using congruent math we can prettify this:
n ≡ 1 mod 2
n ≡ 0 mod 3
... |
I was using the beginner method to deliberately solve a 3X3 cube with one edge piece flipped. But, by the time I got to the top I discovered that I couldn't solve it with only one edge flipped. I had to also flip an edge on the top layer. Why is that?
![enter image description here][1]
[1]: https://i.stack.im... |
Why can't I have only one edge piece flipped on a 3X3 Rubik's cube? |
I found the following problem in an number of places online:
>John once bet a fellow gambler that two of the first thirty persons they met and spoke to would prove to have the same birthday. Strong in the thought that he had \$365\$ days running for him, the second hustler was pleased to accept. Suspecting, not unna... |
I found the following problem in an number of places online:
>John once bet a fellow gambler that two of the first thirty persons they met and spoke to would prove to have the same birthday. Strong in the thought that he had \$365\$ days running for him, the second hustler was pleased to accept. Suspecting, not unna... |
I found the following problem in an number of places online:
>John once bet a fellow gambler that two of the first thirty persons they met and spoke to would prove to have the same birthday. Strong in the thought that he had \$365\$ days running for him, the second hustler was pleased to accept. Suspecting, not unna... |
I found the following problem in an number of places online:
>John once bet a fellow gambler that two of the first thirty persons they met and spoke to would prove to have the same birthday. Strong in the thought that he had \$365\$ days running for him, the second hustler was pleased to accept. Suspecting, not unna... |
I wanted to answer this question:
http://puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/521/why-cant-i-have-only-one-edge-piece-flipped-on-a-3x3-rubiks-cube
by saying that it is homomorphic to the illegal state in this question:
http://puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/20/why-is-a-single-corner-twist-not-a-valid-po... |
How many distinct unsolvable Rubik's cubes exist? |
The question must be equivalent to something like this:
Are you thinking of 1 OR you are thinking of 2 AND [statement with unknown result]?
example of [statement with unknown result] is 'tomorrow will be rain'
1 leads to Yes
2 - Don't know
3 - No |
Is there any specific way to solve Mastermind?
![enter image description here][1]
Apart from the first step that is pure chance, is there any way to continue based on the colors that you think are correct?
[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/rOeTu.jpg |
Clever ways to solve Mastermind? |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> Kingdom M. has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of the one soldier. A war have been declared with a neighbouring kingdom, and the king urgently needs to collect all the army a... |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> The kingdom has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. A war have been declared with a neighbouring kingdom, and the king needs to collect all the army at the castle... |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> The kingdom has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. A war have been declared with a neighbouring kingdom, and the king needs to collect all the army at the castle... |
I found the following problem in an number of places online:
>John once bet a fellow gambler that two of the first thirty persons they met and spoke to would prove to have the same birthday. Strong in the thought that he had \$365\$ days running for him, the second hustler was pleased to accept. Suspecting, not unna... |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> The kingdom has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. A war have been declared with a neighbouring kingdom, and the king needs to collect all the army at the castle... |
In chess puzzles, the objective of the puzzle is usually to checkmate the opponent using some form of novel strategy or tactic. For example, the following puzzle ([from here](http://www.chess.com/forum/view/more-puzzles/mate-in-2-white-to-play)):
![mate in two][1]
has white to play and mate in two.
But *this* ... |
What is the position in chess with the longest string of moves before mate? |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> The kingdom has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. There are other solders, each solder are at his own house. Houses are on the area of the kingdom in well know ... |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> The kingdom has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. There are other solders, each solder are at his own house. Houses are on the area of the kingdom in well know ... |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> The kingdom has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. There are other solders, each solder are at his own house. Houses are on the area of the kingdom in well know ... |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> The kingdom has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. There are other solders, each solder are at his own house. Houses are on the area of the kingdom in well know ... |
A bit of digging around finds a position at http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=8477 taken from from one of the 7-piece endgame databases that's claimed as mate in 524 (though I found a few sources that contend that's only the 'time-to-win' and that actual mate could take substantially longer) :
... |
On searching the internet for difficult crossword puzzles I find that the New York Times is often mentioned. But is there a rating system? If so how does it work?
|
Is there a rating system for crossword puzzles? |
I did some turning on my 5x5x5 Rubik's Cube and I now have the cube like on the image below. 4 times a smiley -_- and 2 times a solved plane. But I have no idea how I did this, does someone know the algorithm? The yellow plane is solved, the red plane has the smiley in orange and the green plane has the smiley in blue.... |
I did some turning on my 5x5x5 Rubik's Cube and I now have the cube like on the image below. 4 times a smiley -_- and 2 times a solved plane. But I have no idea how I did this, does someone know the algorithm? The yellow plane is solved, the red plane has the smiley in orange and the green plane has the smiley in blue.... |
I did some turning on my 5x5x5 Rubik's Cube and I now have the cube like on the image below. 4 times a smiley `-_-` and 2 times a solved plane. But I have no idea how I did this, does someone know the algorithm? The yellow plane is solved, the red plane has the smiley in orange and the green plane has the smiley in blu... |
I did some turning on my 5x5x5 Rubik's Cube and I now have the cube like on the image below. 4 times a smiley `-_-` and 2 times a solved plane. But I have no idea how I did this, does someone know the algorithm? The yellow plane is solved, the red plane has the smiley in orange and the green plane has the smiley in blu... |
Is there any way to 'trap' my enemy on Score 4? |
Is there any way to 'trap' my opponent on Score 4? |
Is there any way to 'trap' my opponent on Connect Four? |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> The kingdom has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. There are other solders, each solder are at his own house. Houses are on the area of the kingdom in well know ... |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> The kingdom has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. There are other solders, each solder are at his own house. Houses are on the area of the kingdom in well know ... |
How can I solve the Gear Cube Extreme - Level 3? |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> The kingdom has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. There are other solders, each solder are at his own house. Houses are on the area of the kingdom in well know ... |
How can I solve the Gear Cube Extreme? |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> The kingdom has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. There are other solders, each solder are at his own house. Houses are on the area of the kingdom in well know ... |
I am looking for hints in solution of such a puzzle:
> The kingdom has a square shape with a side of 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. There are other solders, each solder are at his own house. Houses are on the area of the kingdom in well know ... |
Divide 2 by one less than the number you were thinking of. Is the result an even number?
* Yes: You were thinking of 2 (because 2/(2-1) = 2)
* No: You were thinking of 3 (because 2/(3-1) = 1)
* Unanswerable: You were thinking of 1 (because 2/(1-1) = ∞) |
I did some turning on my 5x5x5 Rubik's Cube and I now have the cube like on the image below. 4 times a smiley `-_-` and 2 times a solved plane. But I have no idea how I did this, does someone know the algorithm? The yellow plane is solved, the red plane has the smiley in orange and the green plane has the smiley in blu... |
![enter image description here][1]
If I'm not mistaken, this is a children's puzzle, but it got me thinking for a while.
**Which way is the bus going? Left or Right?**
[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/rmanH.jpg |
Which way is the bus going? |
I am looking for hints to find the solution of this puzzle:
> There kingdom with a square shape with sides of length 1. The castle is located in the center. At the castle the king lives under the protection of one soldier. There are other solders; each solder is at his own house. Houses are spread throughout the are... |
I'm looking for a better algorithm to rotate the center column of the [Octo-Star](http://www.robspuzzlepage.com/images/pitcher-octo-star1.jpg) puzzle 45 degrees.
The situation below occurs when four properly-oriented edges are next to each other, allowing for full freedom of movement.
![enter image description he... |
Is there a move-efficient way to rotate the center pieces on the Octo-Star? |
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