instruction stringlengths 15 30k |
|---|
I decided to let my computer solve it, and it found the following solution:
>! 17, 18, 21, for a total of 56.
This is the same as hexomino's latest solution, who updated his post with this shortly before I posted this answer.
Assuming my program is correct, this is optimal.
To show this is indeed a solution... |
```
[![image description here][1]][1]
```
Can't you change everything? I am doing it right now.
[1]: https://imgur.com/a/PvDZSoF
[2]: https://imgur.com/a/stQLezP
[3]: https://imgur.com/a/TaTP55I
[4]: https://imgur.com/a/QGZs3WR
[5]: https://imgur.com/a/RH3DZpZ
> **Question:** What is the 1-word a... |
Partial answer:
>! If you click the edit history of the question, you get 5 imgur links.They lead to symbols of 5 different SE sites. The sites are as following: Bicycle SE, English SE, Arqade SE, Database Administrators SE, and Roleplaying Games SE.
Some ideas of how this might apply:
>! The initials of thes... |
```
[![image description here][1]][1]
```
Can't you change everything? I am doing it right now.
[1]: https://imgur.com/a/PvDZSoF
[2]: https://imgur.com/a/stQLezP
[3]: https://imgur.com/a/TaTP55I
[4]: https://imgur.com/a/QGZs3WR
[5]: https://imgur.com/a/RH3DZpZ
> **Question:** What is the 1-word a... |
I decided to let my computer solve it, and it found the following solution:
>! 17, 18, 21, for a total of 56.
This is the same as hexomino's latest solution, who updated his post with this shortly before I posted this answer.
Assuming my program is correct, this is optimal.
To show this is indeed a solution... |
The first thing we need to do here is rearrange the 30 tiles in a meaningful way. We can do this by noticing:
>! That each run of letters is prefixed by one of 'F', 'S', 'T', 'FO' or 'FI', and suffixed by one of 'M', 'T', 'W', 'TH', 'F', 'S' or 'SU'. This is a combination of the first letters of an ordinal number (*... |
https://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/thistle.htm
I'm trying to generate 29400 ($8C4^2 * 6$) indices for each one of the cube states in G2.
$8C4^2$ = 4900 is for solving the corner and edge pieces (forming the 2 corner tetrads and getting the remaining 8 edges into their slices). Then, because of 90-degree left and ri... |
Is it possible to calculate group 3's factor of 3 in Thistlethwaite algorithm? |
https://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/thistle.htm
I'm trying to generate 29400 ($8C4^2 * 6$) indices for each one of the cube states in G2.
$8C4^2$ = 4900 is for solving the corner and edge pieces (forming the 2 corner tetrads and getting the remaining 8 edges into their slices). Then, because of 90-degree left and ri... |
<sup>Someone told me that I should put a link to [Fortnightly Topic Challenge #50: Escape Rooms](https://puzzling.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/7172/)... whatever that is, sure. </sup>
---
PSE, I need your help. I just got back from the worst escape room experience I've ever had in my life. Not only was the ... |
When my grandfather died, he left his fine collection of coins, not more than 2500 of them, to his children, a different number to each of them, and in decreasing amounts according to their ages.
To the eldest of his children, he left one fifth of the coins, while the youngest inherited just one eleventh of them. G... |
You are given a 4x6 square grid. Each square of the grid
should be filled with different positive integers.
The gcd (greatest common divisor) of any two adjacent (horizontally or vertically)
squares should be greater than one.
What is the minimum sum of such 24 integers?
|
How could I solve the attached Sudoku? Please explain the logic |
How could I solve the attached Sudoku? |
What property do the following words have in common: gnat, green, one, onyx, rail, roof? Can you find another word that has the same property? |
I think it is
>! When rot13'ed, it is another word.
Why? Because
>! GNAT ---> TANG,
>! GREEN ---> TERRA,
>! ONE ---> BAR,
>! ONYX ---> BALK,
>! RAIL ---> ENVY,
>! and the last one is ROOF ---> EBBS.
As for the extra question,
>! CHAT ---> PUNG |
A fugitive is surrounded by N police officers, with the nearest one at distance 1 away. The fugitive and the officers move alternatively.
- In a fugitive move, the fugitive can travel no more than a distance of d.
- In a officer move, the sum of distances travelled by all officers can be no more than d.
The f... |
Can the fugitive escape? |
Let's take one more step, with logic.
>! [![enter image description here][1]][2]
>! The green squares are where 4s can go. Note something about the ones in R5 and R6: exactly one from each row must be used. How does this help?
>!
>! Well, we can't block off both of the ones in R6. The ones in R6 are in C3 an... |
A fugitive is surrounded by N police officers, with the nearest one at distance 1 away. The fugitive and the officers move alternatively.
- In a fugitive move, the fugitive can travel no more than a distance of d.
- In a officer move, the sum of distances travelled by all officers can be no more than d.
The f... |
A fugitive is surrounded by N police officers, with the nearest one at distance 1 away. The fugitive and the officers move alternatively.
- In a fugitive move, the fugitive can travel no more than a distance of d.
- In an officer move, the sum of distances travelled by all officers can be no more than d.
The ... |
On an infinite chessboard there's a single white king and N black kings, the nearest of which is K moves away. Given N, white dictates the value of K, then black places their kings.
Question: Can white always force a draw without capturing any black kings? (by forcing a draw I mean white king is never captured if th... |
One king vs many. Can white force a draw? |
On an infinite chessboard there's a single white king and N black kings, the nearest of which is K moves away. Given N, white dictates the value of (finite) K, then black places their kings.
Question: Can white always force a draw without capturing any black kings? (by forcing a draw I mean white king is never captu... |
On an infinite chessboard there's a single white king and N black kings. The nearest black king must be K moves away from the white king. Given N, white dictates the value of (finite) K, then black places their kings.
Question: Can white always force a draw without capturing any black kings? (by forcing a draw I mea... |
A fugitive is surrounded by N police officers, with the nearest one at distance 1 away. The fugitive and the officers move alternatively.
- In a fugitive move, the fugitive can travel no more than a distance of d.
- In an officer move, the sum of distances travelled by all officers can be no more than d.
The ... |
<sub>This is in the spirit of the [What is a Word™/Phrase™][1] series started by [JLee][2] with a special brand of [Phrase™][3] and [Word™][4] puzzles.</sub>
-----------
If a word conforms to a special rule I call it a Waiting Word™. Use the examples below to find the rule.
| Waiting Words™ | Not Waiting ... |
## Partial answer (updated)
First, we can identify the people in the image:
>! Sofía Vergara, Xi Jinping, Victor Hugo, Tiger Woods
>! John Oliver, Jerry Seinfeld, Billy Joel, Hugh Grant ([thanks user39583!](https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/109224/a-puzzling-easter-egg-hunt#comment306015_109226))
>... |
## Partial answer (updated)
First, we can identify the people in the image:
>! Sofía Vergara, Xi Jinping, Victor Hugo, Tiger Woods
>! John Oliver, Jerry Seinfeld, Billy Joel, Hugh Grant ([thanks user39583!](https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/109224/a-puzzling-easter-egg-hunt#comment306015_109226))
>... |
## Partial answer (updated)
First, we can identify the people in the image:
>! Sofía Vergara, Xi Jinping, Victor Hugo, Tiger Woods
>! John Oliver, Jerry Seinfeld, Billy Joel, Hugh Grant ([thanks user39583!](https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/109224/a-puzzling-easter-egg-hunt#comment306015_109226))
>... |
The eight vertices of a cube are marked with numbers from 1 to 8 such that
the sum of any three numbers on any face is not less than 10.
What is the minimum sum of the four numbers on a face? |
How to solve the attached sudoku? |
> 1, 2, 16, 4, 16, 16, 52, ?, 52, 16, 52, ?, 40, 52, ?
>
> What are these question marks?
>
> a) 8, 16, 160
>
> b) 16, 8, 190
>
> c) 52, 16, 160
>
> d) 8, 25, 90
>
> e) Impossible to determine
|
You are playing a game with dice. You have a grid with 13 cells shown below. A token starts in the left-most cell (start). Each turn you roll an $n$-sided die and get a number $x$ between $1$ and $n$, inclusive. If you can move the token $x$ cells to the right without going outside the grid then you make that move; oth... |
Which die should you choose? |
On an infinite chessboard there's a single white king and N black kings. The nearest black king must be K moves away from the white king. Given N, white dictates the value of (finite) K, then black places their kings.
Question 1: Can white always force a draw without capturing any black kings? (by forcing a draw I m... |
One vs many. Can white force a draw? |
On an infinite chessboard there's a single white king and N black kings. The nearest black king must be K moves away from the white king. Given N, white dictates the value of (finite) K, then black places their kings.
Question 1: Can white always force a draw without capturing any black kings? (by forcing a draw I m... |
When my grandfather died, he left his fine collection of coins, not more than 2500 of them, to his children, a different number to each of them, and in decreasing amounts according to their ages.
To the eldest of his children, he left one fifth of the coins, while the youngest inherited just one eleventh of them. G... |
<sup>An entry in [Fortnightly Topic Challenge #50: Escape Rooms](https://puzzling.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/7172/)</sup>
---
Your head is throbbing like mad. You try to get your bearings as you look around the laboratory. Shattered beakers and spilled chemicals are everywhere. Another failed experiment. Ho... |
How have you been? Please, come in, have a seat. Would you like a drink? Wine? Soda? No? Yes, I have orange juice... Ok, enjoy!
Anyway, I know how you love wordsearches, so I made one exclusively for you! I spent hours on it! I'm such a good friend! Oh, but it's special you see: It's in an 8x8 grid, and of course, ... |
Here are some examples of words I call Mattering Words™, and those that I do not call Mattering Words™. The Mattering Words™ I give are not the only examples of Mattering Words™; there are many more.
| Mattering Words™ | Not Mattering Words™ |
|:--------------------:|:--------------------:|
| WARM ... |
A town was invaded by aliens, and some of its residents were kidnapped and replaced by shapeshifters. You're tasked with capturing one of the shapeshifters. Here's the setup:
* There are 7 residents of the town.
* At least 4 of the residents are humans, and the remainder are shapeshifters. Everyone knows everyone e... |
Can you find and capture a shapeshifter? |
You are playing a snake game. The snake starts in the top-left corner of a grid. Each cell of the grid is either empty or a wall. Each turn you can press a key to move the snake in one of four directions: either horizontally or vertically. Once a key is pressed, the snake moves in the assigned direction until it either... |
I sent six puzzles to the Times but received the following reply:
> Dear Sir,
> We are sorry to reject your crossword submissions for the following reasons:
> - Squares must be 15x15 or 21x21
> - Words cannot be duplicated
> - Nonsense words are undesirable
>
> Sincerely, The Editor
I was going to t... |
I sent six puzzles to the Times but received the following reply:
> Dear Sir,
> We are sorry to reject your crossword submissions for the following reasons:
> - Squares must be 15x15 or 21x21
> - Words cannot be duplicated
> - Nonsense words are undesirable
>
> Sincerely, The Editor
I was going to t... |
You are playing a snake game. The snake starts in the top-left corner of a grid. Each cell of the grid is either empty or a wall. Each turn you can press a key to move the snake in one of four directions: either horizontally or vertically. Once a key is pressed, the snake moves in the assigned direction until it either... |
Looking at David Ahl's [Basic Computer Games,][1] one of the programs that caught my eye was [One Check][2].
It's like Peg Solitaire, which I've figured, but it's on an 8x8 board with the 4x4 inner bit hollowed out. I am wondering how to leave just one peg on the board.
01234567
0 xxxxxxxx
1 xxxxx... |
Ana and Bob are writing symbol $X$ alternatively on board $2022\times 1$. Winner is the one who makes 3 consecutive $X$. Who has wining strategy if Ana starts? Describe it. |
What's the encrypted code? |
I sent six puzzles to the Times but received the following reply:
> Dear Sir,
> We are sorry to reject your crossword submissions for the following reasons:
> - Squares must be 15x15 or 21x21
> - Words cannot be duplicated
> - Nonsense words are undesirable
>
> Sincerely, The Editor
I was going to t... |
17 identical coins with diameter 1 are lying flat on a table, such that their midpoints build the vertices of a regular 17-gon (regular heptadecagon).
What is the maximum number of coins, which can be added inside the 17-gon, none of them overlap and lying flat on the table?
Note: the coins to add are of the sa... |
17 identical coins with diameter 1 are lying flat on a table, such that their midpoints build the vertices of a regular 17-gon (regular heptadecagon) and adjacent coins touch each other.
What is the maximum number of coins, which can be added inside the 17-gon, none of them overlap and lying flat on the table?
... |
What begins with letter T and ends with letter T, use after death? |
What begins with letter T and ends with letter T, use after death? |
Who will win in a game of writing 3 consecutive X on board 2022×1? |
There is no unique way to label the vertices. So does the question mean “minimum” for a specific consistent cube? Or “minimum” over all consistent cubes? I choose the former because it’s more interesting.
The labels 1...5 are fixed, up to rotation and reflection. But the other 3 vertices can be labelled 6...8 in any... |
There is no unique way to label the vertices. So does the question mean “minimum” for a specific consistent cube? Or “minimum” over all consistent cubes? I choose the former because it’s more interesting.
The labels 1...5 are fixed, up to rotation and reflection. But the other 3 vertices can be labelled 6...8 in any... |
There is no unique way to label the vertices. So does the question mean “minimum” for a specific consistent cube? Or “minimum” over all consistent cubes? I choose the former because it’s more interesting.
If the vertices 1&2 are diagonally opposite one another, then the labels 1...5 are fixed, up to rotation and ref... |
There is no unique way to label the vertices. So does the question mean “minimum” for a specific consistent cube? Or “minimum” over all consistent cubes? I choose the former because it’s more interesting, and it subsumes the other question
If the vertices 1&2 are diagonally opposite one another, then the labels 1...... |
Ana and Bob alternately write $X$es on a $2022\times 1$ board. The winner is the one who makes 3 consecutive $X$. Who has the winning strategy if Ana plays the first move? Describe such a strategy. |
Who will win if writing 3 consecutive $X$ on a $2022\times 1$ board? |
Ana and Bob alternately write Xs on a 2022 × 1 board. The winner is the one who makes 3 consecutive Xs. Who has the winning strategy if Ana plays the first move? Describe such a strategy. |
Who will win in a game of writing 3 consecutive Xs on a 2022 × 1 board? |
We have a paralelogram $ABCD$ and point $P$ inside it. Halflines $BP$ and $DP$ cuts respectively lines $AD$ and $AB$ at $E$ and $F$. Why are the area of $ABPD$ and $CEPF$ the same regardles of the position of $P$? |
There are people A,D,G,P
"A" needs $2.50 from D,G,P
"P" needs $2.50 from A,D,G
As far as who paid "A" what.
"D" paid "A" \$5 (So "A" owes D $2.50)
"G" hasn't paid "A" yet.
I don't know if "P" paid anything.
As far as who paid "P" what
"D" told "P" he can pay him $2.50
"G" hasn't paid "P... |
We have a paralelogram $ABCD$ and point $P$ inside it. Halflines $BP$ and $DP$ cuts respectively lines $AD$ and $AB$ at $E$ and $F$. Why are the area of $ABPD$ and $CEPF$ the same regardles of the position of $P$?
[![enter image description here][1]][1]
[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/LCsaE.png |
![enter image description here][1]
This is a puzzle in the Fetching Alchemist series ([see here for the rules][2]). It is somewhere in the Expert section of [the game of the same name][3].
Shortest path distance for this puzzle:
>! 82
[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/0vMEH.jpg
[2]: https://puzzling.stack... |
![enter image description here][1]
This is a puzzle from the Expert section of my game [Fetching Alchemist][2], visually modified for presentation here. It is a variant of the Travelling Salesman problem where you are trying to complete a set of quests.
The red numbers indicate the distance of each road. You need... |
I sent six puzzles to the Times but received the following reply:
> Dear Sir,
> We are sorry to reject your crossword submissions for the following reasons:
> - The squares must be 15x15 or 21x21
> - Words cannot be duplicated
> - Odd nonsense words are undesirable
>
> Sincerely, The Editor
I was go... |
First steps first: we need to not get caught instantly. The only way to do that is to juke the Stickotaur into the top right corner. To do that, we must poke our head up on the first row, and eat an apple to get the rhythm correct. We can choose either of the top two apples in column 4. To keep things simple, let's cho... |
First steps first: we need to not get caught instantly. The only way to do that is to juke the Stickotaur into the top right corner. To do that, we must poke our head up on the first row, and eat an apple to get the rhythm correct. We can choose either of the top two apples in column 4. To keep things simple, let's cho... |
First steps first: we need to not get caught instantly. The only way to do that is to juke the Stickotaur into the top right corner. To do that, we must poke our head up on the first row, and eat an apple to get the rhythm correct. We can choose either of the top two apples in column 4. To keep things simple, let's cho... |
We have a paralelogram $ABCD$ and point $P$ inside it. Halflines $BP$ and $DP$ cuts respectively lines $AD$ and $AB$ at $E$ and $F$. Why are the area of $ABPD$ and $CEPF$ the same regardles of the position of $P$?
[![enter image description here][1]][1]
[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/LCsaE.png
This is aga... |
<sub>This is in the spirit of the [What is a Word™/Phrase™][1] series started by [JLee][2] with a special brand of [Phrase™][3] and [Word™][4] puzzles. I'm pretty sure this hasn't been done already. </sub>
-----------
If a word conforms to a special rule I call it an Accessible Word™. Use the examples below to f... |
Try make sense of the characters written below. It should lead you to a person.
C: **57 350 676** (6) E: **68 79** (4) GL **18** I Ma (3)
Who is this person?
|
Do you agree, or do you have to think about it? |
![enter image description here][1]
This is a puzzle from the Expert section of my game [Fetching Alchemist][2], visually modified for presentation here. It is a variant of the Travelling Salesman problem where you are trying to complete a set of quests.
The red numbers indicate the distance of each road. You need... |
First steps first: we need to not get caught instantly. The only way to do that is to juke the Stickotaur into the top right corner. To do that, we must poke our head up on the first row, and eat an apple to get the rhythm correct. We can choose either of the top two apples in column 4. To keep things simple, let's cho... |
A town was invaded by aliens, and some of its residents were kidnapped and replaced by shapeshifters. You're tasked with capturing one of the shapeshifters. Here's the setup:
* There are 7 residents of the town.
* At least 4 of the residents are humans, and the remainder are shapeshifters. Everyone knows everyone e... |
We have a paralelogram $ABCD$ and point $P$ inside it. Halflines $BP$ and $DP$ cuts respectively lines $AD$ and $AB$ at $E$ and $F$. Why are the area of $ABPD$ and $CEPF$ the same regardles of the position of $P$?
[![enter image description here][1]][1]
This is again some contest problem (I think), I had it in m... |
Cooking this puzzle: In most puzzles jokers appear in, they can give any answer they want. In this puzzle, they can either tell the truth or lie. As such, you can exploit them with a variant of Curry's paradox. Ask everyone this question:
>! Are you a joker who is going to answer this question truthfully?
Anyone ... |
What type of convex nonagon is required to tesselate a plane with equilateral triangles and nonagons? All sides of the nonagons are equal.
NOTE: Partial tessellation of a plane should accompany your answer. |
https://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/thistle.htm
I'm trying to generate 29400 ($8C4^2 * 6$) indices for each one of the cube states in G2.
$8C4^2$ = 4900 is for solving the corner and edge pieces (forming the 2 corner tetrads and getting the remaining 8 edges into their slices). Then, because of 90-degree left and ri... |
Maybe this is a bit of cheating (but I believe that it's still no [tag:lateral-thinking]), but it easily works when
>! asking every resident a question involving some future event whose outcome is not known in advance (i.e. a random variable), e.g. "If I roll a fair die, will the outcome be 4?" (aka "head-exploding ... |
Maybe this is a bit of cheating (but I believe that it's still no [tag:lateral-thinking]), but it easily works when
>! asking every resident a question involving some future event whose outcome is not known in advance (i.e. a random variable), e.g. "If I roll a fair die, will the outcome be 4?" or "If I ask you and ... |
A town was invaded by aliens, and some of its residents were kidnapped and replaced by shapeshifters. You're tasked with capturing one of the shapeshifters. Here's the setup:
* There are 7 residents of the town.
* At least 4 of the residents are humans, and the remainder are shapeshifters. Everyone knows everyone e... |
**Note: the question was answered _before_ [this edit](https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/revisions/109480/3). Whether it's good to [edit questions after a loophole has been found](https://puzzling.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/1327/should-i-edit-an-existing-puzzle-when-loopholes-are-found) or not is still undecided... |
![enter image description here][1]
This is a puzzle from the Expert section of my game [Fetching Alchemist][2], visually modified for presentation here. It is a variant of the Travelling Salesman problem where you are trying to complete a set of quests.
The red numbers indicate the distance of each road. You need... |
What type of convex nonagon is required to tesselate a plane with equilateral triangles and nonagons? All sides of the nonagons are equal.
NOTE: Partial tessellation of a plane should accompany your answer.
************************************************************************
One possibility is shown here. In... |
First steps first: we need to not get caught instantly. The only way to do that is to juke the Stickotaur into the top right corner. To do that, we must poke our head up on the first row, and eat an apple to get the rhythm correct. We can choose either of the top two apples in column 4. To keep things simple, let's cho... |
>! Previous insights by @hexonimo and @stiv have indicated that the contents of the pill
>! are given by three of the four element symbols H, He, C, and O, with the one of the
>! four that's not involved being the answer to the "? Blvd." clue.
>! For now, I'm going to assert without giving any reasoning that the a... |
>! Previous insights by @hexonimo and @stiv have indicated that the contents of the pill
>! are given by three of the four element symbols H, He, C, and O, with the one of the
>! four that's not involved being the answer to the "? Blvd." clue.
>! For now, I'm going to assert without giving any reasoning that the a... |
I've been tackling [this puzzle][1] named "Hex Cube" which comes with the instructions "Can you decipher the message? You should be able to if you go back to basics and use a little bit of logic.":
[![enter image description here][2]][2]
Reproduced here in black and white:
```
22 5b 61
50 76... |
<sup>An entry in [Fortnightly Topic Challenge #50: Escape Rooms](https://puzzling.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/7172/)</sup>
---
Your head is throbbing like mad. You try to get your bearings as you look around the laboratory. Shattered beakers and spilled chemicals are everywhere. Another failed experiment. Ho... |
<sup>An entry in [Fortnightly Topic Challenge #50: Escape Rooms](https://puzzling.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/7172/)</sup>
---
Your head is throbbing like mad. You try to get your bearings as you look around the laboratory. Shattered beakers and spilled chemicals are everywhere. Another failed experiment. Ho... |
A wonderful friend who is a maths professor, is turning 80 next month. He's just published his 22nd math textbook! [Prof John Vince.... his books are about math for computer graphics]
I would love to put some clever mathematical expression for "80" onto his cake. Could be an equation, a series, an integral, a summatio... |
The concealed person is:
>! the French philosopher, mathematician and scientist, [**René Descartes**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes)
Why? The list of characters can be split into 3 sections representing 3 words that must be found. Each section ends with an enumeration in brackets showing the l... |
One of these six equations below does not belong to the group. Which one? and why?
[![enter image description here][1]][1]
[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/fJ4rW.png
Text
10+14=23
10+15=24
10+16=25
10+17=26
10+18=27
10+19=28 |
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