Third in a series with puzzle solving tips. This time, a dissection of Saturday’s Star Battle.
Jack Bross left an excellent set of starting tips for Star Battle in Dr. Sudoku Prescribes #14 so if you are struggling with these puzzles, start there. The hard Saturday puzzle required some unusual group recognition which I thought deserved to be highlighted.
Second in a series with puzzle solving tips. This time, Nurikabe solving tips for last Friday’s puzzle.
A few simple Nurikabe rules will get you through most of the puzzles quite fast; but some of these rules are uncommon enough that you mainly learn them from solving rare puzzles like ours.
First in a series with puzzle solving tips. This time, TomTom solving tips for last week’s hard Thursday puzzle.
People always ask me how to solve puzzles and fast. My first answer is practice, practice, practice! My second is notation, notation, notation! After that, I say learn how to construct interesting puzzles and run through more involved logical deductions than most puzzles tend to have. In this column I intend to dissect some of our Grandmaster Puzzles with such interesting properties and at the same time reveal ways I look at puzzle styles that might help out in the future. This week’s topic is the Thursday TomTom, advertised at medium-hard difficulty, that few solvers beat in an expected time. While it shouldn’t need saying, SPOILERS AHEAD!