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Puzzletober 2024: The Conclusion

T he view from up here is incredible. I look north and see nothing but open sea. Then my eyes roam west, and farther, way past the horizon and slightly north, is the peninsula where I began. I turn further counterclockwise, now downward, and I see the lake at the center of the island forming a very natural shape that tapers off quickly into the line of a river running into the sea. The box lantern I prepared has capsized and the shallow ground flickers from the light of an electric candle; I'll make sure to retrieve it later. Now I look straight down and catch a puddle before I step in it. Its shape is oddly familiar to me. Can I place it? I run my pointer finger through the water and notice some slightly deeper etching. It says something, and I know precisely why. The ink above dries as I await my ride home. A prospective reader could say it's not ink, and I say not yet. My journal is not necessarily in print. I ponder the artist's challenge this month. Perhaps, if one we
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Puzzletober 2024: Violin

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P laying over a solar radio is some classical music I'm not familiar with. The violin helps provide some atmosphere to the daunting mountain in front of me. The lake here reminded me that I brought a lantern, which I deposited in lieu of a flag. Am I prepared for the final stretch? Rules: Solve as a Sashikazune , and draw an orthogonal path from the bottom to the top.  The path cannot revisit clueless regions.  If the path visits a region with clues, it must visit an amount of times equal to the amount of clues and each visit must travel an amount of squares provided by a different clue in the region.  Question marks for the path borrow from what they would be in the Sashikazune. penpa link
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Puzzletober 2024: Navigator

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M aybe I had channeled my inner navigator. Looking behind me, I do have a hunch that I didn't walk over the southeast corner of this island, but apart from this, I've managed to be extremely thorough in travelling everywhere without retracing my steps. I plan to spend today drafting a map as the waves approach me from three sides. Rules:  Draw a path, which visits every cell but may move diagonally and cross itself, that starts by moving from the 9 to the 2 and ends by moving from the 1 to the 0.  Place a digit from 1 to 8 in each cell such that each digit stands for a different compass direction, which you can keep track of on the right. The path must travel one space in the corresponding direction from each number. Circles are Kropki clues: cells separated by a black circle have a ratio of 2:1 and cells separated by a white circle have a difference of 1. penpa link
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Puzzletober 2024: Jumbo

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O ver half of this island is taken up by a large but rather homogenous dark oak forest. The trees are twice as thick as I was expecting. Due to this, I'm not entirely confident I visited the entirety of this area, but I did manage to traverse it to the next section. Rules: Solve as a Heyawake , except by shading 2x2 squares instead of 1x1 squares. penpa link
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Puzzletober 2024: Road

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R ight now, I'm starting to think I should've found a way to preserve the motorcycle. All about this section of the island are assorted trails, not necessarily unsimilar to those I saw on the eighth day. Or was it the fourth? I've been walking a long road, and my backpack is beginning to feel less full than when I started. Rules: Place the pieces into the grid (without rotation or reflection) to create a Country Road puzzle, which uses a path that enters and exits the grid where indicated instead of a loop. penpa link
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Puzzletober 2024: Camera

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P roperly completing my round trip of this island, I look south and once again see the rhino. I decide, while I still remember I have it, to test the camera. Truthfully, I should have been using it more often than I have, but better late than never. Rules: The orthogonal path in this 8x8 grid enters from the east and exits north.  The pictures may have been rotated, but they have not been reflected.
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Puzzletober 2024: Scarecrow

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H alfway across the island, I encountered a second river, but this one gave me no trouble. Beyond it was a large pumpkin patch maintained by an old scarecrow. The birds must have wisened up because several of the pumpkins have been broken into from one side, spilling their seeds outward across the ground. It would be no use waiting here a week for the Great Pumpkin, so I found my way across the patch and to the west. Rules: This is a Jack-o'-Lanterns puzzle. penpa link
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