hutt's puzzle dump

     I find it hard to believe that I first created this blog two summers ago. Due to this, I cannot quickly reference whether I've been more or less active this year with making paper puzzles. I used to think that I peaked in 2022, but I'm quite proud of many of the ideas I was able to explore this year, especially on the monthly projects. I've released a few huge puzzles and started work on a few large projects, two of which I plan to adapt into games someday and two of which will be ~200-unit collections that may release next year if I continue working on them.     As I get older, I expect to find less time to pursue this hobby, but I'm not quite there yet. Sometimes I wonder if there's a way to make a living off of constructing puzzles, but then I remind myself that I'm not doing it for the money, keeping in the back of my mind the opportunity to set up donations on my itch or to learn a formal programming language that allows making an executable. I also do...

I found this year's advent calendar to be both a good challenge and a neat learning experience for me. This puzzle is my second advent capstone. Since last year's had several nonunique elements within it, I really hope (but cannot guarantee at the moment) that my Christmas gift this year has only one solution. That would be a Christmas miracle! Regardless, I had lots of fun making it, and I hope it's just as fun to solve! Laurel: https://tinyurl.com/2xod85us Solve the grid in its entirety as a Tapa, where each question mark stands for a single piece of a clue. Additionally, each 5x5 (or in one case 10x5) section contains variant rules that may change or override clues, add additional constraints to their local shading, or even add a second layer of input type: 1. Christmas Lights This section, being composed of shaded and unshaded cells, must be solved as an Akari. Clues may be shaded, turning them into Akari clues instead of Tapa clues. 2. White Elephant For the clues, rep...

 I'm glad I wrapped up the megapuzzle yesterday because I spent practically all day working on these. LITS is a fairly common puzzle type in online databases despite not being present in any puzzle books that I can think of, other than Nikoli collections. The ruleset is very versatile, allowing for minimums, maximums, impossible patterns and forced connections and disconnections between regions, all without number-oriented clues. https://puzz.link/p?lits/12/12/pk9tmd3i1j00g081cucun4jokp8651hm6vhg3s0007vqso4690ue60 https://puzz.link/p?lits/12/12/ki9nnrkjo10007hbp9f0602840g2qp04l3fqvvv51g7k5e343vv670 SLICY shows that transferring the rules of LITS onto a hexagonal grid shakes up the logic more so than most other shading puzzle types. I find that vertices matter more than long-distance connections, compared to LITS. https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=6x6x1&SIE=3ERERERDR7EREREUERDWDWDWD49ERDRE17ULULUL&G=slicy https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=8x8x1&SIE=15EU...

 I like how naturally the length constraints lead to regions with interesting flow patterns. https://puzz.link/p?lohkous/6/4/a12b23b24s https://puzz.link/p?lohkous/12/12/b1a2d1a23c2a1l12l1w1f12m23e23a12k1a12k12l1a1l12c12a12c12b2c

 I like how Statue Park can have a nice guided flow to it through local and connectivity logic while also allowing for full-on dissection-like puzzles. The ability to choose a shape bank when setting allows for both small and huge grids and the exploration of both simple and complex shapes. https://puzz.link/p?statuepark/12/12/101o4006101c20508i2l00000000592f0i03592f60105a2f//d https://puzz.link/p?statuepark/12/22/q0i0e000000002i0q2i000000000000000000009003000000i000000600i0020000000000000003060000002/10/35b4n/35sv7/355lk/35sv7/35sv7/355lk/35sv7/35vvv/35sv7/35mu9 (Note: the second one is unfortunately nonunique)

 This might be the only puzzle type on the calendar that I was actually somewhat scared of setting. I like the solving logic, but the elegant simplicity of cluing makes creating a puzzle really hard. I expect to be busy for most of today, so I've only decided to make one puzzle. I found this grid on my seventh attempt at making a small themed board, and I think I managed to make it flow well through my usual style of setting despite a hunch that the easiest way to set might be to work backwards from a simple solution. https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=6x6&SIE=6RRRDDLLLDDRRR4RR22UU10UUUUU&G=the-longest

 Hidato seems a lot more approachable and controlled than knight's tours, but it can still get difficult with puzzles that require holistically planning connections and finding crossings. I'm not too familiar with this genre, so both puzzles I managed to set today are small and relatively easy. https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=5x4&L=(12)3(20)4(2)3(4)6(16)3&G=hidoku https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=5x5&L=(1)4(16)1(2)4(20)6(12)2(24)3(8)3&G=hidoku The megapuzzle for Christmas Day is going well and I expect it to be ready on time. I'll probably release it automatically at 9:00 AM in my timezone.

 Of course this puzzle type was scheduled for a day that was a relatively large prime number! Multiplication Link reminds me of Balance Loop in that both puzzles require turning on the numbers and allow selecting from a range of possible segment length pairs, although, by merit of having more fine-tuned options, Multiplication Link feels like a better idea than the hypothetical Addition Link due to requiring a lot less clues to make interesting puzzles. https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=21x7&L=(24)0(19)3(12)3(4)27(6)11(12)7(12)44(6)7(4)11(24)27(12)6&G=multiplication-link https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=12x12&L=(12)0(1)7(1)16(1)3(12)7(2)2(1)5(1)9(1)5(1)9(1)4(1)4(9)12(9)7(9)20(2)9(4)12(24)1&G=multiplication-link

 When I first learned about this puzzle type through the advent calendar, there were only three example puzzles, and rulesets didn't appear to be attached to them, leading me to deduce most of it. Therefore, at the time, I was missing a special rule that transforms this puzzle idea from ordinary to fascinating. The restrictions on boulders make it very fun to solve, though slightly harder to set when combined with all the restrictions I gave myself on the second puzzle. https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?timebomb/6/6/1g2z0o1g8 https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?timebomb/12/12/p8h0g102o0g0o108001l0i0i80h0k0j0k0h08i0i0l100102o0g0o108g0h8p

 This is one of those types that I learned to love through the advent calendar. Most of the puzzles I had seen prior appeared way too open and caused me to attempt lots of bifurcation (probably because I was lacking theory), but the ones I solved today flowed nicely and had solid solution chains. Despite the intimidatingly large ruleset, I found it all easy to remember while solving, and my half-decent grasp on the theory made it feel simultaneously too powerful and not powerful enough while setting. https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=12x12&L=z0z13y1z4z1z1z1z1z4y1z12y1z2z1z1z2z8z2y1z1(7)1u6z1z2z1z1z3z1z1z1z1d1(7)6(7)2z15z3y5z4y3z1z4z1z1z1z1z5z13&G=sniping-arrow https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=12x17&L=z0z2z8z9z3z1z1z3z3z1z1z4z1z7z9z5z2z1z1y3z1z7z1z1y4z2z1z1(12)18(17)17z2z1z1y4z2z1z1y1z10z1z1(5)6z1y5z1z3z5z2z1z4z1z1z3z3z1z1z3z9z8z2&G=sniping-arrow

 I can see why Chained Block and Archipelago would be grouped together: the main difference is that Chained Block's shaded regions require a number and Archipelago requires the 1-to-n regions. In this way, I think Chained Block is easier to set/solve and makes a decent warmup for the latter. Aquapelago, on the other hand, appears to bear few similarities to either: shaded squares still count the number of shaded squares in a region, but it's gone diagonal. In this way, Aquapelago is actually closer to Chained Block than Archipelago. https://puzz.link/p?chainedb/7/6/1g2n6x1n2g4 https://puzz.link/p?chainedb/12/12/1g-10h1j1h2j2j2w-10x1j1j1h2j2j2zv1j1m2j2j8 https://puzz.link/p?chainedb/12/16/lbj41r2g1r6g2k4l.g2r4i1r2h5g1r6u1r2g1l4k6g2r.g2r48j4l https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?archipelago/6/6/i2g.g1h.i..h6g.h.g.h.g.h.g./ https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?archipelago/4/3/.g.j.h.g https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?archipelago/11/6/k2h.g.1k.k2m.m2k1k4k6l../ https://puzz.link/p?aquapelago/11/11/k.j.zh....

 This type brings back old memories of a puzzle book from Mindware called "Code Breakers" which was essentially systems of equations with the variables playfully disguised as colored circles. The key differences between these two ideas are that Letter Weights only uses addition but finds additional logic in requiring the solution be composed of a specific set of numbers, typically leading to logic vaguely reminiscent of Kakuro. 1. (1,2,3) ALLELE=10 2. (1,2,3,4,5) TEAMMATE=24, MATTER=17, MEET=9 3. (1,2,3,4,5,6) SIT=9, SLIT=12, SHEETS=26

 Nikoji is an old favorite of mine because of how easy it is to incorporate themes through words and phrases. The overall logic for solving a Nikoji tends to fall into one of two categories; both types of puzzles are included here. Both of these puzzles were created on graph paper, so the variant rule in the second was originally unintentional. I wouldn't be surprised if this first one has already been made before. It might be harder than the second. https://puzz.link/p?nikoji/7/2/eh9hbfhah9 Variant: The N region is a rotated version of the Z region, and thus will throw an error for having the same shape. https://puzz.link/p?nikoji/v:/12/14/bgfkem45r3j9ag-10j5rdr2h6h-10-15-1a-1ac5g5hfg-13-11-151-125h-12h-15r-12r-14jag-10gai5r5q9ej

 As someone who likes to set puzzles a few clues at a time, Kropki Pairs feels more natural to set than classic Kropki because of the constraint it removes. However, this comes at the cost of making the logic a bit more straightforward, or the added benefit of being more streamlined, depending on how you look at it. https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=5x5&L=(2)0(1)7(4)3(1)4(3)3(2)7&L-E=w1w11w15w11&G=kropki-pairs https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=7x7&L=(1)6(2)6(1)5(3)14(2)5(4)6&L-E=b4w6w1b7w7w1w2b3w1w19b1w3w2w1b7w7w1b6&G=kropki-pairs

 Not counting rotations and reflections as different, there are exactly 12 pentominoes, which might be why this type was chosen for the twelfth day instead of FourCells. I prefer this type to Pentominous because it doesn't tend to lead itself into extensive bifurcations. I really like the technique this shares with Heteromino and FourCells, but I wasn't exactly able to include it in these puzzles. https://puzz.link/p?fivecells/10/6/b1d2m1a1a2a2d2a2a0a.a1g.b2g2 https://puzz.link/p?fivecells/12/12/7a12a12a12a7n12e12f12b12a2l12a1212a12m12a12b12a12n12121212n7j7

 I recognize Spokes from some variety logic puzzle books. The logic's mostly local, so it seems difficult to make a difficult puzzle without adding a variant that pertains to the solution as a whole. That being said, the Kudamono editor allowing for gaps in the puzzle makes it easier to add more interesting logic, like spokes being unable to connect in certain directions while not being on the grid edge, and long lines being able to block several other possibilities instead of at most one. I'm not confident that the puzzle I made today has only one solution. I spent a lot of time today sinking my teeth into a really large set of puzzles, which distracted me from starting work on these earlier. https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=12x11&L=(2)0(2)1(2)1x1x2x1x1x1x1x1(2)1x1(2)1x1(1)1x1(1)1(1)1(1)1(1)1(1)1(1)1x1(4)1(2)1(4)1x1x1x1x1x1x1(2)1(2)1(2)1(4)1(1)1x1(2)1(2)1x2(2)2x1x1x1(2)1x1x2(4)1x1(2)1(1)1(4)1(2)1(2)1(2)1x1(1)1x1(2)1(4)1(1)1(1)1(1)1(1)1x1(1)1x1x1x1x1x1x1(2)1x1(2)1...

 I really like the ideas behind Seiza. It incorporates logic reminiscent of Star Battle and Spokes but in a synergistic way that elevates the logical ideas from each type and creates a new kind of network structure to examine. https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player.html?W=8x8&L-N=(4)20(1)24&SIE=3RUUUUU9RRRULLURRUUU4RRDLL20UUU4URDDDDD10RRR8RDDDLUUU&G=seiza https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player.html?W=12x10&L-N=(3)6(3)12(4)6(2)25(1)9(2)6(3)7(3)18(2)29&SIE=5RRRRUUULLLURRRU2RRRDLLL15UUURRRULLLU30U14ULLLURRRUUULL1U4RRRRDDDDD6UURRDD15RDLLUR1ULLLURRULLURRRU2DRUUULDD20RR23LUUUR&G=seiza

 The spice in the puzzle has heated up since yesterday! While ice tiles aren't necessarily an uncommon sight in paper puzzles, I believe the twist that separates Fire Walk from Ice Walk is currently unique to its puzzle type. Setting puzzles for this felt hard to control at first because it tends to have more room to breathe more often than Ice Walk, but I think I managed to carry over some lessons from the latter when making the reprisal. The rule about double-turns being inside the loop may have originally been intended as a convention to force uniqueness (as it would be difficult to do so on most multi-cross patterns without this rule), but the rule itself does lead nicely to puzzles exploring whether a potential double-crossing would be inside the loop, so it doesn't necessarily feel contrived. https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?firewalk/6/6/0k1go2g03m1g6h1n2h6p https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?firewalk/12/9/002ssh5499fub0io4n7000ci9i-18zs9zh9zpci9i-18i I wouldn't be surprised if t...

 I think this ruleset strikes a great balance between accommodating ice logic (compare to Icebarn and Icelom) and clues that count path lengths between the special tiles (compare to Fire Walk and Water Walk), resulting in a puzzle type that feels just controlled enough to often be comfortable to both set and solve while still leaving the door open for intriguing logic. https://puzz.link/p?icewalk/7/5/0r2a8r0u1g2g8u https://puzz.link/p?icewalk/12/8/002ssl549p4ea2its000ci8i-18zzzzm https://puzz.link/p?icewalk/12/12/003vshh4c932fvjvshh4c932fvg00zj3g1g1h2g2g3t1g1h2g2zo4i8g8j4g4m8h4i8g8g8u4n

 Both of today's genres were new to me until I browsed the advent calendar. I had seen Coffee Milk before on puzz.link's puzzle type list, but it's obscure enough that I never tried setting any and probably didn't solve many until recently. Despite similarities between their appearances and input method, the two rulesets tend to explore entirely different ideas. The premise of Coffee Milk interests me, but it seems difficult to set a logically hard puzzle because the ruleset is a bit loose: it's easy to miss a potential connection, divide groups differently, or completely ignore a gray circle that's expected to contribute. Thus, the puzzle I made for it today is meant to be easy. https://puzz.link/p?coffeemilk/12/7/b1b..b222a11a.b.c21a1d.c2b2c.c1c1b.d2c1a.d2d1a....a2b I also enjoyed learning about Milk Tea, although I'm actually not that good at it because it often asks for a method of scanning I'm not well-versed in. On occasion, it lends itself natural...

 As the name may suggest, this puzzle type is the complete antithesis to Slitherlink. In doing so, it breaks a lot of new ground in its potentially cursed structure while inviting parallel logic that tends to dive deeper into deductions involving sets. The first puzzle here is a normal Slitherlink to compensate for having so few yesterday (and also to make the second puzzle feel a tad disorienting). https://puzz.link/p?slither/8/8/121212171cg17121cg121c1c121cg12121ch1712121ch https://puzz.link/p?lither/8/8/121212171cg17121cg121c1c121cg12121ch171cj1c https://puzz.link/p?lither/12/6/8811bi8811b8dm83111311182221113111811122cj11b

 Slitherlink might be one of the first paper puzzle types I encountered formally (after nonograms). Earlier this year, I cracked open a puzzle book I remembered liking that has some of these and noticed that I had left several of the puzzles incomplete despite previously having a decent understanding of common patterns; upon looking back, it occurred to me that several of the deductions I was missing involved a cool idea of set theory applied to gridpoints along a diagonal. In this way, I think Slitherlink can be versatile and have a bit of a learning curve (which doesn't shoot off into the clouds via penalty theory).  Unfortunately, I've been quite busy and didn't manage to set very many puzzles for it today. That being said, I think the variant puzzle I devoted most of my time to today is one of my favorite puzzles I've ever constructed. Maybe it's for a similar reason that I think a lot of my variant puzzles from 2022 were great? Nevertheless, I feel like I uncov...

 Nurimaze is one of the few shading genres that sets classic puzzles using regions that are either entirely full or entirely empty, which was definitely a good design choice when considering the rest of the rules. I think the rules that have to do with shading tend to carry most of the logic, but there are interesting ways to use the symbols that synergize with the rest of the ruleset.  https://puzz.link/p?nurimaze/6/6/dvmdvmr6vvcr464p1627464 https://puzz.link/p?nurimaze/12/4/jnrvuvifed4ivkdb081z92a https://puzz.link/p?nurimaze/12/12/fnvvqtduvvvdmnrvvtemvfvvmr8mb3hpvvr5hsuvvtiosefvupcf7g1c2z84n464s4zj47 https://puzz.link/p?nurimaze/12/12/vcrvvv7tv7pvvvvsvvvvvpvvpnoar2mpnrlcprevvrms9ibuljc4r0y4z46173c2z73v46 https://puzz.link/p?nurimaze/12/12/dmvvtmpmrvvmr6rfvurcrdvvrdgrdjdnvvtmpmrvvurcrdvvvdmdmo4t49363x46464u36363k162d46493

I think Masyu might be the only puzzle type for which I've seen a warning to new solvers that it's easy to accidentally make a mistake in the logic. It does eventually become easy to recall generally how the clues work and there are some common patterns that can be identified. For me, Masyu is one of a few puzzle types that hold the special distinction of either being very straightforward or nearly impossible to approach. I imagine the latter category involves some logic regarding high densities of straight lines that I'm unfamiliar with. https://puzz.link/p?mashu/12/3/030003300030 https://puzz.link/p?mashu/15/6/i620i1093110931i620i4009c00000 https://puzz.link/p?mashu/15/9/000003g07i620093g17i6i0093g07i000001060000090 Variant: Every question mark follows the rules of a pearl. https://puzz.link/p?mashu/v:/12/12/i02k13003990110036070i0910000000i020i20i0303i600

 Sudoku is probably the most well-known paper puzzle. The base rules are very easy to understand. The grid size is often constrained to a square with less than a hundred cells, yet countless volumes have been filled with classic puzzles and brought to bookstores. I find it nice to solve a classic one every once in a while, but what really appeals to me about this type is its ability to act as a canvas for a ton of fantastic variant puzzles. Whereas classic sudoku might start to feel stale while solving tens in a row, variant sudoku always stays fresh and continues to deliver brand new logical ideas. I'm reminded of my #A25 collection. I intend to make a megapuzzle for #A50. 4x4 Classic (f-puzzles) 12x2 Samurai (penpa) 6x6 Arrow and Thermo (f-puzzles) 6x6 "Missing Products" (penpa)