#A73: Shikaku and Knossos

 I've solved a few of each genre before today, but this is my first time constructing either, despite the fact that the former is relatively well-established. I find that Shikaku tends to flow quickly due to how the anchored rectangles need to fill the space, making it difficult to set a hard one, whereas Knossos tends to flow slowly due to how unconstrained the clues seem without considering theory, making it difficult to set an easy one. I admire how different they feel to solve despite considering two fundamental aspects that correlate with region size, although maybe this is due to Knossos not being about rectangles.

Geometrically speaking, I would've preferred if these puzzles were assigned tomorrow and tomorrow's puzzles were assigned today. 23, unlike 24, cannot be a base Knossos clue. Furthermore, 24 is highly divisible, whereas 23 is a decently large prime, making 24 versatile and 23 unwieldy as a Shikaku clue. The cherry on top is that 12x23 happens to be a triangle number, and 12x24 is not.

https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?shikaku/5/5/1g2.i.i2g3i.i.2g5

https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?shikaku/12/12/q-14gch.rcm2h.p.o3h.s.h.och2m.h4m2j.m.h.h-19q

https://pedros.works/paper-puzzle-player?W=5x5&L=(20)2(12)2x5x11&G=knossos&D=2025-12-23

I would want to make another Knossos, but I don't trust myself enough to make a large unique one. Therefore, I've used mashup clues for the 12x23.

Shikossos (12x23)