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Two games in one

 
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dodo

Joined: 11 Jul 2005
Posts: 5
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 10:43 am    Post subject: Two games in one Reply with quote

Something that strikes me about Sudoku is that it is actually two games in one. Game#1 is the newspaper's Sudoku, and it is played in the space of visible pegs; game#2 is played in the space of remaining candidates, and requires maintenance of those candidates (i.e. an extra sheet of paper, or a computer). Games clearly on the #2 category are probably unsuitable for newspapers, not because they are harder (which they probably are), but because of the extra materials imposed to the player. There is, of course, a gray zone in the middle, since f.i. hidden pairs can be detected by eye in a #1 game.

I wonder if someone can point me to a link where this difference is studied, esp. in the context of problem generation.
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wapati

Joined: 12 Jun 2007
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Location: Canada

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Games clearly on the #2 category are probably unsuitable for newspapers, not because they are harder (which they probably are), but because of the extra materials imposed to the player.


It is more probable that the papers prefer not to spend the space on a puzzle big enough to put candidates into the squares.


Quote:
There is, of course, a gray zone in the middle, since f.i. hidden pairs can be detected by eye in a #1 game.


The gray zone is much bigger, different solvers can spot a lot, or little, before candidates are needed. X-wing and finned-x-wing are pretty easy, for example.

Quote:
I wonder if someone can point me to a link where this difference is studied, esp. in the context of problem generation.


I have no link but I do know that most puzzles generated are newspaper easy. A lot of effort has gone into looking for ways and means of generating puzzles that are usually harder.
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dodo

Joined: 11 Jul 2005
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wonder, what complications require maintenance of candidates and clearly belong to the #2 zone. Maybe fishes of size greater than 2, or long chains of coloring.

Of course, if you had a perfect memory, you could solve #2's without extra paper nor a computer. X-wings, and even simple pairs, are bound to be forgotten and rediscovered, if they are not filled in in the next few moves, or if you have more than a few to remember. In the end, these imply maintaining candidates (in memory).
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