I would love some feedback on the latest update to Str8ts. They are called non symmetrical Str8ts they are quite different from the Str8ts you are familiar with. We have the first one live and ready to play at www.str8ts.com . Scroll down to the bottom of the page and give the puzzle a whirl. I am hoping they aren't too hard! They have one solution and can be solved using pure logic. Enjoy. Andrew is hand picking 200 to go on the iPhone this week. ( if we could only get our update approved it has been over 2 months now)
An update! That would mean 1000 puzzles! But I am not quite sure how long it will take to get it posted since we are really struggling with getting our app updates approved.
Jeff - The assymetric puzzles are great. Im glad that the solver was around as i messed up about 1/2 trhough and had accidentally reversed 2 numbers in a sequence - but trying to see where the error was without restarting was a pain (Im doing it on paper). Good to see the variety. I think that adding the solver to the app would be a great addition, as I think many people find Str8ts harder then Sudoku (from comments that I have seen on the board) and learing by trial and error is not very user friendly. Playing through with the solver makes a lot of strategy become clear. Also, having all the pencil marks available (and optionally mark only real possibilities) could be a helpful selling point. I know that on the Palm platform, applications that did not include pencil marks were generally not favorably looked upon, as people don't want to take the time to mark each cell with all possibilities - they want to do the solving, not the background labor if you will... Just a couple of thoughts. Anyways - looks great, and hoping that the Apple process eventually works itself out.
Pluto 6, Some of the asymmetrical puzzles require more work to solve. The layout is crucial. We are still trying to find out what makes a perfect layout to force players to use new solving techniques. Still work ahead of us. Would also love to hear from some mathematicians which term is correct non- symmetrical or asymmetrical? And if there is a difference a description would be great. We are trying to say that the puzzle follows no pattern. The black cells are placed randomly on the board in any order.
Jeff: I am no expert, but I think "asymmetrical" is the correct term. The prefix "a" is used to denote "without". Random questions regarding regular Str8ts: 1. Is there only one solution to each puzzle? 2. Are even the all black (no numbers) squares assigned one specific number? i.e., can you use the all black squares to help solve the rest of the puzzle (by looking in the same row or column as an all black square) if you have narrowed it down to only one number? I hope the second question makes sense. Looking forward to those asymmetrical puzzles. This has probably been discussed elsewhere, but what is the Reader's Digest version on how it differs from a normal Str8ts puzzle?
jBlick, Question # 1 Each puzzle has one solution only! Each solution can be reached using logic only. Question # 2 The pesky black cells are for me best described as a wormholes if you try to apply logic to them and have missing information you are doomed. If you know a black cell has a certain value you more than likely have solved the row and column already. So the plain black cells should not be used to solve the puzzle at all. The black cells with white numbers on the other hand, are the strongest clues Str8ts provides. Concentrate on them. The difference between asymmetrical to regular Str8ts is the combination of straights. The compartments can be chopped up more. 1 cell compartments are possible! 1 cell is harder to solve than two cells oddly enough. Yesterdays puzzle was better than today's so we are still fine tuning what makes a good asymmetrical puzzle! Andrew will find the pattern and perfect the generation of these puzzles. A chopped up puzzle with many small compartments should be easier to solve once you have filled in a lot of numbers, but will be very hard to get started at the beginning with few clues. So I think the solving techniques are very different and will require creative thinking. We are just so happy Str8ts is probably the most flexible out of all the number puzzles!
Jeff: I think I understand your explanation about the "pesky" black cells. But are even those assigned one specific (albeit hidden) number? My experience with them is as you described it. I know the black cell because based on the column or row, it is the only number that is left. But, I wanted to know if the game allows you to use that black cell that can only be one number to fill in a blank on the same row or column (i.e. if you know the black cell is 8, because it is the only number left in the column, can you use that 8 to help you know that the 8 cannot show up in the same row?, etc.). I hope that makes sense. What I use black cells for is more like what I just described. Fortunately, for my sanity I have not just been looking at the black cells trying to solve the puzzle.
@jblick - I had the same inital thoughts as you, but in actuality the black squares with no numbers can have multiple solutions so you really need to just ignore them. You could have a black square with say 8 other numbers so you know what the cell should contain. But that same blank black cell could have another solution for the cells in the other axis. I approach them now like the black squares in a crossword puzzle. They simply exist to strategically break up the puzzle. Whatever the mathematicalodel that Andrew is using, I don't think that it uses the blank black squares. Either that, or they can stand for any number. Hope this helps. Also, I will tell you what Jeff told me. Keep solving more puzzles, and you will start getting it. If you don't have str8ts 6x6 then get it, or the lite. The puzzles ther are smaller, make more sense, and serve as a great intro to the 9x9.
