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Interesting Items...

Regular readers will know I've been picking holes in the star rating the Daily Mail gives its Kurosu puzzles (it is not uncommon the three-star require less deductive reasoning than two-star examples). Rarely are they all that challenging, the real challenge being to work out how challenging they are on a relative scale without regard to personal bias.

Well, today's "three star" merits its rating - it's the trickiest I have come across, and I would award it 5 Black Holes if I was sure there could not be a trickier one.

Code: 
   ———————————————————————
  |   |   |   |   |   | X |
  |———|———|———|———|———|———|
  | O |   |   |   | O |   |
  |———|———|———|———|———|———|
  |   |   |   | X |   |   |
  |———|———|———|———|———|———|
  |   | X | X |   |   |   |
  |———|———|———|———|———|———|
  |   |   |   |   |   | X |
  |———|———|———|———|———|———|
  |   |   | X |   | O |   |
   ———————————————————————

BH Rating: ●︎●︎●︎●︎○︎

The objective is to complete the 6x6 grid with X's and O's, so that all rows and all columns contain exactly three X's and three O's, and there are no horizontal or vertical runs of three adjacent X's or O's.

Inference Level 1: If a row or column already contains three of one symbol, the remaining squares must be filled with the other symbol.

Inference Level 2: If there is a space between two of one symbol, or a space adjacent to two of one symbol, the space must be filled with the other symbol.

Inference Level 3: If filling a space with one symbol would cause a run of three of the other symbol elsewhere in that row or column, the space can't be occupied by that symbol.

Inference levels 1-3 are localised to single rows or columns, but I have not yet come across any deeper inference than Level 3. Solving the puzzle above requires four separate applications of Level 3.
 
Last edited:
I found it, behind a paywall. You have to register with MyMail and unlock access using a unique code printed in the paper edition (or be an on-line subscriber):

1616107108333.png

I see there are facilities to make "notes" (like you might for a Sudoku), but frankly I've never found jottings necessary for any Kurosu.
 
Black Hole said:
I found it, behind a paywall. You have to register with MyMail and unlock access using a unique code printed in the paper edition (or be an on-line subscriber):

View attachment 5420

I see there are facilities to make "notes" (like you might for a Sudoku), but frankly I've never found jottings necessary for any Kurosu.
Click to expand...
Ah, I see. Interesting about the notes. What do you put there? O or X? 🤣 Or maybe it is for when you follow a possibility, if I put X there, than that has to be an O, and, ..., until you find a contradiction?
 
I'll try today's and let you know - "notes" seem pointless at first sight. Unusually, the paper hasn't turned up yet... no code, no access.
 
Yeah:

1616147285993.png

I notice there is no indication of grade for the on-line version. In the paper, it's awarded three stars (out of three). In fact, it's an easy one requiring no more than level 2 reasoning, barely BH rating ●︎●︎○︎○︎○︎.
 
I like codeword, but the interactive version is too easy to cheat with. A puzzle that would have taken 15min is over in less than one.
 
Regarding the Kurosu that BH posted at #2041 (Thursday). I don’t see how that and today’s (Saturday) can both be three stars. Did today’s in less than 2 minutes. The one BH posted above took me much longer - in fact I left it (twice) and came back to it. Definitely worth five stars!
 
EEPhil said:
Did today’s in less than 2 minutes.
Click to expand...
Yes, so simple and so contrary.

The reason I have taken The Mail during lockdown is because my closest friend (J notwithstanding) has always taken it, and it is good to be able to use it as a point of conversation. I'm not usually so good at the crossword as she is, but some days the words are in my vocabulary instead of hers! Some days she describes her pencil as not keeping up with her (when it's easy)... that's how I describe todays Kurosu.

It would be an insult to readers' intelligence to reproduce it here.

EEPhil said:
Definitely worth five stars!
Click to expand...
We'll see. If I need a displacement activity I might try to devise a real Duesie! (Oh dear, the last thing I need right now is a displacement activity, and of course that's the first thing which comes to mind...)
 
Here's a Kurosu of my devising, toughest I have been able to come up with so far (while watching Italy getting slaughtered as usual):

Code: 
   ———————————————————————
  |   |   | X | X |   |   |
  |———|———|———|———|———|———|
  | X |   |   | X |   |   |
  |———|———|———|———|———|———|
  | O |   |   |   |   |   |
  |———|———|———|———|———|———|
  |   |   |   |   |   | X |
  |———|———|———|———|———|———|
  |   |   |   |   |   | X |
  |———|———|———|———|———|———|
  |   | O |   |   |   |   |
   ———————————————————————

BH Rating: ●︎●︎●︎●︎○︎
 
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