Nanro (Signpost) by Prasanna Seshadri
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Theme: Stuck in the Middle with Two
Author/Opus: This is the 103rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.
Rules: Variation of Nanro. The small clue numbers indicate how many cells in that region are used (but do not necessarily indicate which cells are filled as standard Nanro clues do).
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the segments labeled with numbers from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other Nanro variations and this link for classic Nanro. If you are new to this puzzle type, please first try out our easiest Nanro to get started.
A really nice one. I think I might prefer the variant version of this type, with its more heyawake-style cluing.
From a construction stand-point, this variant offers more freedom which I like (in part because it reduces clues from serving two roles to just one).
The story of its “discovery” is actually a bit funny. Perhaps Prasanna can elaborate more, but after a few months between submitting Nanros to me, Prasanna began sending a few Nanro submissions in early December. By the end of the month (before I tested any of these) I got a somewhat frustrated email from Prasanna telling me to ignore all of those submissions as he “forgot the rules”. This was followed quickly by a second email — with a much better suggestion — to consider publishing them as a variant.
Perhaps some rules are meant to be forgotten.
I’ll just provide a little more background. I did vaguely realize while working on this set of puzzles that I seemed to have more freedom than usual with Nanro, but it did not strike me that this was because I’d forgotten a rule. Me and Murat have been exchanging puzzles since way back in 2012 and we have now continued to do so sometimes with puzzles intended for GM Puzzles too. We figure it helps when Thomas hasn’t tested for a while if one of us does so.
Here it did help because this was the only reason I realized these aren’t Classic Nanros and saved an unnecessary testing session where Thomas may have broken them all. Murat took one look at this particular one above and said it can’t possibly be Nanro and asked whether I’d sent some other puzzle by mistake. I took a look at the rules at this point and finally realized my mistake and warned Thomas. Murat offered to solve knowing the rule change, and liked it, and this was the cause of my second mail to Thomas. I probably wouldn’t have been confident about using a “mistake” as a “variant” if Murat hadn’t provided the input.
I think I also prefer this ‘variation’.. After completing this week’s set, these rules feel more natural and flexible, and original Nanro seems like more of a variation!
14:15 .Nice!