The Puzzle Robot #20 – Graffiti
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools using a composite mode where left click inside cell shades square, left click + drag draws line segment, right click inside cell adds dot, and right click on cell edge adds an x; an additional shading mode is available by hitting the tab button if that is preferred.)
Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic
Rules: Blacken some cells and then draw a single non-intersecting loop through all remaining white cells. Outside clues indicate the size of all groups of blackened cells in that row or column in order. There must be at least one white cell between each of these groups. When no clues are given, any number of cells may be shaded in that row/column. Or see here.
Answer String: For each marked column, enter the length in cells of the longest vertical segment. Enter 0 if there are no vertical segments. Enter these values as a single string (eg “230124”).
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 7:30, Expert = 15:00
Solution: PDF
A very satisfying solve, thanks 🙂
I found the answer code description very confusing. “Length in cells” made me wonder a) whether the blackened cells might be wanted instead, and b) made me enter the number of cells covered by such a vertical loop segment (i.e., wanted number +1).
The puzzle itself was very nice.
I also thought the answer code wanted the longest number of shaded cells at first.
An example solution with the example answer string would be very helpful. I’m looking at my completed puzzle, but I can’t figure out what to enter for the answer key? Have tried length of blackened cells, length of white cells, length of segments, but nothing seems correct. guessing i’m counting something incorrectly?
This a random solution, and consider X cells are black, O cells are white. A,B,C,D marked columns that you should enter for the solution key. For A, the longest blackened blocks’ lenght is 4; For B, the longest blackened blocks’ is 2; For C, the longest blackened blocks’ is 2; For D, the longest blackened blocks’ is 0; For E, the longest blackened blocks’ is 1 . So the answer string should be 42201.
A...B..C.DE
XOOXXOOXXOO
XXOXOOXOXOO
XOXOXOXOXOX
XXXXXXXXXOO
OOOXOXXXOOO
XOXXOXXOOOX
For anyone who is confused about how the answer string works after nine years, a vertical segment only includes one of the corners. So if it’s corner vertical-line vertical-line vertical-line corner, the segment is 4.