UK Puzzle Championship 2019 / WPC Qualification

[puzzlemad]

This is the discussion thread for the 2019 UK Puzzle Championship. It will also act as the second qualifier for the UK A team competing at the World Puzzle Championships in Kirchheim, Germany to be held on the 29th September - 6th October 2019 (note that these dates also include time for the World Sudoku Championships).

Duration: 2 1/2 hours
Dates: Friday 21st - Monday 24th June 2019
Contest Page: http://www.ukpuzzles.org/contests.php?contestid=50

Please post any questions about the competition here.

[Feadoor]

Thanks Liane! I'll kick off the questions...

- There are conflicting lengths of time for the contest. Most places say 2.5 hours, but the "Points and Bonuses" section of the instructions says "the allotted two hours" and the contest page itself says "3 hours".
- In Pentopia the instructions suggest that ALL pentominoes must be placed - is this true? This isn't normally the case in Pentopia (and notably, isn't the case in the example puzzle).
- In Word Search, I presume that the words must be found in the grid using an exact match on the Turkish letters, i.e. even if two letters have the same Latin equivalent, one cannot be substituted for another when looking for words? In other words, the substitution only occurs after the puzzle is solved?

[Feadoor]

And one tip for anyone who thinks they'll struggle to calculate the area of an angled rectangle for the Shakashaka answer key, there's no need to count up triangles! Count the number of diagonal units along each of a pair of sides, calculate the area as if they were the actual side lengths, then double the result.

[puzzlemad]

Thanks Liane! I'll kick off the questions...

- There are conflicting lengths of time for the contest. Most places say 2.5 hours, but the "Points and Bonuses" section of the instructions says "the allotted two hours" and the contest page itself says "3 hours".
- In Pentopia the instructions suggest that ALL pentominoes must be placed - is this true? This isn't normally the case in Pentopia (and notably, isn't the case in the example puzzle).
- In Word Search, I presume that the words must be found in the grid using an exact match on the Turkish letters, i.e. even if two letters have the same Latin equivalent, one cannot be substituted for another when looking for words? In other words, the substitution only occurs after the puzzle is solved?

Times amended - bonus one slipped through the net last year and I simply couldn't add up on the competition page
Pentopia - Yes all pentominoes do have to be placed in these puzzles.
Word Search - Yes the substitution only occurs after the puzzle is solved - simply to make answer submission on UK keyboards possible.

[david mcneill]

Just dropping in. Liane, thanks for posting the instruction booklet.

Is it possible to post a copy of the UK Open puzzles? I think there was at least one Loose Magnets puzzle therein. Or just those particular puzzles if it isn't possible to post the whole files.

One other piece of pedantry. Can you confirm that the Ls in the L Fillomino will be one cell in width?

[pinkagape]

When solving the Kuromasu example, it made me wonder whether the remaining white cells can be orthogonally connected through the clue cells, or whether all the white cells had to be touching and the clue cells blocked the white cell connections.

Exciting looking mix here. I'm looking forward to it.

[mstang]

Are 1-cell and 2-cell (or, in general, straight lines) considered L shapes for the Fillomino?

[puzzlemad]

Just dropping in. Liane, thanks for posting the instruction booklet.

Is it possible to post a copy of the UK Open puzzles? I think there was at least one Loose Magnets puzzle therein. Or just those particular puzzles if it isn't possible to post the whole files.

One other piece of pedantry. Can you confirm that the Ls in the L Fillomino will be one cell in width?

Apologies for the late reply.
Loose magnets from the UKPA Open are attached.

The L Fillominos will be one cell in width.

[puzzlemad]

When solving the Kuromasu example, it made me wonder whether the remaining white cells can be orthogonally connected through the clue cells, or whether all the white cells had to be touching and the clue cells blocked the white cell connections.

Exciting looking mix here. I'm looking forward to it.

Yes the Kuromasu can be orthogonally connected through the clue cells.

[puzzlemad]

Are 1-cell and 2-cell (or, in general, straight lines) considered L shapes for the Fillomino?

No 1 -cell and 2-cell (or other straight lines) are not considered L shapes. They must be a minimum of three cells and there must be a 90 degree turn.

[puzzlemad]

Just a quick reminder to everyone - please ensure that you compile your answer submissions carefully as we will be extremely strict with the marking due to the competition being used as a qualifying competition for the WPC.

There are a few puzzles where the full number needs to be submitted rather than just the unit digit in others.
Full number needs to be provided for puzzles 1, 2, 17, 18, 26,27, 28 and 29.
Unit digit of numbers required for puzzles 9, 12, 13, 23 and 24.

[detuned]

Liane - re answer codes, the instructions provide fairly clear detail about what the answer keys should be - e.g. for cave:

Answer Key: Going clockwise from the top left corner enter the area of the groups of cells that are connected to the outside of the grid that are not part of the cave, separated by commas. NB Enter the full value of the area.

Will this same detail be repeated in the competition booklet?

[puzzlemad]

Liane - re answer codes, the instructions provide fairly clear detail about what the answer keys should be - e.g. for cave:

Answer Key: Going clockwise from the top left corner enter the area of the groups of cells that are connected to the outside of the grid that are not part of the cave, separated by commas. NB Enter the full value of the area.

Will this same detail be repeated in the competition booklet?

Yes - apart from removing the example from the competition booklet the instructions about the answer keys are identical.

[Puzzle_Maestro]

I know it's rather cheeky of me to ask, but could a full stop in an answer entry instead of a comma be excused?

I am fairly new here, so if this is the wrong place to ask, please direct me to the correct place!

Hi, On this type of error we do generally award points (occasionally partial).

[puzzlemad]

Please ensure that you download the latest version of the competition booklet before commencing.

[puzzlemad]

We are aware that some users are getting an error when attempting to log onto the main site to take part in the competition. An urgent support call is logged to get this rectified. As a result, it may be necessary to extend the competition window.

[puzzlemad]

Just to confirm that we are extending the competition window for the UKPC due to the ongoing disruption being caused to the site. Further information will be provided when we know more. Apologies to everyone.

[detuned]

Further to Liane's post above, to be absolutely clear the contest has (currently) been extended to Wednesday evening:

Wed 26 Jun 2019 23:55 BST (GMT+1)

[puzzlemad]

Just to confirm that now the problems with the website have been fixed the competition has been extended to the end of Thursday 27th June, 2019. Thank you for your patience during this time.