The Sphinx's Lair

Arrgh, @Wen I am done with Ogres now..

The answers are incomplete.

@sid Oh, nice

@Wen No, I mean, didn't solve

6:25 AM

Oh, :(

This is extremely frustrating

@Soha You can edit your intended explanation to Wen's answer

@sid Well, you could try something else for a change.

Umm.. I could, but I want to give someone else the satisfaction of being able to decipher it.

@Sid It was a long journey... OalO took a while

5

ghoul-toul = ght?

+1 The 'For ffao' is hilarious

6:27 AM

@Wen1now Yeah! Very close.

Treat each letter as a variable.

(gh-t)oul?

can someone give hints for that nonogram? it's too hard

Remember, if you have a k in the top and there are k rows then the whole column must be shaded

oh, ok

but we don't have any ks

Replace k with 5 :)

6:32 AM

@Soha you could provide a hint to the whole puzzle where people are stuck

(I was going to make it unsolvable to match the Undertale reference, but then ffao could actually complain it's too hard :P)

toul-ghoul = t-gh

yep!

so we get writt

NO!

6:33 AM

You are probably supposed to get WRIGHT instead of Writt..

It means subtract gh from wright and add t in its place

and that gives writt, right?

Ugh..I have to go back and fix it

That might explain why I wasn't able to solve it

Oh, you are probably supposed to get Writ instead of Wright or Writt..

6:35 AM

I should have been more careful... Well, I couldn't risk mum finding me out.

Has the nonogram been solved yet?

I'm baffled by the nonogram.

Oh hi!

@TheGreatEscaper I am so frustrated by your game..

Play some easier games, come back to it later

That's what I did when I first got the puzzle

Easier puzzle games, that is

@TheGreatEscaper Hanoi: winter?

6:40 AM

I don't understand the nonogram. Don't you just have to shade everything in there?

OHMIGOD

@Sid Shhh don't spoil it for ffao

@Sp3000 we have our first solver!!!

I'm stunned.

Oops..

that might work! :o

6:41 AM

It's such a beautifully elegant solution.

does Sid have to post a new one for the Nonogram Natter Nexus?

:o I was starting to be worried it might be too hard

Toul minus ghoul,
a magic letter minus what you get---

@Wen said it themselves. They said that if there is "k" at the top and "k" rows, then, shade the whole column.

Here, you simply shade every column.

@Wen1now
Toul minus ghoul,
a magic letter minus what you get---

6:44 AM

A magic letter... e?

You might as well edit it in yourself, basically just add letters and subtract until it sounds about right

that part of the riddle (or its original form for that matter) makes little sense to me

I think you've strayed into "guess what I'm thinking' territory. the outcome is known, but I can't parse the clue either to get to it.

Probably in reference to "magic e" in phonics a la HAT->HATE, CAR->CARE

But yeah it's a little more removed than the other lines (and the fact that that part of the riddle spans two lines is a bit weird)

Might as well edit the clue to be less lengthy

@Sid? The next nonogram?

oh. scrolling back it looks like the original composition of that part was actually an error? that explains why it gives something that doesn't seem like what was intended.

Is anybody up for a game?

6:54 AM

Toul minus ghoul,
a magic letter minus what you get---
add what comes of it

toul - ghoul gives +t-gh. a magic letter minus that apparently is e-(t-gh) = e+gh-t. add what comes of it, gives wright +e+gh-t for wrighegh.

yah that's much better now.

plus "a magic letter" is not a good idea here. there's nothing particularly magic about "e".

My testsolvers are taking too long/have given up.

I'll run through my ludicrous loop once more and then post it:P

I'm personally fine with the magic letter part on its own (having grown up with "magic e" in primary school), but when combined with the rest of the clue it feels a bit indirect

I love using other people as guinea pigs

I have no regrets in making this puzzle as ridiculous as humanly possible

You've gone beyond light ~~speed~~ loops to ludicrous loops ?

6:58 AM

~~What are the dimensions~~ Is it even a rectangular grid?

It is rectangular

32 by 32

1024 cells!

Okay, that's not that bad

7:14 AM

@TheGreatEscaper You never gave me the other 29/32!

Large grids are fun

@TheGreatEscaper When is it coming?

I'm still solving it.

xD

It takes aaaages and I know the pathway.

Plus, I have to be rigorous, make sure it's all correct.

Oh yeah, rigor is definitely the hardest part in most grid-deduction puzzles

@TheGreatEscaper so can I have the rest early (since I can't solve it online anyway)?

@TheGreatEscaper can you do me a favor?

7:23 AM

@TheGreatEscaper You might as well post it right?

floods TGE with pings

@Mithrandir pong?

bounces ball over net

waits for it to bounce

hits the ball back over the net

(with the paddle)

smashes the ball ...whoops.

7:28 AM

"Where's the ball gone?"

Hey, game anyone?

Like codenames or something

We're playing @Wen1now pong

But you're welcome to start another game too

oh, I want to try @Wen1now

Why are we pinging me?

Because @Wen1now pong is a fun game.

7:31 AM

Wait @boboquack Have you made any changes to the code since yesterday (or during yest.)

No

Let's go hangman

Hangman is always fun

Apart from commenting it and fixing an overly large rule-group

W1n defending: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

C'mon, guess a letter

And remember to bold your guesses

1: mc^2

7:33 AM

Contact 1

Wait, this is hangman not contact

Oops

Yeah

Umm...

So...

W1n defending: _ E _ _ _ _ _ _ _

7:33 AM

This is clearly Contact Hangman - if the defender can't figure out the hinted letter, then we get the guess for free even if it's not on the board :P

The count may or may not be off

creates new Hangman room

There, that's better

hint hint how to count the number of letters in a word: len(input('Word: '))

btw @boboquack Was that level trivial

7:34 AM

Much easier than the other one

Hmm...

Can you send your solution? I'll try to kill it

2: bh/2

Ooh, that's the formula for perimeter

Hiya

@Mithrandir what's up?

So you guys are guessing the letter P

Hi tge

7:40 AM

@Wen1now Incorrect

Ooh, free guess

It was A

(area of a triangle = bh/2)

(I was going to chime in and say it's A, but if this is actually being played yeah it should be in another room :P)

so do we get both A and another guess? or just A? or just a specified guess?

No, it's not actually being played

7:41 AM

If A is wrong, nothing happens

Wait a sec

Else we get another free guess

W1n defending: _ E _ E _ _ _ _ _

I can't spell

Yeah, free guess time

A

@TheGreatEscaper Can you send me the ludicrous loop? Please?

Aren't you given that A is not in the word?

7:43 AM

... I don't understand. Meh

This game seems . . . poorly defined. :)

@TheGreatEscaper can you upload a screenshot of what this looks like in the transcript for you?

Okay, there are pleeenty of people

Who wants to actually play something... contact/codenames/spyfall (first link that gets posted wins)

Ogres Are Like Onions

To solve @TheGreatEscaper's puzzle game: puzzlescript.net/play...

hehe

Contact

For playing the game Contact, where one person tries to "defend"...

7:50 AM

@mith

Cool

@TheGreatEscaper thanks.

(for those curious)

8:16 AM

I've almost finished resolving the Ludicrous Loop.

It's hard. Just warning everyone.

I love hard puzzles

Ludicrous loop... Maybe slitherlink?

Cave?

keep guessing

Loops...

(that's not a guess)

No idea

8:46 AM

@TheGreatEscaper? 'I've almost finished...'

hey, the last part of the puzzle is hard

This is a resolve and it's taken me over two hours.

Good luck, fellow puzzlers.

re-solve not resolve :p I will definitely need lots of luck

and resolve.

9:50 AM

@TheGreatEscaper?

@boboquack Do you want to work on Jailbreak?

OK, can you put the new levels up so I can try?

The name is so unique

Just kf in the search bar and it comes up

?

← 6 messages moved from Contact

10:16 AM

@TheGreatEscaper New puzzle?

Yu[!!!

*yup!!!!

I'm doing instructions rn

Okay, sounds good

Do I have to create a nonogram!? I didn't know this was a game.

I was joking, you don't have to

Also, I am just traveling now. Might not get the time to create one if at all necessary.

@TheGreatEscaper my friends liked your game. Most of them are stuck at level 4. :P

10:24 AM

First time I tried, I got stuck there, completely and utterly

I don't even *want* this package! Why did I join the stinging insect of the month club, anyway?

^Me with TGEs puzzle

He he. Xkcd is always relevant.

I'm typing it up now!!!!

Okay, sorry, I was just in the 'constant refreshing' stage

Any second now...

It's got to be close...

Are we there yet?

10:45 AM

yes!

literally typing the last sentences

and it's up

1 question with new activity

Yay!

Hey, does the flavortext (e.g Luck and Good) have anything to do with it?

No.

luck and good is me saying good luck :P

I was just wondering if there was anything else to this puzzle...

Ooh, an edit!

Well now I see the reason for TGE's bet (although it wasn't quite what I had in mind when I made my comment :P)

So we're trying to make a massive loop?

Can something go into a region and back out multiple times?

Which bet is this?

10:52 AM

20 hours ago, by Sp3000

(now that I think about it it wouldn't be that hard to combine 5+ Nikoli grid deductions - it just wouldn't be very nice and it's hard to beat The Witness in the "grid deductions with lots of mechanics" category)

20 hours ago, by TheGreatEscaper

@sp3000 wanna bet?

Oh, right

@TheGreatEscaper
Can something go into a region and back out multiple times?

Yup, of course

(I was thinking more integrated into the same grid throughout, which wouldn't be too hard but making it fun but not too confusing is the tricky part I'd imagine)

Do you recommend paper and pencil?

Oh, and lastly, how did you make this?

Oh, if you're thinking that the different areas don't interact... >:)

Put it this way @Sp3000, you'll find my puzzle a right pain (read: impossible) focusing only on one puzzle type at a time.

10:55 AM

What do you mean 'interact'?

Interact logically.

Oh, right

That wasn't what I meant at all but okay :P

There's nothing sneaky about the puzzle apart from it's just huge and terribly difficult.

Okay, nothing sneaky is good, that's what I want to hear :)

10:56 AM

Sp, you've given me an idea.

Is pencil and paper a good idea?

You're given a list of nikoli-type puzzle genres.

And there are clues in the grid.

You're not told which clue is which genre.

Okay, that sounds really cool

Q: The Ludicrous Loop: over a thousand cells of circular logic!

To put it simply, what I had in mind is what you have there except spread out throughout the grid (which would be extra confusing trying to remember which clue corresponds to what)

Although I guess this is basically just as confusing

Sphinx

1

Flavourtext is for flavour only. Ladies and Gentlemen, are you feeling ludicrous today? A little loopy, perhaps? Then come one, come all, for I have just the thing for you. Lampreys and Jellyfish, we have here a grid deduction puzzle which has over a thousand cells of loopalicious logic. Some t...

mazes grid-deduction

11:09 AM

@TheGreatEscaper No way am I writing out an explanation for this beauty... I'm just going to do it pencil-and-paper :)

@TheGreatEscaper What are the colours for?

Which colours?

Coloured boxes

Same coloured boxes have the same pattern?

Sorry, just noticed

Last question

For the bottom right, Why is there a single yellow eye and a single brown eye?

You need to pass over every eye.

11:16 AM

Oh, okay then

do the zeros in the edge of the puzzle in icebarn X do anything?

Nope, they were just there for symmetry.

They preserve symmetry!

Okay, gn, I'll work on this tonight and tomorrow

symmetry is overrated. :P

Double consonant beginning words are overrated

i mean, who likes llamas :P

11:23 AM

... he said, to @ffao

:D

Just joking, ffao.

(autocorrect?)

We all love you as much as I know you secretly love symmetry

(and yeah, autocorrect)

Wow, there really are almost no words beginning with double consonants.

I'm sstruggling tto tthink of any except llama (and ffao).

There's also llano

11:26 AM

Rreally?

Unless yyou ccount tthings llike zzz and mmm, of ccourse.

Or a DDoS attack.

VVVVVV, the iconic game

now there's one that I like.

pp, a dynamic marking.

www, a web prefix (or is it a web acronym?)

'ppose that's not all of it

Or any word starting with W.

VVords that start vvith W can be vveird.

Haha, sneaky.

11:30 AM

Anyone with a wordlist file?

speaking of which, did anyone see the VVitch? I thought that was a decent film.

sed ^(.)\1

Is the CCCC by @MOehm the current one, or has it been solved and unpinned and someone forgot to pin the next one?

should be the current one, or at least I can't remember it being solved

I feel like it's somehow POLTERGEIST

11:33 AM

'Tis pun.

I just pan it.

@JanDvorak I checked through onelook - the only other interesting (> 3 letters) "common" one (apart from llano and llama) seems to be the name lloyd

Aaron

@JanDvorak That's not a double consonant.

oh, wait, consonant

:-)

Aaron and his sister Nnora.

11:35 AM

how common is llano? Never heard it being used

Probably not actually common common, but "common" enough to be in the "Common Words" section of onelook (not sure what the criteria for that is) and crosswords (nice L?A?O letter pattern I guess)

@TheGreatEscaper Looks like you're right

(not going to post an explanation because I don't have a clue yet and I also don't intend to steal :P)

Pistolsgone (off is anagram indicator, perhaps)

gives us POLT GEIS with spare S O N

TIL "nethermore"

Or perhaps POLTE with spare GNOSIS??? I really have no idea.

i just guessed which part was the definition, and suggested a word off the enumeration. XD

that's a significant step

Sp solved it pretty quickly after you made that suggestion

(I still don't know what the wordplay is, though)

11:46 AM

I wouldn't have gotten it if you didn't mention that guess :P

then there's SSD

I'm never going to get the wordplay :(

12:06 PM

I even have a CCCC ready. :(

Can I post the wordplay and TGE posts the C4? :P

I'm happy with that! :D

(PISTOL)* (PISTOL's "gone off") around ("without") {[r]EGRET}<- ("remorse" "not right" "about") = POL(TERGE)IST ("disturbing apparition")

Wow.

never would have got that.

I didn't know 'without' worked as a container indicator!

> The foe awaits without.

If you're a Great Escaper, you should know all about being "without" things once you've escaped them!

12:16 PM

Do I get to post a C4, @sp3000?

Sure :P (I hope others don't mind)

I mind, and I'm going to suspend you both from chat for approximately 67 years.

Just kidding :-D

CCCC: Dynamic duo cross about Pole's endless and circular novel. (10)

oop, added the right number of asterisks now

12:55 PM

@TheGreatEscaper "endless and circular novel" = God?

1:05 PM

Nah.

I didn't know that was a thing, actually.

Borges is awesome.

His stories use amazingly wacky ideas to great effect, and they're really short and easy to read.

"The Library of Babel" might be particularly interesting for a mathematician - it's a sort of philosophical musing on the concepts of infinity and language.

I'm intrigued, definitely.

I'll pick it up with one of my many saved book store vouchers.

M Oehm

1:20 PM

@Sp3000 Well done!

@TheGreatEscaper "without" can mean outside just as "within" can mean inside. I thought it was a punny cryptic device, but word wizard Gareth instructed me that this is indeed proper if a bit old-fashioned English usage.

Cool.

(Lol, of course it was Gareth that confirmed that)

^ ditto re: Gareth there

M Oehm

I'm sure Gareth McCaughan anagrams to etymological dictionary. :)

I didn't want to use "without" in that clue, but I had already used many other possible indicators and it came in handy.

3:58 PM

I just googled that. Apparently Without does mean outside but it is archaic. Not that I doubted Gareth.. :P