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01:00 - 17:0017:00 - 00:00

1:13 AM
0
Q: My suffix is the pain in the past :'(

risky mysteries My prefix tells you fate has come. My suffix is the pain in the past. My infix is from the burning sun. My whole is American and fast.

 
@Deusovi re: ingrid deduction: rot13(V srry gur pelcgvp vf (UV + GB + EV)... fb znlor Uvgbev ohg jvgu yrggref, gura svther bhg juvpu pbhagel pnaabg or chg vagb n 3k3 ubyr va gur ynfg vzntr naq raq va n inyvq/havdhr fbyhgvba?? Ohg gung frrzf gbb grqvbhf sbe guvf chmmyr...)
 
ah, maybe? that seems possible to me
 
mm
 
no, that immediately breaks
unless it's five separate puzzles but that seems... tedious
 
yeah it doesn't seem an elegant path
 
1:19 AM
possible (even likely), but I'm a bit busy right now so I can't work on it - feel free to try it if you have the time
 
Avi
@JeremyDover if you're struggling to find a logical path I can post a solving gif
but somehow I feel that you're just asleep and will do it later :P
 
yeah I'm thinking of working on it too
(And what is this geography tag doing here? :0)
 
Avi
where :O'
oh no we gotta catch it
 
lol
in latest stiv puzzle
also @Avi only 2 upvotes and then you would have 7777 rep heh
 
1:40 AM
@Avi I got the case-bashing down to a minor area, but just ran out of steam (I too want a hack at Stiv's). If you'd like me to revisit tomorrow, I'm glad for a hint to make it a better answer.
 
my computer almost crashed :(
 
Avi
@JeremyDover yeah there's not too much case-bashing involved
the primary deductions are the fact that 2 and 3
in a corner are forced to look like (gimme a sec to draw it up)
obviously, this is derived from case-bashing, but it's very useful as a basic starting point
in stiv's I'm seeing "australia" and "costa rica"
palestine as well
The six countries are pretty easy, but I haven't figured out where to go next... — Deusovi ♦ 4 hours ago
:(
 
1:56 AM
yeah i got all the countries as well
 
2:13 AM
@JeremyDover by any chance, was it the one i brought up earlier? or have you traveled farther now :0
in stiv's puzzle i mean
 
@oAlt I had not seen your idea, but I think it is a great one, which is complementary. I know what words to be looking for in the grid. rot13(Gur pubvpr bs ybpngvba va gur svefg cnentencu vf abg na nppvqrag)
 
hmm yeah, i wondered at first why it was that place but didn't pay much attention to it after
intrsting
 
@oAlt Your idea is definitely correct. Definition of that word is "alone", which explains why she's talking about being on her own "just me".
 
@JeremyDover oh, that didn't even register in my mind! hahah
i only considered the "bit of recreation" part; i never even realized the next phrase confirmed that as well...
 
user478740
2:33 AM
I'm backkkk
 
user478740
I was thinking of a question, is it legal to be a puzzle?
 
user478740
Is there a chess position where the opponent puts you in check, but on your move you get out of check and deliver checkmate at the same time?
 
It doesn't seem too hard to come up with one.
 
user478740
Ok, I will make it as a question.
 
Just set it up so that a piece moves into the middle of their attacker and your king, and also delivers mate. (Or captures their piece, and delivers mate.) Shouldn't be too difficult.
Not sure that there's much of a puzzle there.
 
2:40 AM
You could make a chess puzzle where such a move was in the solution path
but that requires time to set up
 
what if.. "Only occasionally composed"... = SEMIPRIME? but the big problem is composed =/= composite
and even if that were the answer i don't see the proper wordplay at all
 
user478740
All done, question published.
 
the question seems... really broad
@Deusovi, should I flag as such?
 
yeah, you're asking a lot of separate things there
 
oh wait that's "not focused", not "too broad"
haven't flagged yet
 
2:49 AM
In general, you shouldn't have "bonuses" on your questions, or several different questions in one. It makes it so it's unclear whether something is actually an answer to your question.
 
Avi
@Anonymus25 so, few possibilities here
you can't move a piece to block and deliver checkmate
 
@Avi yes you can
 
Avi
because then it will be taken by the checking piece
but you can discover checkmate
 
if the checking piece is pinned
 
2:51 AM
hm? it's perfectly plausible for a checking piece to be pinned
 
Avi
e.g., Bg4#
generally you wouldn't be checking and putting yourself in a pin unless it'd be a mating net
or unless you're a GM lol
because then it's check to block check
and checkmate to block check
oh boy, that board is scuppered
 
-1
Q: Check and mate positions

Anonymus25Is there a position where your opponent puts you in check, but in your turn you deliver checkmate by getting out of check? Don't forget to add your list of moves on how to get into the position. BONUS: Make 2 scenarios where scenario 1 is not a capture, while scenario 2 IS a capture. If there is ...

 
scupper is a fun word
 
@Anonymus25 A puzzle should have a clear single answer. The best puzzles are the ones where the author already knows the solution, and has a clear idea of how to get to it. Your question has lots of things being asked, and it's not clear what would be a definitive answer beyond "a treatise on all possible situations where you deliver mate by getting out of check" -- and there are very many of those situations.
 
I'm going to repeat this part I think is important:
> The best puzzles are the ones where the author already knows the solution, and has a clear idea of how to get to it
 
Avi
2:55 AM
I just make sure that I can get it ;(
 
referring to your puzzle or anon's?
 
Avi
my puzzles
 
I am strongly against optimization-style questions that don't have a preconceived answer in mind, because they frequently are only solvable by computer search. (And when they're tagged with [no-computers], they become more games than puzzles - it's a "competition" to get the best score, rather than a puzzle meant to have a definitive solution. That is off-topic for this site, which is about puzzles rather than competitive optimization problems.)
 
Avi
optimization is a whole different game
for optimization you need a solid answer in mind
for grid deduction puzzles you just need 1 path to the answer
 
if you have any (logically rigorous) path to the answer, it is a "solid answer" - there may be multiple different ways to get to the filled grid but that's fine
 
Avi
3:00 AM
I think I found four unique paths... :(
 
huh?
 
Avi
in my puzzle
 
like, four completely different ways to get to the answer?
not clear what you mean by "unique"
 
Avi
yeah
 
user478740
Ok, thanks for all the advice, in 5 more days I will ask my next question :(
 
3:01 AM
it's fine to have multiple different paths through a logic puzzle -- unavoidable, even, because you can always do a ridiculous amount of brute force to solve it! though the best ones have specific deductions that are 'forced', it's not necessary to have a very narrow solve path to be an enjoyable puzzle
 
3:38 AM
nice one @JeremyDover :0 i need more work on my puzzling skills heh
 
@oAlt Not at all! There's no way I could have done it without you. I was not familiar with that puzzle type, and I did not see the cryptic clue. An awesome tag-team solve!
 
:000 very cool indeed
 
are you sure that this merits 3 0s?
 
instinctively yes
 
I have lost weight recently, and am down to a double chin. Please update emoticons accordingly :-)
Not sure if you've read the solution bobble, but while the solve may be interesting...the puzzle construction is AMAZING! This is not the first time where I think "this shouldn't ever work, but Stiv made it work"
 
3:47 AM
:00
 
Lol
 
TMI
 
Too much ingestion? Yep, that's how I got the triple chin.
2
 
way too much information
 
stiv's puzzles are dang great
6
 
3:48 AM
+1 ^^
 
4:00 AM
I've got some really fun deductions set up to start the larger tetromino minesweeper. Hopefully I don't render any moot with later clues.
 
didnt see lol
 
thinks of ways to steal bobble's bobblecrown mwahaha
 
You can't steal my bobblecrown. I am my bobblecrown. My bobblecrown is me.
 
hm
invents cloning device
how bout now? clones bobblecrown
 
I got an idea!
runs away
hah can't clone me now
 
4:08 AM
invents teleportation nope
teleports you into cloning device and pushes button ... mwahahaha
 
makes cloning device blow up
 
invents photon torpedo, teleports into USS Enterprise, fires torpedo... you don't stand a chance now
torpedo detonates
 
okay fine you can have a cloned bobblecrown
it will take your puzzling ability
and give it to me
 
sure
 
how much puzzling ability will this be?
 
4:12 AM
10dkg, please
 
@bobble approximately 12
 
what units?
 
barleycorns
(12 barleycorns = 4 inches btw)
 
ehh, at least its a positive number
 
yknow what, i'm feeling nice today tosses crown back ... into volcano
 
4:17 AM
other fun units of measure include the smoot, the scoville heat unit, and the banana equivalent dose
 
any favorite unit names in other languagues?
 
@bobble wdym? they're basically all the same
 
not the archaic ones
those are the fun names
 
ok lets see:
"firkin" in Maori is paukena which means "pumpkin"
in Hawaiian it is ʻūhā ahi which means... "thigh fire"
in Hindi it is तरल पदार्थ which means "liquid substance"
Sep 30 at 19:11, by Deusovi
this is getting pretty spammy
in Khmer it becomes "eyebrows"
so uh yeah @bobble there ya go
 
4:27 AM
yes yes those look fun :)
 
4:47 AM
someone needs to set up a fan wiki for all the characters from stiv's puzzlematic universe
5
my favourite is "captain pun"
 
Or a giant logic puzzle where they're the characters
like that lying pirate one
that was cool
 
5:10 AM
hmm, that doesn't ring a bell
 
I'm running out of puzzle idea juice ;_;
 
 
1 hour later…
6:32 AM
also known as fermented grape juice
4
 
 
1 hour later…
7:55 AM
At what point should we call a consensus on FTCs? I'd suggest once the meta question has at minimum 10 upvotes with at maximum 10% downvotes
 
0
Q: What numbers do they mean?

QingHong BoonThere are four nations using different types of numbers in mathematics. There are: Nation x: A, B, C, D Nation y: 1, 2, 3, 4 Nation z: i, ii, iii, iv Nation t: a, b, c, d They may not be the same values when converting their numbers to another nation. Ex: 1 may not equal to A or i or a. We are gi...

 
are there even 10 regular voters on meta?
 
8:46 AM
probably not. Sorting users/voting by week/month doesn't work for some reason, but some recent posts with ~150-200 views have 10-20 upvotes, which is why I suggested that threshold.
 
@LukasRotter I'd say wait 'til the post is no longer 'Featured' in the sidebar - that gives it maximum time to get noticed on the main site. That'll be in just under 2 weeks. Then post the thread asking for suggestions, with an aim of choosing the first one in time to begin on Sunday 1 November - start of a week AND start of a month, perfect! :)
Even if it doesn't reach a specific vote threshold, I think we've got enough people engaged to get it launched, and more will join in once they see it's 'a thing'.
@JeremyDover Oh, and re this, I also got a working grid for SAN MARINO (which was doubly satisfying) but it wouldn't fit in the chain! There's a surprisingly large amount of 9-letter countries that it immediately didn't work for - LITHUANIA ended up with two adjacent A's in its centre square but no A in its capital, which was frustrating!
And thanks for all the nice comments in chat about the latest puzzle, guys (and girls) - I appreciate them all and glad many of you enjoyed it :)
 
9:15 AM
0
Q: A sudoku with only $4$ given digits and some more rules

AnonymousOk so this is one of the hardest sudokus (and one of the best sudoku) I have ever seen, with only $4$ given digits. There are some more rules too :- $(i)$ First, normal sudoku rules apply here. $(ii)$ Both the diagonals also should contain $1$ to $9$ in some order. $(iii)$ You cannot put the same...

 
10:02 AM
CCCC hints: 1. The first letter is S. 2. The last letter is Y.
 
10:19 AM
"Only" sort of clues SPECIALLY, but I don't see how any of the wordplay would work. (Maybe @NorthLæraðr does?)
 
w l
I had never heard that definition of the word.
 
could also be "sparingly", with "only occasionally" as def and "spar" being "exercise first"
 
w l
Whoever solves it has to give the next one?
 
@wl That's the convention. I suppose in principle you could ask someone else to do it, but when I don't have time I simply don't solve 'em. Or, if I do, I don't post the solution. [EDITED to fix a typo that exactly reversed my meaning.]
 
w l
I guess I should start thinking about setting some clues then.
 
10:32 AM
If you're about to solve my C4 then you certainly should do that :-).
 
w l
Not going to. Need to try myself at setting first and probably have someone check them.
 
10:54 AM
@GarethMcCaughan not semiprime? I am greatly relieved
 
i like SET for "composed clues" but set?????y doesn't seem all that promising
"clues" would be a funny word to use as a separator... "[wp] clues [def]"
SECULARLY would be an anagram of CLUES plus EARLY missing the E from exercise, but surely that doesn't mean "only occasionally"?
 
w l
it does
Apparently it can mean "once per century"
 
11:12 AM
huh, so it seems
"secular adj 6. occurring only once in a lifetime, century or age."
so SECUL*+(-e)ARLY is the answer @GarethMcCaughan
 
 
1 hour later…
12:43 PM
Dang, I didn't even know that meaning of secular LOL
 
1:03 PM
0
Q: Dice reasoning, how many positions of the same dice are there

madhawavishI tried to solve this using opposite side method, but couldn't, please mention the method how to solve this.. ]

 
1:28 PM
0
Q: Not a sudoku, but still fun?

RetudinContext: I was trying to solve some of the puzzles on this site, when it occurred to me to make a puzzle variant myself. I immediately could construct one with my additional rule. Making an interesting one was harder, but I succeeded. I was unsure whether this was actually fun to solve so I gave ...

 
 
1 hour later…
2:33 PM
18
Q: The Pirates of Beal Isle - very long logic grid puzzle

brendanStory Let me tell ye a tale: Somewhere northeast o' the Bahamas there be a tiny scrap o' rocks stickin' up out o' the sea known as Beal Island. It be a barren, rocky place, and no man ever called it home. But many years ago, a band o' bloodthirsty pirates, with the king's navy swarmin' all over ...

 
@bobble i-... interesting
 
@jafe Bingo! Well done.
 
2:50 PM
CCCC: Two Europeans bringing in the very top in culture and entertainment (4,5)
 
CCCC is Cryptic Clue Chat Chains! Latest clue is ⤴/⤵ there! Join the fun! See Deusovi's Cryptic Clue Guide and GPR's Archive & Statistics of past clues.
8
 
3:40 PM
ah nvm
 
Avi
3:59 PM
@GarethMcCaughan How did you even find that definition :o
 
@jafe Might that be POLE DANCE? Two Europeans = POLE + DANE with the 'very top' (first letter) of Culture...?
 
Avi
LOL
 
@Avi Already knew it.
 
Avi
saw it in a book?
or in a crossword/
 
Probably. No recollection of where or when, though.
 
Avi
4:01 PM
fair
 
Sorry, probably in a book. Not in a crossword.
 
Avi
you had us going for a while :P
 
@Avi It means he made it up
 
@Stiv that is correct
 
Avi
scratches head
@NorthLæraðr It means an excess of fermented grape juice
 
4:09 PM
what does fermented grape juice have to do with anything
 
Avi
ahhhh how do you quote a chat message
11 hours ago, by oAlt
I'm running out of puzzle idea juice ;_;
10 hours ago, by jafe
also known as fermented grape juice
also known as 'wine'
 
I--
yeah
 
Avi
ok
time to make a new puzzle type
that'll blow Deusovi's socks off
first step "remove your socks"
 
Deusocksvi
 
Avi
Deusavi
dream team
Deusolvi
 
4:15 PM
would you like bobblecrowns for your team?
 
Avi
tosses bobblecrowns into volcano
3
yeah they make nice skipping stones
10
Q: Should we continue the Fortnightly Topic Challenges?

Anonymus25I am someone you know as the creator of the Ice cream puzzle, in which you can search it. But, I noticed, on meta, that the Fortnightly Topic Challenges have stopped on number 41: Short and Sweet. That one, of course, is part of the rerun. I would like you to vote in this question, if maybe you a...

also, 10-0 let's gooo :o
 
@Avi ok,done
also I doubt wine helps you make puzzles
 
@Avi whyyy
 
@Avi hey not nice
 
@jafe @Stiv on another note, I'm excited to see Stiv's first CCCC here, heh
 
4:17 PM
wait, it's their first?
 
I searched and no result of Stiv saying "CCCC:" came up
Made sure it was the correct Stiv too
 
@oAlt weird
 
Ikr
0:
 
Avi
@NorthLæraðr Think of it as... a vacation hot spot ba dum tssss
 
sighs and applauds at the same time
 
4:26 PM
0
Q: Dice reasoning, how many positions of the same dice are there

madhawavishfive cubes are shown here having different symbols on them, among them, some are showing the same cube in different postions, if among five the cubes only one show the position of the same cube write no. 1 two show the position of the same cube write no. 2 three show the position of the same cube...

 
Avi
urgh
am I going to have to write something to reverse engineer nonograms from an MS paint image?
 
just pixelate it and run through a black-and-white filter
 
Avi
what do you mean
it's already black and white
 
the pixelate thingy might add some gray into it
thats how it works
 
Avi
sighs angrily at the wall
darn walls these days
 
4:33 PM
yes
slight claustrophobia
 
Hot Meta Post vote counts are not updating properly
 
@bobble wtf
 
worth a meta post?
 
uh huh
 
@bobble nah
just probably updating
 
4:38 PM
someone help: I don't know how we're supposed to respond to comments like this
 
don't
 
@bobble How did you even find that?
 
Find what?
 
the deleted post?
 
Sphinx posted it in chat, and I read every post (that isn't an affix-riddle)
 
4:41 PM
huh...
 
that's dedication right there
 
that's looking for a question I can answer for some rep, you mean
 
wdym 10k link
 
ah yes, the eternal hunt for reputation
 
10k rep people can see deleted questions, I think
 
4:42 PM
Ahhh
 
Avi
D:
 
Avi
I better get there quick then
 
D:
 
Avi
7829 so far
 
4:43 PM
darn, too late
 
D:
 
I need 101 rep to cast close/reopen votes
 
Avi
surely you have 1010 rep
from all the upvotes i've given you :(
 
101 more rep
 
4:43 PM
@bobble ooof
I got you~
Jkjk
 
Next puzzle (the larger, harder tetromino minesweeper) should push me over
 
But you know, odd coincidences might happen
 
Even if I only get 10 votes, I'll just go and un-downvote someone :)
 
ironically i have the most rep in code golf
 
@bobble LOL. I actually camped out of 3000 for a while so I can get 80 flags
 
4:45 PM
@matt Why is that ironic?
 
uh idk
 
For that deputy badge
 
@matt that works ig
 
okay, who just serial-upvoted me?
 
? what does that mean
 
4:48 PM
Someone went and upvoted a bunch of her posts
 
Whoa
 
Avi
i'm not serial upvoting you
 
Whoever did that, don't
 
7 in like 2 minutes
 
Avi
i'm serial upvoting basically everything on the front page
 
4:48 PM
It'll likely get reversed
 
@bobble Woah
 
Avi
mayyyybe
i only voted good puzzles that i never bothered to upvote before
i'm not going to vote something I don't like
 
I upvoted like two of your answers for the mazes bc I thought they were genuinely good answers
 
Avi
ya bomber mazeee
 
@Avi that doesn't count as serial upvotes I think
 
4:49 PM
That was a cool maze negl
 
I mayyyy have dropped some very important homework in order to snipe that
 
oh no
that is bad
 
3
Q: Great puzzle makers of yore: #1, Martin Hollis: "The Poacher's Funeral"

LaskaWhen Peter the Poacher died, his six direct descendants all came to the funeral, each being a son, grandson or great-grandson of the old reprobate. The "Chippings Post" sent a man to compile Peter's family tree. He spoke to each of the six, who said: Peter was my father. Cox is not my son. I hav...

 
Avi
@bobble :L
 
4:51 PM
@bobble oopsie
 
Gotta do what it takes
 
@bobble :(:
 
^ more accurate actually why didn't I think of this
 
Avi
:V
 
that's someone yelling
 
Avi
4:54 PM
positive or negative yelling?
and what is :L
wider mouth yelling?
 
vampire
 
Avi
I've always seen :V as duckface
and :L as "quack"
 
yeah same :v
 
@Avi I'd say it's a frown but less negative
 
Avi
ohhh
 
4:56 PM
Just go with the good ol'
 
Avi
sideways frown
 
Avi
that's tilted
are you tilted right now
 
That's not tilted
 
Avi
A Swiftly Tilting Planet is a science fiction novel by Madeleine L'Engle, the third book in the Time Quintet. It was first published in 1978 with cover art by Diane Dillon. The book's title is an allusion to the poem "Morning Song of Senlin" by Conrad Aiken. == Plot summary == The book opens on Thanksgiving evening, 10 years after the events of A Wind in the Door. Meg is now married to Calvin and is expecting their first child. Calvin has become a scientist and is in Britain at a conference; Calvin's mother Branwen Maddox O’Keefe joins Meg's family for Thanksgiving dinner. When they receive the...
 
4:56 PM
That's just a :| but :\
 
my mom once fixed the leaning tower of pisa by having all of use lean with the same angle and then tilting the camera
 
:/ :| :\
 
@bobble wow /s
 
Avi
\:::/ what's your favorite regi
 
what is a regi
 
4:57 PM
@Avi They're all trash
 
They're literally all bad
But the best designed one is Regigigas. Also the literal worst
Slow start is such a bad ability
Like wat
Why did you have to ruin a PERFECTLY GOOD Pokemon
 
the only pokemon game I like is ranger
 
Avi
but what about
 
where abilities end up mattering much lesss
 
Avi
4:59 PM
Regieleki and Regidrago
 
What the
 
Avi
exactly my reaction
taking a perfectly good trio
 
regisovi
 
OKay actually I take it back Regidrago is sick
 
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