certain days / times & scores

[ella]

I know that if i haven't slept well or if I'm distracted, I don't play as well. But there seem to be some other variables I haven't figured out. Some days I can sit down, play 10 or so puzzles in a brief time and get relatively no errors. Other days I can't get through a puzzle without a misclick or just really slow times (for me - I only compare myself to myself.) Does anyone else see a similar pattern or have any clues about why some days are so much different (better or worse) than others? I am not consistent, and rather than it being about the puzzle or the logic involved, it seems to be completely dependent on just me and my inconsistent ability to do puzzles in a reasonably quick time.

Thoughts? I'll take any idea you may have.

[fromalabama]

I can only say this anecdotally, but how recently I've eaten (and possibly what) seems to influence my times. I don't do as well if I'm hungry, nor just after I've eaten usually. Sometimes I snack while playing, and ironically those can be some of my best times, despite the slight distraction of munching on something. Caffeine seems to be a factor as well, which I guess isn't surprising, although the benefit seems to be delayed a good half-hour or more from ingestion (I guess it takes that long to circulate and get uptaken and whatever). Aside from simply being tired, certain times of day or night seem to be better for me in general, perhaps something to do with my circadian rhythms (which are not well correlated to a 24-hour day unfortunately).

[ella]

Aside from simply being tired, certain times of day or night seem to be better for me in general, perhaps something to do with my circadian rhythms (which are not well correlated to a 24-hour day unfortunately).

I can relate to everything you said there, but interestingly, I am also not well-suited to a 24-hour day. (Years of "research" have taught me I work on about a 35-hour rhythm, which works with almost nothing in life - especially working!) I just find it so odd that some days I sit down and have a super easy time playing fairly quickly (for me) and doing a bunch of puzzles without trouble, then other days it's like I can't play if my life depended on it, and beyond sleep I haven't been able to figure it out. I will try keeping track of eating. As for caffeine, yeah - I can relate to that too. If I sit down and haven't started my coffee yet, I just don't play well at all.

Thanks, Alabama!

[Kymberlyn]

I also play on different games on another site. Since cash is involved there I have paid attention over the past few years. For me... I play better just minutes after eating a cookie, candy bar or other high sugar treat. The moon phase also effects my gaming. The week prior to a full moon I am fast, accurate, and very seldom lose. Immediately after the full moon, I save my money and play free games because I am sluggish and making errors. The other 2 weeks in the month are somewhat unremarkable. Nothing great, nothing horrible.

Take note of the moon phases. You may see an affect on your abilities also.

[pcuser]

Autism here. I have times when these puzzles seem impossible. I can correlate most of them with my symptoms such as lack of quality sleep and other more subtle issues. I just stop playing or struggle through.

[darleneve]

Some of these puzzles are unreal - but that makes them interesting. Jump in there and you'll solve it. There is a person who has glossed over 216 puzzles this time - heavens!! -- there aren't that many that are that difficult. Its pretty much the same for that person each time.

[Earl of Wellington]

Bio-rhythms may have something to do with it. Go to a bio-rhythm site, and compare your good solving days with your not-so-good days while determining when your different bio patterns are at their high points, and low points. I really don't know if that has anything to do with it, however. I also have good days and bad days at solving.

[austin wang 32]

This is stupid

[ella]

This is stupid

Thanks for that helpful and edifying comment.

[digited]

I am definitely slower or have a harder time processing after I've eaten but, like Ella, snacking during doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Any background noise makes it difficult to concentrate and I will almost always have a hard time completing a puzzle in a decent amount of time if anyone talks to me or asks me a question for even two seconds. I do, however, perform at my average speed even if I'm mentally distracted by anything other than physical distractions. Alcohol impedes my scores after a certain point but, just as with playing pool or darts while drinking, there seems to be a "zone". As far as times of the day, my first three puzzles of the day (if during my "morning" whether that's 6am or 2pm) always suck. It takes a little bit of muscle stretching to get my brain going when I first wake up. I'm a night person so my "morning" is normally after 1pm. Coffee consumption for me is pretty much any hour that I'm awake and I don't drink soda so I can't give you any feedback on caffeine.

[Noir]

I restrict the puzzle times to when I am more alert. I noticed after lunch i shouldn't play, early morning however goes better. I agree there seem to be a alertness change over the day in which some times are really not giving me scores based on my average and other times i just breeze through it. Maybe circadian rhythm or rest and digest response...it must be something biological since it seems some period of the day are better than others. I don't think stimulants (like coffee) have to do much with it, they keep you awake not alert...at least for me. I will be traveling this xmas, and with the time difference I can see whether the biological clock is indeed impacting performance.