How do y'all complete puzzles so fast?

[redhill]

Yes, I care about maximizing points, for isn't this the point of competing each month ? Since 2013 when I joined as 'curryqueen' I was in the top 20 with 100% success rate and gained 'trophies' more than seven times. I used to be placed around 48 in the 'top 100 of all time' too. Having taken a long break and refined my game tactics I now play as 'redhill' but compete less frequently. Playing the odd game keeps my brain sharp! So, my point is that assuming you are playing 'to win', it is essential to speed-read the clues if you can. Checking for errors before submitting a puzzle enables you to choose whether you submit only your highest scoring correct puzzles and move up the leader board faster. As a result I no longer have a high 'success rate' but this doesn't affect my actual games as far as competing is concerned. Of course you must take time as well to backtrack or go more slowly sometimes. Most of the top players have increased their speed over the years by constant practice and familiarity with the types of clues too. As it is said, "it takes dedication and skill" !

[fromalabama]

I don't want to criticize anyone's preferred strategies, but if one is trying to maximize points, error-checking may be too much of a gamble, at least if one is generally getting times less than the median time. The penalty is so harsh that making/removing more than a single error basically assures getting only one point for the puzzle if it is fixed and resubmitted. An incorrect submission's 120 second penalty is pretty steep, but for most puzzle sizes it might be better points-wise to take that hit and correct the answers, even if it means starting from scratch (and it often won't). If one generally gets the solutions right and averages say 85% of the max score, I think the better gamble is to accept scores of, say, 30% for the error and 85% for the next one instead of 0% and 85%. If it takes longer to correct the error than would have been spent solving a whole new puzzle (in which case the comparison is between 30+85 and 0+85+85), that probably will be a loss of the gamble for points, but might help one learn something about the error made and help reduce the odds of a recurrence.
Of course, if one generally gets the solutions right, the error-checking will rarely matter at all, costing maybe a couple of points per game at worst, not enough to seriously affect any of the monthly rankings. So in that view it's not much of a gamble. But by the same logic, the outcome of any single puzzle, whether a zero from giving up or a relatively low score from an incorrect submission, will also not have much effect. Achieving one of the monthly trophies may arguably have more to do with how much time in total can be devoted to solving the puzzles than how efficiently one wracks up the points.

[contrary]

@Fromalabama: That makes sense to me if you were intending to maximize points, where the backtrack is more point-efficient. I find it's very rare that I actually get to the end of a puzzle and get an incorrect submit, because usually if I messed something up earlier in the puzzle most often one of the other clues I have left doesn't make sense.

@Redhill: I apologize - maximizing points on the competitions never even occurred to me as a point on this thread, since I was answering this question in a context of individual puzzle by individual puzzle. I play because it's a great way to give my brain a nice reset, and three games on 4x5 is between a 5-10 minute break with 5 minutes left for me to get a new cup of tea.

[redhill]

@ contrary : no need to apologize, enjoy your tea! (are you perhaps British like me, although I drink more coffee these days!)

[uigrad]

An incorrect submission's 120 second penalty is pretty steep, but for most puzzle sizes it might be better points-wise to take that hit and correct the answers, even if it means starting from scratch (and it often won't). If one generally gets the solutions right and averages say 85% of the max score, I think the better gamble is to accept scores of, say, 30% for the error and 85% for the next one instead of 0% and 85%. If it takes longer to correct the error than would have been spent solving a whole new puzzle (in which case the comparison is between 30+85 and 0+85+85), that probably will be a loss of the gamble for points, but might help one learn something about the error made and help reduce the odds of a recurrence.

I agree with this all 100%.

There are a lot of possible goals that people have when playing:

• Score enough point to be in the top 20 for the month
• Get a few top times
• Keep "success rate" at 100%
• Keep points/time ratio on the monthly chart as high as possible
• Learn logic
• Have fun

Points 3 and 4 seem to be in opposition to each other. Personally I lean towards 3 and don't care about 4 at all, but some people care a lot about 4 and not at all about 3. Those people are the ones likely to "throw away" a puzzle that has errors.

Generally, I focus on #1 and #2. Since the site has become more popular, I can't really achieve #1 any more, but for the first few years, that was usually my top goal. Now I play more for #2.

Really, #5 and #6 should be the top goals. If I get stuck on a puzzle (not very common, but it does happen), I prefer to use the "hint" button and slow down and try to learn (for goal #5), and completely ignore the points. Some players prefer to never log in, because keeping track of times would ruin goal #6 for them. These are all valid ways to play.