Strategies for Logic Puzzles

[musicmeg222]

cmpalencer Ooohh using colored pens/pencils is a good idea. I usually just cross of the number next to the clue using my pencil. Assigning a specific color for the type of clue is a good idea. I may try that.

I usually have a hard time determining which information can translate from one part of the grid to another and how to move it around.

Watching you solve some puzzles would be very helpful, but you can also walk me through puzzles too if you don't mind. I'll figure out how to send you a direct message. Not sure how I'll be able to watch you solve a puzzle or how you can help me walk through them.

[Ellie1]

Hmm, would it be helpful if you uploaded a scan of the grid + clues at a point where you got stuck, so we could point to which clues we'd use to keep going and how that clue translates to the grid?

[cmpalencer]

that's an excellent idea @Ellie1.

musicmeg222 - if you can open 2 windows on your computer, you could open the message board or a direct message in one window and open a puzzle in the other. i can do the same (hopefully/maybe the same puzzle?!) and we can work through it together. i can explain what I'm doing in real time. it would be slow going, but might work.

[cmpalencer]

here is a puzzle i worked on this evening. i started super basic and did a 3x4 grid on easy. i tried to work through as if I was teaching my 11-year-old son and processed it step-by-step. i saved it as a PDF but the file was way too big to upload, so I saved it as a Word document that is set to read-only so nothing can be deleted by accident.

theoretically, you should be able to apply these same steps to any size puzzle. also, something that occurred to me this evening was that the puzzle clues should be reviewed as a series of "if-then" statements. if x=y, then y=x and your statement is true. but if x=y and y does not equal x, then your statement is false. just something else to consider.

[musicmeg222]

I'll check out this document for some helpful tips. Thanks!!

[musicmeg222]

Where do you find the smaller puzzles like the one in the document you provided? I have been practicing with the easy level puzzles on the website but they aren't as small as the one in your document. Where can I find those instead?

[cmpalencer]

musicmeg222 - i just went to the logic puzzles page, set my grid size to 3x4 and the difficulty range to easy. the puzzle on my example I copied from the website - it was not a printed puzzle.

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[musicmeg222]

cmpalencer That makes sense. The printable puzzles are not available in a 3 x 4 grid. Maybe I should try those smaller puzzles online instead. I really like solving them on paper.

Have you tried solving the more advanced puzzles on this site?

[Ellie1]

I like to rotate through all the available puzzle sizes and difficulties!

[cmpalencer]

musicmeg222 - yes, i generally solve 4x7 grids on moderate as I like the challenge. it takes me forever, but I get them done if I don't confuse myself. and I mean 45 minutes to an hour sometimes. but I'm also solving them in a room with my husband and son that like to babble, so my attention is a bit divided.

if you like solving the puzzles on paper, do what I did and make a smaller puzzle online, then copy it to a Word document. i just did a screenshot of the puzzle and the clues and pasted them into Word. i know it's a little more work, but you could do several at once, print them all off and have a stash of them. oh! also, if you do the puzzle online, you can save your progress (although I just checked and it will only save for 6 hours it seems). but if you're working on smaller puzzles then it shouldn't take that long. you could load your puzzle and once you solve, you could check your work through the website. or if you get stuck, you can plug in your answers and you have options to clear errors (which take away progress points - I don't care, I don't pay attention to them) or you can ask for a hint. the hints will walk you through it the way I did (eg, if x=h and h=l then x=l and it will highlight which box to fill).

[Brewer]

Hi, I can generally solve any puzzle but nowhere near as fast as the record times. Here are the strategies I use:

1. Scan through the clues for any that list different items, eg "the six players were _"; "_ were all different comets"; "neither _ nor _ were _". These will allow you to place crosses at several intersections. Doing them first on a clean grid makes it easier to see the pattern and ensure you've crossed all the intersections. You can hide these clues once you have placed the crosses, as they have nothing more to offer.

2. Go through the clues methodically, placing X or O for any direct "is" or "is not" statements, then hiding those clues. For "somewhat more than" or "somewhat less than" clues, place a single cross at the appropriate maximum and minimum possibilities. For specific value differences work out the number of 'steps' and place that number of crosses so that the possibilities remain true to the statement. Leave all these clues visible, as you can usually add more crosses each time you come back to them.

3. Where a clue says "of (a) and (b), one was (x) and the other was (y)", place a cross at the intersection of (a) and (b), and the intersection of (x) and (y). Leave these clues visible, as you'll check them again each time you cycle through the remaining clues. I generally don't bother processing these ones any further on the first pass, preferring to wait until there is a bit more data in the grid.

4. Cycle through the remaining clues, ensuring that your grid remains true to each statement by adding crosses where you can eliminate possibilities and dots where you've deduced a true connection.

5. With the "of (a) and (b)" type clues, you basically need to go through each clue four times, eliminating impossible matches. First process (a), placing crosses anywhere that both (x) and (y) are eliminated as options. Then do the same for (b). Then check (x), placing crosses anywhere that both (a) and (b) are eliminated. Finally, do the same for (y). You probably need to repeat this process several times as you cycle through all the clues before you finally identify a positive match, at which time you can place two dots - one for the pair you just made and one for the remaining pair which must also be true.

6. In the higher difficulties, there are a couple of additional tricks you'll need to use. First, you can compare columns (and rows) across different categories. For example, if the remaining possibilities in any column in category A are all eliminated in any column in category B, then those two columns/items cannot possibly be paired, so you can place a cross where they intersect in the grid.

7. If any two rows (or columns) in any category have only the same two options remaining, you know that those two options must go into those two rows. You can therefore eliminate those two options from all the other rows in that category.

8. Check the clues for any items or steps that may conflict. For example, if one clue states that Adam was born after the accountant, and another states that Adam is older than Bill, then Bill cannot be the accountant. Similarly, if one clue says that Adam's house is 10 years older than the blue house, and another says that the house in Riverdale was built 10 years before the green house, then Adam's house can't be in Riverdale.

I'm pretty sure that's all of the processes I use. Hope it helps