Fast solvers - any video?!

[Brewer]

Hi Ella, no need to apologise! I've just been experimenting, bashing away at 4x4 easy to shave my own times and gather a bit more data.

Regarding cheating with AI, I tried the free ChatGPT on different types of logic puzzles and it was pretty terrible at them, but there are a number of much more advanced options now so I have no doubt it could work. My own choice for an effective cheating system would be more along the lines of creating a database of solved puzzles. I suspect that identical repeated puzzles may even retain the same URL, if so it wouldn't be that hard to look up (or even autofill) a puzzle once you have it in your database.

Having said all that I suspect that a combination of practise and natural aptitude would lead to some folks being lightning fast anyway. What stumps me though is that on a really easy puzzle, where the clues essentially spell out the answer in a single pass and it's really just measuring my mouse input speed, I can get close (ish) to the record time. But where the puzzle requires multiple passes through the clues and/or greater mental input, my times blow out drastically while the same few names get almost the same record time. To me that implies either savant-level processing of clues, or perhaps some kind of assistive technique.

I'd still love to see video of some really fast times, especially on more complex puzzles. I'm tempted to record myself having a crack at some 4x4 easy, but there would be so much mumbling and mispronunciation I'm not sure I could handle the embarrassment

[Brewer]

OK, here's me getting 62s (vs 50s by fromalabama):

https://youtu.be/JtJTNquMTek

[RetiredNow]

I cannot do the 4x5 without marking off the solved clues. I am sure that slows me down. I would imagine that the speedier solvers are able to retain and ignore clues without having to waste time blocking them out. My best times are in the high 90s but then again I am past retirement age so I am just happy to keep doing these puzzles.

Also I solve the puzzles using a MacBook instead of a desk top. That may add a few seconds to my time.

[brash52]

I am really new and it would appear quite slow. I honestly don't understand how anyone can solve these in under two minutes - I suppose people don't read the stories, but, I don't understand how one can solve the puzzle without reading the clues.

[ella]

It definitely makes a difference what kind of computer you're using - I can't do it without a mouse, and depending on which computer I use, my times differ significantly. I don't read the stories, and I do things like quickly scan the clues to be able to remove them from the list (makes less scrolling necessary -- so something like "Marco was not the guy who paid $280" gets marked on the top line and I remove the clue to below and keep going,) ignore the big blocks of text that list all of the various items (unless or until I am finished and still stuck...) All of these things are just ways to shave a few seconds off here or there. Mostly what I notice is that in the many years I've been fooling around here, I've gotten faster. If I take a year or many months away, it takes time to get back up to my usual speeds. Sometimes I'm just lazy and slow too. At the moment I'm away from home, so I'm using an unfamiliar computer with a smaller screen than usual, and I'm adding at least 20 seconds to my usual 4x7 moderate difficulty puzzles.

Oh, and as for mispronouncing names or whatever, I find that helpful -- I don't take the time to figure out the correct names, I make them fun and speak aloud and that helps me remember the clues!

[bensolves]

I know that this is quite old, but here is a video of one of my solves for a 4x5 easy puzzle. It wasn't the fastest time as I was trying to use my mouse to track my thought process, but it should give you an idea of the rationale: https://youtu.be/LFzDIKWf32Q

[pat44]

Brewer - there's a video posted by tviolet where they talk through a 4x5 without using the lower grid, maybe that would be of interest to you? https://youtu.be/WXJeu6cFMaU

I did a video of myself doing a 3x5, not very fast, but if any beginner wants to see it and hear my thought process I would be happy to post it.

[Alethea]

It definitely makes a difference what kind of computer you're using - I can't do it without a mouse, and depending on which computer I use, my times differ significantly. I don't read the stories, and I do things like quickly scan the clues to be able to remove them from the list (makes less scrolling necessary -- so something like "Marco was not the guy who paid $280" gets marked on the top line and I remove the clue to below and keep going,) ignore the big blocks of text that list all of the various items (unless or until I am finished and still stuck...) All of these things are just ways to shave a few seconds off here or there. Mostly what I notice is that in the many years I've been fooling around here, I've gotten faster. If I take a year or many months away, it takes time to get back up to my usual speeds. Sometimes I'm just lazy and slow too. At the moment I'm away from home, so I'm using an unfamiliar computer with a smaller screen than usual, and I'm adding at least 20 seconds to my usual 4x7 moderate difficulty puzzles.

Oh, and as for mispronouncing names or whatever, I find that helpful -- I don't take the time to figure out the correct names, I make them fun and speak aloud and that helps me remember the clues!

I use the same techniques and have noticed the same, small differences that depend on steady practice and familiar 'gear' (as if my mouse were a favorite baseball glove).

[bensolves]

I recorded myself doing a solve for a 4x5 easy puzzle. It looks like my comment was blocked due to the Youtube link, but you can find it at youtube, by appending /watch?v=LFzDIKWf32Q. It wasn't the fastest time as I was trying to use my mouse to track my thought process, but it should give you an idea of the rationale.

[Snowblaze]

A couple of tricks: if you know that X is either 1 or 2, and also that Y is either 1 or 2, then you know that Z, W, etc. can't be 1 or 2. And if you know that "X is one more than Y" and that X is either 2 or 3, then 2 has to be either X or Y. If you can apply things like those instantly without having to think about it, that saves a lot of time.

[Rareian]

I got a lot of challenging 3x5 records, I can do a video but it's just clicking clues in. Talking thru the process slows it down but most of them are outlined here already. Specifically for 3x5 I think the "the five different" kind of clues are super powerful. Also the out of category 1 x and y, one is category 2 and one is category 3 combined with any explicit clue is really good to now that the explicit can't be the category x or y

[upenn420]

OK, I actually made a video of me talking through one. I mangle a lot of the words but I tried to explain my process. Hopefully, this helps some to see how you can get faster, I;ve gotten way faster since I started doing puzzles here. I used to take like 15 or 20 min and now I'm usually "very fast"


Video link

https://youtu.be/WXJeu6cFMaU

Just wanted to say this video was really helpful, understanding not to erase clues until they've been confirmed in the top row has already caused improvement. Any other videos would also be amazing!

[Ticonderoga]

Here you go- the link should work for a few days. Even though this is a fairly fast time, you can see me making plenty of mistakes and using the bottom rows when necessary.

https://streamable.com/xjnpmg