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Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test
   LMI Tests -> Monthly Sudoku and Puzzle Tests32 posts • Page 1 of 2 • 1 2
Administrator
Subject: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-14 11:20 AM (#3491) (#3491) Top


2000100050020
Location: India


Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February Puzzle Test

Administrator
Subject: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-14 10:40 PM (#3512 - in reply to #3491) (#3512) Top


2000100050020
Location: India
Logic Masters India announces February Puzzle Test — Melon's Puzzle Zoo

Author : Palmer Mebane

Date : 26th and 27th February

Length : 120 minutes

IB and Submission Link : Here
Administrator
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-15 8:47 AM (#3518 - in reply to #3491) (#3518) Top


2000100050020
Location: India
Puzzle Types in this test will be unique kind of puzzles that regularly appear in Melon's blog. Check the IB for details.
There are some new variants as well which never appeared in his blog.
Administrator
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-15 8:52 AM (#3519 - in reply to #3491) (#3519) Top


2000100050020
Location: India
Also, in his blog, Palmer has been posting more practice materials. You may also get a tip or two regarding puzzle difficulty level as well.
Here is the link - http://mellowmelon.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/puzzle-zoo-instructions

Thanks Palmer for the practice materials and references. I'm sure it will be very helpful for players who don't frequent your blog, and also for the new variants.
ksun48
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-15 11:55 PM (#3526 - in reply to #3491) (#3526) Top




Posts: 29
20
Location: Canada
??

Edited by ksun48 2011-02-16 12:00 AM
ksun48
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-16 12:00 AM (#3527 - in reply to #3491) (#3527) Top




Posts: 29
20
Location: Canada
At http://logicmastersindia.com , the main page, it says Lemon's Puzzle Zoo. Is this a typo, or has MellowMelon changed to YellowLemon?
Administrator
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-16 5:34 AM (#3528 - in reply to #3527) (#3528) Top


2000100050020
Location: India
ksun48 - 2011-02-16 12:00 AM

At http://logicmastersindia.com , the main page, it says Lemon's Puzzle Zoo. Is this a typo, or has MellowMelon changed to YellowLemon?

Bad typo. Fixed.
debmohanty
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-23 6:19 PM (#3580 - in reply to #3528) (#3580) Top



1000500100100100202020
Location: India
MellowMelon has been posting some very useful practice puzzles in his blog.
Today's Yajilin / Akari is super nice.
Administrator
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-25 6:15 AM (#3589 - in reply to #3580) (#3589) Top


2000100050020
Location: India
The password protected puzzle booklet is uploaded.
It has 12 puzzle pages ( 1 page per puzzle type ) + 1 cover page having points table.
The booklet has instructions and solved example for each puzzle as well.
Administrator
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-26 5:34 AM (#3591 - in reply to #3589) (#3591) Top


2000100050020
Location: India
You can now start visiting the Zoo!
Administrator
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-26 9:04 AM (#3592 - in reply to #3491) (#3592) Top


2000100050020
Location: India
Those who have completed the test can view their score at the score page
Para
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 5:43 AM (#3595 - in reply to #3491) (#3595) Top




Posts: 315
100100100
Location: The Netherlands
Tricky set, but fun. Especially liked the Yajilin/Akari Hybrid (even though I really don't like Akari puzzles). The Adult nonconsecutive fillomino was clever, except I couldn't get it out in time. Almost forgot to submit 2 answers while working on that one. Two silly counting mistakes again. Will get past those at one point. Let's just say those wouldn't cost me in paper competitions.
Will finish the rest some other time.
PuzzleScott
Subject: RE: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 6:25 AM (#3596 - in reply to #3491) (#3596) Top




Posts: 42
2020
Location: United States
Where is the password, please? I've started, but it doesn't show me the password for the puzzle booklet.
Para
Subject: RE: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 8:11 AM (#3597 - in reply to #3596) (#3597) Top




Posts: 315
100100100
Location: The Netherlands
It should appear under the start button after you have clicked start the test,.
PuzzleScott
Subject: RE: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 8:29 AM (#3598 - in reply to #3597) (#3598) Top




Posts: 42
2020
Location: United States
Found the PW, thanks. I was expecting it after the first of 2 clicks required to start. Nice test!
DreamRose311
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 9:02 AM (#3599 - in reply to #3491) (#3599) Top




Posts: 24
20
Location: United States
I started the time and tried to open the PDF but it won't open, it gives me an error message
Administrator
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 9:16 AM (#3600 - in reply to #3599) (#3600) Top


2000100050020
Location: India
DreamRose311 - 2011-02-27 9:02 AM

I started the time and tried to open the PDF but it won't open, it gives me an error message

Are you getting error while opening the pdf?
Administrator
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 9:17 AM (#3601 - in reply to #3600) (#3601) Top


2000100050020
Location: India
Administrator - 2011-02-27 9:16 AM

DreamRose311 - 2011-02-27 9:02 AM

I started the time and tried to open the PDF but it won't open, it gives me an error message

Are you getting error while opening the pdf?

Please copy the password properly. Right click on the password and Copy
DreamRose311
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 9:28 AM (#3602 - in reply to #3491) (#3602) Top




Posts: 24
20
Location: United States
I get an error when I open it before I can put a password in at all, and it doesn't even give me the usual place to put the password at all
Administrator
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 9:32 AM (#3603 - in reply to #3602) (#3603) Top


2000100050020
Location: India
DreamRose311 - 2011-02-27 9:28 AM

I get an error when I open it before I can put a password in at all, and it doesn't even give me the usual place to put the password at all

Looks like the pdf is not downloaded properly. Sent you a PM. Please check.
thesubro
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 11:00 AM (#3604 - in reply to #3491) (#3604) Top




Posts: 23
20
Location: United States
Mellow Melon is da man! Great puzzles. I will be hitting myself for a long time for a typo in one answer and finishing another 60 pointer 2 seconds too late. Ugh! Great solid puzzles.
The Subro
bartunio
Subject: Re: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 11:18 AM (#3605 - in reply to #3491) (#3605) Top




Posts: 6

Location: Poland
Great puzzles, thanks!


Edited by bartunio 2011-02-27 11:20 AM
StGeorge
Subject: RE: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 4:52 PM (#3611 - in reply to #3491) (#3611) Top




Posts: 11

Location: Bulgaria
Great puzzles. I didn't do great but I had a lot of fun. One stupid mistake when extracting the answer of the Baby Fillomino - I put it down to bad handwriting. I also skipped the Adult Nurikabe after solving about half of it and then realised I had the whole B-column solved, so I wrote some semi-random numbers for column A in the last minute... no luck :D

Oh, and the Yaijilin/Akari puzzle was a great surprise. The Adult Filomino was a bit fiddly but I suppose that's why it was worth so much.

I hope to see another MellowMelon Test in the future :)
Nikola
Subject: RE: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-27 8:59 PM (#3612 - in reply to #3611) (#3612) Top


Sudoku Day Author

Posts: 103
100
Location: Serbia
Before the start of this test I was very skeptical because I thought it would be boring test, but now I can say that I was wrong. I've never rate so many 10's. Thanks to the author and the organizers!

Nikola
MellowMelon
Subject: RE: Melon's Puzzle Zoo - LMI February'11 Puzzle Test @ 2011-02-28 5:37 AM (#3613 - in reply to #3491) (#3613) Top


Fillomino-Fillia 2 Author

100
Location: United States
The test has now ended. Full results here of course. Congratulations to Psyho (780), nyuta (710), and uvo (630) for being the top three finishers. Additional props to Psyho for being the only one to correctly solve the Akari EX Adult, although someone else was just a minor mistake away.

As the scores indicate, this test ended up being substantially harder than intended, and I am sorry for this. Here's an excerpt of a preliminary post mortem that's now been posted on my blog, which explains what went wrong from my perspective.

Some thoughts on the test from my angle, coming from shortly after it is over and before seeing other comments: All in all, a lot like my first WPC performance. Passable and with its high points, but my inexperience clearly showed through in other areas.

Probably very few will disagree when I say I think it was too hard, both for casual solvers and for those gunning for top spots. This is pretty clear from the fact that the top scorer finished 16 out of 20 puzzles, whereas most LMI tests are intended be finished by top contestants at least a few minutes early. Mine too, key word being intended in this case. I do realize that such an unexpected level of difficulty can really throw people off, especially for people used to finishing or at least getting close, so I apologize for this. It was not my goal to have no one come even close to a perfect score.

Suffice it to say this was mostly my fault. There were two rounds of testsolving, but in both cases the drafts sent out were way over the top, and I was probably a bit too stubborn about making the babies easy enough or eliminating some of the more ridiculous steps in the adults in both revising phases. The final version is one in which motris, one of the three testers, would have probably finished with a little time to spare --- it's hard to say exactly because you can't get genuine times from tweaked puzzles if the original was already done. This apparently was not an optimal standard to match up with, perhaps because motris is on fire these days and he's also more familiar with my kinds of puzzles than a typical world-class competitor.

Also, I think the testsolver reports were the first time in these 1+ years that I ever heard how long someone else took to do a puzzle of mine, since previously I had only heard qualitative descriptions. So seeing their times was a slap in the face that I failed to completely react to.

Yet another thing that I probably did not give due consideration was the types themselves. There were no classic types on the test, and many of them were far from ordinary. The preview series probably alleviated that at least a bit, but of course not everyone would have had time to work through it all.


Any comments/advice/suggestions, whether related to the difficulty or not, are welcome. I hope you enjoyed the test, even if it was a killer.
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