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beaker
Posted on: Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:03 am
Posts: 931 Location: Ladysmith, BC, Canada Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 1:37 am
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today's 7x7
Today's 7x7 I found was one of the toughest (maybe because I have 2 grandchildren upstairs) but still, I just couldn't find the proper combination for the 3 celled cage valued at -3......any one else with same problem
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paulv66
Posted on: Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:02 pm
Posts: 959 Location: Ukraine Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2016 10:03 pm
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Re: today's 7x7
beaker wrote: Today's 7x7 I found was one of the toughest (maybe because I have 2 grandchildren upstairs) but still, I just couldn't find the proper combination for the 3 celled cage valued at -3......any one else with same problem I always find puzzles with negative numbers difficult. I think it's just the metal gear shift that's required, particularly where the operator is minus. I find the best way to approach them is to try to find where the zeroes are positioned and I bold the zero cells. Today's puzzle took me a bit longer than usual (time showed for completing it was 27 minutes, but I had a conversation in the middle of doing it, so actual puzzle time was probably around 15 minutes). But I wouldn't say I found it unusually difficult.
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pnm
Posted on: Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:16 pm
Posts: 3304 Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 11:58 pm
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Re: today's 7x7
For (later) reference, this is the puzzle:
Last edited by pnm on Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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paulv66
Posted on: Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:19 pm
Posts: 959 Location: Ukraine Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2016 10:03 pm
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Re: today's 7x7
pnm wrote: For (later) reference, this is the puzzle: Patrick, that's yesterday's difficult 7x7. I think beaker was referring to today's extra puzzle, which uses numbers from -3 to +3.
Last edited by paulv66 on Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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jpoos
Posted on: Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:22 pm
Posts: 158 Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:28 pm
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Re: today's 7x7
Just finished it in 3 minutes, though I must say I saw some pretty nifty implications just about right of the bat. Will elaborate tomorrow. beaker wrote: I just couldn't find the proper combination for the 3 celled cage valued at -3......any one else with same problem That cage was one of the last ones I filled in, at which point I didn't really have to use the relation of the cage anymore.
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eclipsegirl
Posted on: Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:06 pm
Posts: 692 Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 9:20 pm
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Re: today's 7x7
I was able to work through it without giving it a second thought. When I came in filling possibilities for that cage, I had worked through much of the puzzle so the possibilities were limited. I assume that helped me out.
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jpoos
Posted on: Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:55 pm
Posts: 158 Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:28 pm
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Re: today's 7x7
As promised, a little elaboration on the solve: First, the easy stuff: Now here comes the nifty bit: For the 0+ cage on [b4,c4], there are only 2 ways to fill it in, b4=1 and c4=-1, or b4=3 and c4=-3. But if we look at column c now, we see that the -3x cage, in combination with cell c4, leaves us with no option but [-2, 1] in the -1+ cage on the bottom (the -3x must contain either a -3 or a -1, which means both -3 and -1 can't be in that -1+ cage). From here on out it shouldn't be too complicated anymore: you could work your way to something like this: This gives 0 in e7, and the rest should be fairly trivial.
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beaker
Posted on: Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:38 am
Posts: 931 Location: Ladysmith, BC, Canada Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 1:37 am
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Re: today's 7x7
How about today's (Oct. 13 on Pacific West Coast of N.A.)......my "love/hate" relationship with these 7x7's is still on going and today's was again tough for me......the last 2 for some reason has taken me longer to solve ( we still have our grandsons and parents with us as their house interior is being totally re-painted.....so, I guess that might be the reason) but I still had trouble with 2 cages (lower left corner and the -5)....once they were solved the rest was obvious
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eclipsegirl
Posted on: Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:26 pm
Posts: 692 Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 9:20 pm
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Re: today's 7x7
I am going to say you have been distracted with the guests, the Holiday season, and home renovations.
Again, didn't to the 5 - cage til the end.
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beaker
Posted on: Thu Dec 14, 2017 7:05 pm
Posts: 931 Location: Ladysmith, BC, Canada Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 1:37 am
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Re: today's 7x7
Eclipsegirl: I usually start with the zeros and then look for the 1 or 2 cages that seem to have a number of possibilities so I guess I'll try the obvious ones first and leave (like you said) the others to the end.......and also......wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.
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