XWord Muggles Forum

Josh-With all due respect I don’t think that is good advice. A new constructor needs to build a base of followers and turning them off early is not the way to go. You can probably advise Ben a lot better than I can but if I was a new constructor I would err on the side of making my puzzles too easy and get a feeling for what works and what doesn’t. Only then is it a good idea to move up the difficulty scale. Virtually all your hard puzzles have been fair puzzles. I don’t think Ben’s is a fair puzzle. Perhaps the best solution would be for Ben to recruit some experienced test solvers. They can guide him in the right direction and help him achieve that balance between difficulty and fairness. I think it was Mike Shenk who said that ideally a constructor should battle with a solver and ultimately lose.
And Ben, in response to your comment, I am not upset with you because even after the nudges I couldn’t get your puzzle. That has happened before and will surely happen again. What concerns me and should concern you is that few to no people seem to have gotten it.

oldjudge wrote: ↑Sat Oct 02, 2021 1:58 am And Ben, in response to your comment, I am not upset with you because even after the nudges I couldn’t get your puzzle. That has happened before and will surely happen again. What concerns me and should concern you is that few to no people seem to have gotten it.

You are probably right: there has only been one solver on Crosshare. That said, they got it quite quickly after the puzzle went live, without any nudges.

This was me attempting to create a puzzle that I would have liked to have encountered. I realise I have a "unique set of skills" that may disadvantage some solvers. This puzzle, for example, combines my interests in computer programming and linguistics. But I don't think that requires any mea culpa yet.

Since the nudges so far have had little effect, you might try a few less subtle nudges.
That might be a learning opportunity in itself.

A broader hint about what "one" and "zero" might refer to could knock a few more responses loose.

OK, one more absolutely final, no more after this, nudge:

6. This puzzle combines my interests in computer programming (how the ZERO and ONE should be used) and linguistics (how the C and the V should be interpreted).

Thanks to the last hint I believe I crossed the moat.

oldjudge wrote: ↑Sat Oct 02, 2021 1:58 am ....Perhaps the best solution would be for Ben to recruit some experienced test solvers....

This!

If, as you state, you are trying to learn the craft of a meta puzzle creation, getting feedback from test solvers is a great way to validate assumptions you are making about the puzzle.

While the core solve is pretty straightforward, there are several aspects in the solve path that presented additional hurdles to solvers. I would be surprised if you responded that your test solvers had no issues with the puzzle and solved it without hints/nudges from you.

AHA, and (d)one! We've (d)molished all (d)fenses! Yes, a challenge to average human faculties, but a menial task for a (d)roid or a (d)coding genius!

Causing the masses to suffer, Ben? Evil at its finest! Welcome to the dark side!

DNF

Solved, after the final nudge. Not as difficult as I thought.
But there needed to be a clearer hint in the puzzle, otherwise the intended path gets lost in the weeds.

benchen71 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 02, 2021 5:14 am OK, one more absolutely final, no more after this, nudge:

6. This puzzle combines my interests in computer programming (how the ZERO and ONE should be used) and linguistics (how the C and the V should be interpreted).

So UIOUAEAUEUEIEU??????

Okay, I think this was too convoluted and hard and requiring specific knowledge but I thought the criticism of it was way too harsh. I certainly enjoy intricate metas.

(But a more realistic evaluation that this is such an extremely complicated such puzzle could be developed...and I had to google what C and V might mean linguistically.... I dope-slapped myself when I got the results... but I had to google... and I still have absolutely no idea how I'm supposed to apply Consonants = False Vowels = True the the starred clues so I think it should be clear, even to the constructor, that this is an extremely hard, 7 on a scale of 1 to 5, puzzle.)

Kudos to Ben for this clever construction! Agreed, this meta required some specialized knowledge, and for me not dissimilar to a prompt that might ask for a sports term or pop culture reference outside my area of experience. Going into it, I could tell this was going to be tough.

I understood the coding reference for the two carefully placed answers in the grid, but I was baffled by the center word that was supposed to bring enlightenment to the solve. The title (d)coding was also obscure, so dropping the (d) would not immediately reveal anything. Google produced some kind of coding term, "Concurrent Outside Vector Inside" but it was nothing that was familiar or seemed helpful...

And what about those six starred clues? Hindsight now tells me I should have noticed something more. Of course! Great words for Hangman! (But I couldn't see that since I was already near the end of my rope! Lol)

So, yes, the steps to follow were a bit elusive, and the process exhausting for the uninitiated. But, we live and learn.

Even the Grand Master (Matt G) has had in puzzles past his share of odd multi-step mechanisms that frustrated solvers, so...

Thank you, Ben, and keep those puzzles coming!

Updated successful solver list:

sus
Dplass
Darth
markhr
Meg

Thanks for persevering through what was clearly a very difficult puzzle. I am definitely listening to your feedback!

I’ve stormed the castle, but only after reading every single spoiler. It’s a process.

So, upon returning here, seeing the buzz, unsuccessfully attempting to use the spoilers in a very rudimentary way based on my coding experience from eons ago, I'm conceding that this is quite probably way way out of my wheelhouse and therefore enjoyment level. But I will happily be looking for next week's when perhaps Ben delves into cute bunny rabbits, or princess fairies, or sweet smelling flowers, or children's stories, or.....

whimsy wrote: ↑Sat Oct 02, 2021 7:22 pm So, upon returning here, seeing the buzz, unsuccessfully attempting to use the spoilers in a very rudimentary way based on my coding experience from eons ago, I'm conceding that this is quite probably way way out of my wheelhouse and therefore enjoyment level. But I will happily be looking for next week's when perhaps Ben delves into cute bunny rabbits, or princess fairies, or sweet smelling flowers, or children's stories, or.....

...or classic Australian rock!

Needed all of the official nudges, but this was pretty clever. IMO a (maybe still learning, but really quite good) constructor who is putting their puzzles out there for free doesn't owe anyone a mea culpa!

Is anyone else curious who this ultra-genius sus is?

madhatter5 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:38 am Is anyone else curious who this ultra-genius sus is?

I know I am!

Time for the solution:


Aside from the mysterious sus, the central clue proved to be unhelpful without nudges. In my defense, parentheses usually mark something that is less important. That then leaves COVI. With ZERO on the left and ONE on the right, I felt that was a clear enough hint for the O and the I. But the C and the V? I really wanted to get CONSONANT and VOWEL into the grid but couldn't do it in a balanced/mirrored way. It didn't occur to me at the time to try and include CONS and VWL, which I probably could have got in.

Interestingly, I wanted the meta answer to be BINARY, which a number of you guessed because of the presence of ZERO and ONE in the grid. However, the coding for Y would have needed a consonant/vowel pattern of VVCCV, and at the time I couldn't come up with an appropriate word. I clearly didn't spend long enough thinking, because 10 seconds' thought just produced EAGLE, and there are definitely others. Ah well, live and learn!

This week's MOAT will be easier, I promise!

Here's the final list of successful solvers:

sus
Dplass
Darth
markhr
Meg
Abide
woozy
Laura M
LuckyGuest
Hector