rocdocmac Posted July 20, 2016 Report Share Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) I wish to post a "zebra puzzle" (hard-grid puzzle or Einstein-type of riddle) with 16 houses and 20 variables. May I do so here? It's never been posted before as I have created this one myself. Edited July 20, 2016 by rocdocmac capital "I" changed to small Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 bonanova Posted July 20, 2016 Report Share Posted July 20, 2016 Certainly. Let me know if you have any difficulty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 rocdocmac Posted July 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) On 7/20/2016 at 0:45 PM, bonanova said: Certainly. Let me know if you have any difficulty. Thank you, Moderator Bonanova! Clues to my "Mega Einstein Riddle" are attached here. The object is to resolve all placings with no repetition of variables. Please note that spellings are in UK English! Have a good time would-be solvers! Clues for Einstein Mega Riddle.docx Edit, 11/9/2016:Note that Clue 251 should refer to China, (and not to Kenya). Edited November 9, 2016 by bonanova Correction to Clue 251 requested by OP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 bonanova Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 For convenience I'll post the puzzle here in text form. Spoiler There are 16 houses painted in 16 different colours in a road (even numbers on one side and odd numbers on the other - see diagram). The houses were built on the side of a small hill with a slope having a gentle increase towards the higher-numbered houses. In each house lives a person with a different nationality, different occupation, and each was born under a certain zodiac sign. Since there are only 12 zodiac signs, four of them are obviously duplicated. The residents drive a different make of car with a distinct colour, listen to a certain music genre, have fun with a specific musical instrument and respect a particular flower. The inhabitants choose to visit assorted countries when going on vacation. Each of the 16 owners drinks a certain type of beverage, smokes a certain brand of cigarette, keeps a certain kind of pet/animal, and participates in, or follows, a sport of which none are the same. Each occupant also prefers a different kind of fundamental food, fruit, vegetable, and herb/spice, has a unique hobby, and enjoys an exclusive kind of board game. 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 Left Right 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Example: The Icelander is an Aries-born electrician who stays in a rust-coloured house with street number 21. He drives an auburn Toyota, smokes Craven A and drinks root beer. His basic cuisine requirements are kidneys, grapes and persimmon, and he prefers anise as spice. This occupant plays a xylophone, listens to ska music and does photography as a hobby. The same owner also competes in, or follows, curling as a sport and plays Uno as a board game. Additionally, this resident keeps guinea pigs as pets, adores strelitzia flowers and visits Mexico when on holiday. Clues The Alfa Romeo is parked at the khaki-coloured house The owner who flies to America lives in a house with an odd number Anemones are grown in house #7 The owner who prefers oxtail is mad about apricots The Aquarius does not stay in an odd-numbered house The owner who visits Argentina cannot do without milk An Aries-born owner resides next to the coin collector The grey house is directly between those of the artist and architect The Aston Martin is parked at the house next to the magenta car The athletics conqueror loves pears The owner of the Audi stays in an odd-numbered house The owner who travels to Australia drinks soda The azure Nissan is parked directly opposite the last even-numbered house The Backgammon player lives on the same side of the road as the Checkers player, but not next to the latter The do-it-yourself man is crazy about bananas The banjoist is an experienced Mahjong player The bank manager does not live in a house with an even number The owner who drinks barley lives in the house immediately to the right of the engineer Basketball and cycling are sporting activities for owners in the lowest even-numbered houses The bass guitarist is a skilled Scrabble player The owner who loves beef prefers beans The owner who drinks beer lives next to the one who smokes Kent The bee farmer stays next to the green house The Belgian raises monkeys The owner who smokes Benson & Hedges stays below the fourth house Carnations are not favoured by the Bentley driver The owner who has a craving for berries lives next to the cycling enthusiast The birdwatcher fancies pepper with his meals The black car is parked at an odd-numbered house The owner of the blue house drinks tea The owner flying to South Africa drives a BMW The boxer stays in a house with an even number The owner who smokes Gauloises visits Brazil The brown house is occupied by the Greek The driver of the peridot car stays next to the marigold cultivator No odd-numbered house uses cloves The owner who smokes Camel drinks vodka The visitor to Canada is mad about carnations A Cancerian has a preference for beef The cane drinker keeps spiders A Capricorn stays next to the owner who wants to hear psychobilly music Carrots are only eaten in an even-numbered house The Lexington smoker tends to lizards Casserole dishes and paprika are special in the same house The owner of the cats stays next to the dentist The trombone player loves celery The cello player lives to the immediate right of the harp player Checkers is played as a board game in the house next to the user of cinnamon Aubergine is a popular vegetable in the house where cinnamon is used The Chess master stays next to the owner who plays The Game of Life The Benson & Hedges smoker lives to the immediate left of the owner who smokes Chesterfield The owner who eats chicken lives immediately to the left of the Chess connoisseur The cider drinker smokes Rothmans The most favourite spice in house #16 is cinnamon The owner staying at the low end of the street settles down with classical music The coffee drinker stays in the yellow house The coin collector lives next to the do-wop fan The Austrian drinks cola The inhabitant of the house next to the veal consumer likes cooking in his spare time The owner who plays Mahjong lives on the same side as the owners who utilise paprika and coriander The country music follower enjoys dancing The Cranium player is a Virgo The cream house is to the immediate right of the red house Cucumber is only eaten in the third-last even-numbered house The guitar player finds curry and rice irresistible The cyan car is parked next to the plumber's house The Portuguese adores daffodils The Dane lives in the first odd-numbered house The data analyst stays at the high end of the road The owner who takes care of deer stays in the third higher-numbered house from the vodka drinker The dentist lives in a house with an odd number Disco music is enjoyed in an even-numbered house The owner who's keen on do-it-yourself jobs prefers coriander The scientist lives to the immediate right of the doctor Dogs are kept in the house next to the owner who flies to Egypt The drummer likes cauliflower The owner who smokes Dunhill stays between the Portuguese and the Fin The violet house is on the same side as those of the Dutchman and the Italian The Dane has a home next to the ebony house One house separates the owners who eat eggs and gem squash from each other The travellers to Egypt and Hong Kong stay on the same side of the road The smoker of Embassy drinks rum The driver of the emerald car stays in the khaki house The engineer stays next to the geologist The Englishman does not stay in an even-numbered house The Ferrari owner flies to China Figs are generally liked in the house next to a Scorpio The Fin is not a broker Fish are not kept in an even-numbered house The owner who plays the flute is a Cranium whiz The lime house is not next to that of the Frenchman, but on the same side of the road The owner who breeds frogs lives next to the one who smokes Pall Mall Fruit juice is preferred by the hedgehog owner The owner who chooses to gamble in his spare time stays on the same side as the turmeric user The trumpeter plays The Game of Life The owner who likes gardening as a pastime lives next to the one that uses mace The Englishman smokes Gauloises Gem squash and mangoes are preferred in the same house A Gemini likes paprika-flavoured cuisine The geologist stays in the cream house Dunhill is smoked by the German The gold car is parked at an odd-numbered house The owner who likes liver stays between the basketball and golfing sportsmen The wrestler lives between the gospel and grunge devotees The second house is coloured grey Do-wop and grunge music are listened to in either the fifth or sixth house The visitor to China resides next to the Chesterfield smoker The owner who is fond of zucchini does not reside next to the guitarist The Gunston and Lucky Strike smokers stay in two of the end houses The gymnast is keen on tomatoes The broker stays in the blue house Hamsters are raised in the third house away from the brown house The harmonica player stays above the fifth house A harp is played in an even-numbered house Heather is of note in the house to the immediate right of the house where dahlias are respected The Fin and the hedgehog keeper stay on the same side of the road An Aquarius is hooked on hip-hop music The owner who visits Hong Kong does not stay in a house with an even number Horses are bred at the house next to the Lamborghini owner Hyacinth flowers are cherished in the house next to the zinnia admirer The owner of the indigo car stays next to the owner of the Audi The Swiss does not visit India The inventor drinks rum The Jaguar is parked next to the cream house One of the owners enjoys taking a trip to Jamaica The owner travelling to Japan does not occupy an even-numbered house The smoker of Rothmans adores jasmine flowers The sculptor listens to jazz music The karate champion enjoys sushi The owner who smokes Kent lives next to the one who keeps fish The owner of the second-last house travels to Kenya The owner of the khaki house drinks wine Lamb is appreciated in the second house The Lamborghini is parked at the house immediately to the left of the Stuyvesant smoker The owner of the spiders drives a lavender car Leeks and guavas have a preference in the same house The yellow house is between the owners who drink lemonade and rum A Leo stays in house #12 The owner staying next to the Scrabble player is fond of lettuce The bank manager owns a Lexus Soccer is played by a Libra The lime house is on the same side of the street as the ebony house, but not next to it Liver is unwanted in houses with odd numbers Lizards are kept in an odd-numbered house The owner with an appetite for lobster stays next to the cricket player The cider drinker does not stay next to the Lucky Strike smoker The owner who likes curry and rice steers clear of mace Magic tricks are practised in an even-numbered house as a hobby The magenta car belongs to the owner who travels to New Zealand Magnolias are exhibited in an odd-numbered house The Mahjong player prefers oregano as a herb Marigold and poppies are nurtured in houses with highest odd numbers The owner who smokes Marlboro stays directly opposite house #12 The driver of the maroon car cultivates tulips The owner who desires melons stays next to the one who eats carrots The Mercedes Benz is black The owner listening to metal music stays directly opposite house #5 The owner drinking milk stays in the fifth house Minerals are collected as a hobby in a house with an even number The follower of rock music uses mostly mint as a herbal ingredient The owner who plays organ stays next to the one that builds plastic models The Monopoly player is a good drummer The Norwegian dwells in a house next to the bisque one The owner who's crazy about nuts as a fundamental food is also keen on quince Onions are avoided in odd-numbered houses Hamsters are kept in the orange house The Backgammon player does not stay next to the oregano user, but resides on the same side of the road The organ is played in an even-numbered house The owner who digs blues music fancies oxtail Pall Mall is smoked in an odd-numbered house Papaya is enjoyed in an even-numbered house Parsley is an important constituent in one of the owners’ cuisine Peaches and peas are favourites in the house directly opposite the first odd-numbered house Pears are not on a Pisces' fruit list The hockey player is an adept pianist The guitarist and piccoloist stay in either the first or the last house Rabbits are taken care of at the periwinkle house The Pictionary player lives to the immediate left of the Mastermind player The pig breeder stays in the house furthest away from the aster admirer Heather is loved in the house next to that of the pilot The owner who is infatuated with pineapple is a marvelous skier The pink house is not even numbered One of the Pisces-born owners likes gambling in his spare time There are two houses between the karate expert and the owner who chooses plums The cricketer stays next to the pomegranate addict Pop music is an important genre for a specific owner The owner who can't resist pork eats lettuce The Porsche is driven by the Austrian The Portuguese lives in the lime house Potatoes are only consumed in the fourth house The owner who plays Power Grid listens to disco music The visitor to Hong Kong stays between the poppy and protea admirers The owner listening to psychobilly music lives next to the amateur magician The owner who has a taste for zucchini favours punk music Guavas are fancied in an even-numbered house The driver of the Bentley detests rabbits The owner listening to rap music collects mineral specimens The red house has an odd street number higher than 9 The Pictionary player stays next to the one that listens to reggae music The driver of the Renault drinks milk The Risk player and the owner who likes apples stay in houses furthest away from each other The rock music enthusiast stays between the saffron and turmeric lovers The occupant of the second house uses rosemary in many of his dishes Rum is avoided in the fourth house The traveller to Russia drives a sienna car Saffron is treasured in the house where Backgammon is played Sage is important for the owner who eats potatoes There is one house between that of a Sagittarius and the owner who prefers coriander Sausage in not eaten in an odd-numbered house The trombonist dislikes sausage The saxophonist lives to the immediate left of the owner who likes potato The scarlet car is parked next to the traveller to India The scientist lives in an odd-numbered house The Scotsman resides in the seventh house A Scorpio stays to the immediate right of the piano player Scrabble is played in the house to the immediate left of the Ticket To Ride player The amateur sculptor lives in the third lower-numbered house from the Aquarian The shooting title holder stays next to the harp player The driver of the sienna car stays in the fifth-last house The snake owner drives a silver car The skier stays in an even-numbered house The user of rosemary does not participate in skydiving as a hobby The Italian keeps snakes as pets The soccer player likes pumpkin The Dutchman drinks soda Sorrel is added to dishes by the owner who is keen on woodworking in his spare time The owner of house #1 visits South Africa The Spaniard stays to the immediate right of the hyacinth lover The gymnast stays between the owners who are keen on zucchini and spinach The soccer player collects stamps The Stratego board game player's house is not odd-numbered The Stuyvesant smoker lives in the green house The owner who fancies mangoes solves Sudoku puzzles as a hobby The Swede stays one house away from the cane drinker The Gunston smoker is of Swiss origin The Taj Mahal player likes basil The owner who is fond of tangerines stays next to the hockey player A Taurus stays to the immediate left of the violinist The part-time taxidermist lives next to the owner who listens to disco music The owner who drinks tea doesn't own an Audi The plum-eating owner plays tennis The Texan smoker lives to the immediate right of the owner who is fond of milk The user of thyme stays next to the trumpeter Ticket To Ride is played in a house with an even number lower than 8 The Rolls Royce is parked at the third odd-numbered house The guitarist is an intelligent Trivial Pursuit player The trombone player does not stay in an odd-numbered house The harmonica player stays to the immediate right of the trumpeter Tulips are worshiped in an odd-numbered house The owner who eats turkey lives in a house with an even number The visitor to China does not drive a turquoise car (note correction: originally was Kenya) The ukulele player is fond of zucchini The owner who eats veal stays on the same side as the one that devours liver Venison is enjoyed in the last even-numbered house The Frenchman stays in the violet house Vodka is not consumed in an even-numbered house The owner of house #10 plays volleyball The Volvo is not parked at an even-numbered house There is one house between the Italian and the owner who drinks water The owner living in house #5 drinks whiskey The owner of the white house smokes Pall Mall The caretaker of deer smokes Winston The owner who enjoys working with wood lives in the fourth-last house The wrestler lives in the second-last house The owner who visits Zanzibar owns a Jaguar The Chesterfield smoker likes zinnias One of the inhabitants is a zoologist, while another owns a McLaren The astronomer drives an ivory car The Backgammon specialist does not live at the beginning of the street Beer is the only beverage in an odd-numbered house Birds are reared next to the bisque house The blue house is on the immediate left of the pink house The blues music lover utilises cloves The bronze car belongs to the owner who tours Brazil A Capricorn stays in an even-numbered house None of the Virgos are partial to carrots The Cranium player stays to the immediate right of the Stratego player The owner who likes cucumber does not eat papaya The daisy lover lives next to the scientist The owner who visits Egypt stays in the house furthest away from the white house on the same side The Embassy smoker does not stay next to the owner who smokes Texan The flutist dislikes turmeric The lawyer's nationality is French A Gemini-born owner is partial to potatoes The owner who drinks whiskey does not own a gold car Japan is not visited by the lizard owner There is no lime house at the end of the road The skier can’t stand liver The saffron lover plays rugby The owner of the Lexus does not visit Japan The owner with the mineral collection is repulsed by sausage The Taj Mahal player is not a Pisces The architect and plumber live in either the third or fourth house The owner who prefers veal stays in the house furthest away from the house in which Power Grid is played The owner who smokes Gunston adores roses The ukulelist does not stay next to the saxophonist Thyme is appreciated by a Taurus The tulip cultivator does not travel to Hong Kong The ukulele player does not stay in the fifth house The violinist stays next to the bass guitarist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Thalia Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 A question Spoiler "The second house is coloured grey" "The grey house is directly between those of the artist and architect " When you say between, does that refer only to left and right or can it refer to across the street as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Thalia Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 Spoiler The owner living in house #5 drinks whiskey The owner drinking milk stays in the fifth house Does 5th house mean house #5? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 rocdocmac Posted July 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 (edited) 9 hours ago, Thalia said: A question Reveal hidden contents "The second house is coloured grey" "The grey house is directly between those of the artist and architect " When you say between, does that refer only to left and right or can it refer to across the street as well? Left or right, not opposite 9 hours ago, Thalia said: A question Hide contents "The second house is coloured grey" "The grey house is directly between those of the artist and architect " When you say between, does that refer only to left and right or can it refer to across the street as well? 9 hours ago, Thalia said: A question Reveal hidden contents "The second house is coloured grey" "The grey house is directly between those of the artist and architect " When you say between, does that refer only to left and right or can it refer to across the street as well? Thalia ...house #5 = #5; "fifth house" is either #9 (if odd) or #10 (if even). Same with "2nd house" (either #3 or #4) Edited July 22, 2016 by rocdocmac repetition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Thalia Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 (edited) 11 hours ago, rocdocmac said: Phone is being dumb. Ignore this quote box... ...Well, there goes my spreadsheet. Also, when you say one house is to the right or left of another, I assume you mean right and left as shown in the diagram, not from the point of view of someone standing in the street? Edited July 22, 2016 by Thalia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 rocdocmac Posted July 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2016 (edited) Thalia ... correct: directly left or right.as in diagram. Edited July 23, 2016 by rocdocmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 bonanova Posted July 24, 2016 Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 @rocdocmac, Challenging puzzle! Clearly you spent some time on it. @Thalia, your questions (and the answers) were helpful. BTW, are you giving up on the puzzle? Have you listed all items by category yet? I'm in that process now, as a first step, before making a grid. Comments Spoiler Often, puzzles of this type list the items in each category for the puzzle solvers. This then permits a conversational reference to items in the clues. Many of the clues here are suggestive regarding the category of an item. My first task was to create lists, and in some cases multiple categories were possible. For a puzzle this large, being clear encourages solvers to spend the required time solving it. Being wrong can unnecessarily waste time. On other puzzle sites, e.g. the grey labrynth, puzzle writers will ask friends to volunteer to comb through a new puzzle before it's posted. I'd be glad to look at new puzzles in the future, especially if they're large ones, like this. Smaller ones can be discussed in the solution thread. Assumptions: (just mention the ones that might be wrong) Spoiler General: Assume "next" means "immediately next" and in an E-S (but not N-S) sense Assume "fifth house," for example, means house #5 (not houses #9 or #10) and second-last house means house #15 (not houses #13 or #14.) EDIT: Re-reading your answer to Thalia's question answers this one as well. Can I suggest that "fifth" in this sense might better have been stated "fifth from the left"? Assume "between" means geographically, not numerically. For example house #7 is "between houses #3 and #11, but not between houses #6 and #8, Specific clues: 13. refers to #15 25. refers to houses #1 #2 or #3. 35. alludes to cultivating marigolds. Category could be flowers, hobby or occupation. I am assuming it's flowers. 35. alludes to a peridot car. Category is either color or (obscure) brand. Since it's lower case I assume it's a car color. Same for "emerald" in Clue 83, etc. 40. refers to keeping spiders. Category could be hobby, pet or occupation. I rule out the latter, no money in it. "Keep" in OP refers to pet, so I assume the spiders are pets. 43. refers to "tending" to lizards. Since "tend" differs from "keep" maybe this is a hobby. I'll assume the lizards are pets. 59. refers to cooking. Since "in his spare time" is included I assume this is a hobby, not an occupation. 70. refers to "taking care of" deer. Could be occupation or pet. I assume pet. 76. refers to a "drummer." Since it does not say he "has fun" with it, it could be an occupation. I assume "drum" is an enjoyed musical instrument. 80. refers to eggs, which are poultry. Since they are not fruit, vegetable or herb, I assume eggs are a "fundamental" food. (Maybe for breakfast?) 89. refers to fish being kept. I assume "keep" is the key word so that "fish" are pets, and keeping them is not a hobby. 92. refers to breeding frogs. This I assume describes a hobby. Although breeding could be an occupation. Or frogs might be pets. 95. Does the "trumpeter" here have fun? Or is trumpeting an occupation? Or a hobby? I assume "trumpet" is from the musical instrument category. 108. refers to a "guitarist." First, I assume this differs from "bass guitarist" in Clue 20. In both clues, the category might be hobby, occupation or musical instrument. I assume the category in both cases is musical instrument. Even though "having fun" is not mentioned, and I know persons who play both types as an occupation. 113. Ditto 109. refers to "end houses" Assume #1 #2 #15 and #16. 112. refers to "raising hamsters." I assume these hamsters are pets. But if he owns a pet store, it's an occupation. 113. "above the fifth house." Assuming single-story buildings, "above" might mean "North of" on a map. But not your map. I assume the harmonica player lives in a house with a number that is "greater than" 5. 119. refers to "horses [that] are bred". Hobby, occupation or pet? Pets are "kept" not "bred" by the OP. I don't think of horses as pets, and "keeping" horses is different from "breeding" horses. But I assume the bred horses are pets. 123. refers to an "inventor" I don't know anyone who invents for a living, but I will assume inventing to be an occupation and not a hobby. 129. refers to a "karate champion." Hobby, occupation, or sport? I assume sport. 130. "keeps fish" Ditto 89. Assume fish are pets, not hobby. 131. "second-last" house. Assume house #15. 133. Assume house #2. 137. "between" First, I assume the three mentioned houses are on the same side of the street. Second I assume the three houses are contiguous. Although house #7 is "between house #1 and house #13. 144. "Lizards are kept." Assume pet. 145. "cricket player." Assume sport, not occupation. 147. "curry and rice." Assume that's "fundamental" food. 157. "house #5." Assume this means "house #5." But ..,., 158. "fifth house." Could mean left-to-right. i.e. house #9 or #10. At best it's confusing to use different words to mean the same thing. 161. "plays organ".Is "playing" a hobby? or an occupation? Or is "organ" an instrument. I assume the latter. 164. Thanks for clarifying "nuts" are fundamental. 175. "adept pianist" As opposed to one who plays "for fun"? Meaning occupation? I assume "piano" is "instrument". 176."first or last house" Assume house #1 or house #16. (Why not say lowest or highest numbered? In a two-dimensional array there is no simple ordering.) 192. Hong Kong is "between" poppy and protea. I assume these three houses *could* be #4, #10 and #14, with Hong Kong being #10. Ditto for the meaning of Clues 202, 229. 201. "furthest away from" (see 179 in the questions list) Here, I assume the two houses must be #1 and #16 or #2 and #15. 217. Assume the difference of the two house numbers is 3. As in house #12 and house #9. 219. Assume house #12. 243 "the trumpeter" "Trumpeter" suggests an occupation. I assume "trumpet" is an instrument. Ditto "guitarist" in clue 246, etc. 245 "third odd numbered house" Assume house #5 264. "second-last house" Assume house #15 Questions: Spoiler 55. refers to THE owner at the low end of the street. Both geographically and numerically (not specified, but fortunately the same) this must refer to house #1 or #2, just as Clue 69 must refer to house #15 or #16. Should the Clue 55 read, AN owner at the low end of the street .... likes classical? 179. "furthest away from" Shall I assume houses on either side are equally spaced? The map shows the spacing across the street is less. Shall I also assume houses #7 and #8 are closer than houses #7 and #9? Or should I assume that the numerical difference of the house numbers is greatest? 234. "one house away from." Please re-word this. Could be houses #3 and #5 (if "away" means E-W) Could mean houses #3 and #4 (if "away" means N-S). Could mean either of these (if "away" means in either cardinal direction.) Could mean houses #8 and #9 (if "away" means *gasp* numerically, as "fifth" seems to mean #5 elsewhere). On this clue I literally have no clue. 259. "There is one house between (a) and (b)" House numbers are indirectly indicated in other clues. This might be the case here. Or, "between" might mean positionally. I can't assume in this case. Which is it? Could (a) and (b) be houses #7 and #9 (with house #8 between them) or must they be like houses #7 and #11 (with house #9 between them?) 269. "beginning of the street" Nothing in the clues or the picture defines the word "beginning." I'm thinking it means houses #1 or #2 but I have to ask, for fear of wasting a lot of time. 287 "end of the road" This one I think I get. It must refer to houses #1, #2, #15 or #16. But I'll ask, just to be sure. The reason I don't assume is ... if "beginning" in Clue 269 means #1 and #2, then "end" logically refers ONLY to #15 and #16. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 rocdocmac Posted July 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 Thank you for your questions Bonanova. Attached a file with your queries and my answers. Answers to questions 1.docx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 rocdocmac Posted July 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 (edited) Category list attached Categories.xlsx Edited July 24, 2016 by rocdocmac New table Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Thalia Posted July 24, 2016 Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 (edited) ... Oh God. I had DIY as an occupation and an anemone as a pet... @bonanova I'm still working on it. Wish I had a bigger screen to view my 305 by KS spreadsheet though. XD Edited July 24, 2016 by Thalia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 rocdocmac Posted July 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 Sorry for your classifications, Thalia, but now I've given everyone the nitty gritty! Chris @bonanova/Thalia ... Is this a difficult puzzle? Could one perhaps make a board game out of it? Chris M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Thalia Posted July 24, 2016 Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 No worries. I think I've got my spreadsheet straightened out. I hope. . . Most of the difficulty right now is in the size. Won't know just how difficult until the end. The last time I made a board game was 6th grade and it turned out pretty weird. . . I'll leave the board game development to you and maybe bononova. Couple questions 9. The Aston Martin is parked at the house next to the magenta car - The magenta car is parked at a house. The Aston Martin is next door? 66. The cyan car is parked next to the plumber's house - the cyan car is at the plumber's house or parked at the house next door to the plumber? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Thalia Posted July 24, 2016 Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 Reading through your answers to bonanova. To clarify, you use the 5th house to mean 5th from the left at times. But in 113, above the 5th house means above #5? Don't see an answer to 201 and not understanding the one to 217. Can you clarify? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 bonanova Posted July 25, 2016 Report Share Posted July 25, 2016 Thanks for the category lists and clarifications. This is actually a favorite style of puzzle, and I can see myself enjoying it for a while. @Thalia, Game on ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 rocdocmac Posted July 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2016 14 hours ago, Thalia said: No worries. I think I've got my spreadsheet straightened out. I hope. . . Most of the difficulty right now is in the size. Won't know just how difficult until the end. The last time I made a board game was 6th grade and it turned out pretty weird. . . I'll leave the board game development to you and maybe bononova. Couple questions 9. The Aston Martin is parked at the house next to the magenta car - The magenta car is parked at a house. The Aston Martin is next door? 66. The cyan car is parked next to the plumber's house - the cyan car is at the plumber's house or parked at the house next door to the plumber? Thalia - correct ... house with magenta car immediately next to house with Aston Martin & house with cyan car immediately next to house with plumber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 rocdocmac Posted July 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2016 Thalia, with reference to clues 113, 201 & 217 .... 113 - above the 5th house (from the left), i.e. above #9 or #10, meaning only #11, #13, #15 OR only #12, #14, #16 (to the right of #9 or #10) 201 - You can have apples in #1/#2 or #15/#16. Risk would then be played in the house furthest away at the other end, i.e. #15/#16 or #1/#2, e.g. apples in #16, then Risk #1 or #2. 217 - It means third house to the left of the Aquarius, e.g. if the Aquarius is in, for instance #13, the sculptor would be in #7. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Buddyboy3000 Posted July 25, 2016 Report Share Posted July 25, 2016 My trouble is the same as Thalia's, because my spreadsheet is huge. I have never had one before that has a scroll bar on each side. However, I am still working on the puzzle, slowly but surely. My questions have already been answered, so this is all for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 rocdocmac Posted July 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2016 1 hour ago, Buddyboy3000 said: My trouble is the same as Thalia's, because my spreadsheet is huge. I have never had one before that has a scroll bar on each side. However, I am still working on the puzzle, slowly but surely. My questions have already been answered, so this is all for now. @Buddyboy3000, Did I introduce 2 scroll bars? Not sure what you mean, but you can get rid of that by unfreezing the panes, perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Thalia Posted July 25, 2016 Report Share Posted July 25, 2016 On Sunday, July 24, 2016 at 10:57 AM, Thalia said: I can't win with my phone. Please ignore this quote box too. Assuming buddyboy did the same thing as me, he's got a spreadsheet with 20 something variables. No way you're going to fit that all on the screen at a readable size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Buddyboy3000 Posted July 26, 2016 Report Share Posted July 26, 2016 The way I learned to do grid puzzles was to make a grid with every variable by every variable. The two scroll bars were for the width and height. There seems to be another way to do this to make it smaller. If any of you could give some insight on how to do this correctly, it would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 bonanova Posted July 26, 2016 Report Share Posted July 26, 2016 I noted the number(s) of the clue(s) that refer to each of the items. This is making it easier to piece together little clusters of relationships. Next I'm trying to fit these clusters into a table where one column is filled in (e.g. house numbers). Or probably into several tables, each with a different column filled in, depending on the "shape" of the clusters. It's a huge puzzle any way you look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 rocdocmac Posted July 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2016 12 hours ago, Buddyboy3000 said: The way I learned to do grid puzzles was to make a grid with every variable by every variable. The two scroll bars were for the width and height. There seems to be another way to do this to make it smaller. If any of you could give some insight on how to do this correctly, it would be great. See attached suggestion. HINT: Determine all known "odds" and "evens" (either stated or linked, but all of them can certainly be determined). Once you have 8 odds and 8 evens in each category, you ought to know the remaining 8 odds and 8 evens for each. The Zodiac signs, incidentally, will sort themselves out! I'm sure this will help! Grid1.xlsx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Buddyboy3000 Posted July 26, 2016 Report Share Posted July 26, 2016 One question did come up to me, because something does not add up. 106 says do-wop and grunge are listened to in the fifth or sixth house. 157 says that the house opposite of house 5 listens to metal, which would be the sixth house. These say that the sixth house listens to two types of music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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rocdocmac
I wish to post a "zebra puzzle" (hard-grid puzzle or Einstein-type of riddle) with 16 houses and 20 variables. May I do so here? It's never been posted before as I have created this one myself.
Edited by rocdocmaccapital "I" changed to small
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