Post-test USPC comments
So I got around to finishing most of the puzzles I didn't try, so I can comment.
I was aiming for top 25. Last year I was only foiled by a typo in my entry. This year I'm pretty sure my 133 isn't going to cut it, and it is doubly disappointing in that I can't really blame any particular conditions. I managed to keep my solving endurance up over the entire 2 and a half hours and I didn't have any technical problems; I was just slow. The only puzzle I started and didn't finish was the Fences, and I hadn't even wasted that much time there.
Favorite puzzle: even though it kicked my butt, SuDON'Tku did it in a good way. Normally sudoku variations aren't my favorite but I really felt like I was having to think in new ways.
Distances was also quite elegant.
Comments on other random puzzles:
Nebijok: had a real hard time here. The hardest word search I remember trying was a Korean one from 1999 WPC or so, but I always have an odd mental dissonance when hitting unknown languages. I should practice with word searches using randomly generated letters or something so I can learn to ignore that aspect.
Kuromasu: skipped when I didn't see an immediate break-in, but when I found the break-in later I thought this was the easiest of the 15 point puzzles.
Masyu: this one was also much easier than last year. I actually thought the worth-5-less-points Black Pearl was harder.
Murder No. 6: wrong assumption, had to reboot. *sigh*
Dot Triangles: I found these on Erich's page before the test. Trying a couple led me to know to skip this one.
Crisscross pairs: one I maybe should've tried in the test because it went very smooth, I just never had time to even start it.
Ampers& Crossword: this one on the other hand (post-test) was struggling by painful inches.
Double Feature: it is a Patrick Merrell standard to have one item changed by being slightly longer than the other, but I still couldn't spot it under tournament conditions. Saved finishing this one for last so I could mop up a few last points in the remaining 120 seconds.
I was aiming for top 25. Last year I was only foiled by a typo in my entry. This year I'm pretty sure my 133 isn't going to cut it, and it is doubly disappointing in that I can't really blame any particular conditions. I managed to keep my solving endurance up over the entire 2 and a half hours and I didn't have any technical problems; I was just slow. The only puzzle I started and didn't finish was the Fences, and I hadn't even wasted that much time there.
Favorite puzzle: even though it kicked my butt, SuDON'Tku did it in a good way. Normally sudoku variations aren't my favorite but I really felt like I was having to think in new ways.
Distances was also quite elegant.
Comments on other random puzzles:
Nebijok: had a real hard time here. The hardest word search I remember trying was a Korean one from 1999 WPC or so, but I always have an odd mental dissonance when hitting unknown languages. I should practice with word searches using randomly generated letters or something so I can learn to ignore that aspect.
Kuromasu: skipped when I didn't see an immediate break-in, but when I found the break-in later I thought this was the easiest of the 15 point puzzles.
Masyu: this one was also much easier than last year. I actually thought the worth-5-less-points Black Pearl was harder.
Murder No. 6: wrong assumption, had to reboot. *sigh*
Dot Triangles: I found these on Erich's page before the test. Trying a couple led me to know to skip this one.
Crisscross pairs: one I maybe should've tried in the test because it went very smooth, I just never had time to even start it.
Ampers& Crossword: this one on the other hand (post-test) was struggling by painful inches.
Double Feature: it is a Patrick Merrell standard to have one item changed by being slightly longer than the other, but I still couldn't spot it under tournament conditions. Saved finishing this one for last so I could mop up a few last points in the remaining 120 seconds.