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Texas Jigsaw Killer Archive http://www.rcbroughton.co.uk/sudoku/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1078 |
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Author: | Andrew [ Mon Nov 19, 2012 9:54 pm ] |
Post subject: | Texas Jigsaw Killer Archive |
Texas Jigsaw Killer Archive Ruud wrote: Introduction The combination of Jigsaw & Killer Sudoku must drive you mad. It immediately reminded me of an old horror movie. Try to enforce the Law of Leftovers while doing a '45' test in the same puzzle. Irregularity is the main theme here. Ed started the archive for Assassins and other killer puzzles in June 2008, work which I've continued from Assassin 101 onward. I've now decided that it's time to compile an archive for Texas Jigsaw Killers, even though I haven't yet attempted to solve any of them. I hope that posting this archive will prompt me, and other solvers, to attempt them. I've solved more than 3,000 killers and more than 2,500 jigsaws but so far have one solved one jigsaw killer, a puzzle posted by Pete Ty, on a different forum some years ago. There was another interesting puzzle on that forum, unfortunately now lost; a jigsaw where each box represented the shape of a state of the USA and had two givens, letters for the standard abbreviation for that state. That puzzle was where I first learned about Law of Leftovers, after getting stuck fairly well into the puzzle. I've now done quite a lot of them (see Solving Note later in this thread). Starting this archive definitely encouraged me to try them. Ruud posted the early Texas Jigsaw Killers on his site sudocue.net, His last one, TJK #33, was posted on 18th November 2007. A few more have been posted on this forum by Ed, h3lix(Dan), manu and Para; the archive entries for these puzzles, TJK #34 onward, contain links to the original threads on this forum. This archive also includes two Toroidal TJKs which Para posted on Ruud's TJK forum. Ruud wrote: Thanks for the encouragement, Mike. I'll try to create and post a new Jigsaw Killer every 2 weeks, but missed the last one because I've been busy with too many other things. These Jigsaw Killers are not only fun to solve, but also fun to make. It usually takes me 1 to 2 hours to create one with the right difficulty and mix of techniques. This is one of the few puzzle types that I create manually. I also seem to be the only one (intending) to create them on a regular basis. A very good reason for all of Ruud's Texas Jigsaw Killers to remain "on the record". I also found, while assembling the files which will be used for individual archive entries, that Ruud's puzzles had provided a lot of enjoyment and, of course, a lot of challenges. Walkthroughs for most of Ruud's Texas Jigsaw Killers, from #18 onward, were originally posted on sudocue.net. Some of these were hard enough to require "tag" efforts, with #18 being particularly notable with the "tag" starting months after this puzzle was first posted and taking several weeks to complete. Ruud wrote: Handmade Killer puzzles with 100% irregularity warrantee. If you can handle these monsters, we'd like to know how you did it. No walkthroughs were posted on sudocue.net for Texas Jigsaw Killers #1 to #17 and a few later ones. If you solve any of these puzzles and would like your walkthrough included in this archive, please sent it to me by PM. If/when I try any of these puzzles, I will add my walkthroughs to the archive. Before the puzzle entries, this archive starts with two other threads from the original Texas Jigsaw Killer forum. Archive Note: Some smileys on Ruud's site aren't available on this site. I've used what seem to be the most appropriate replacements, after discussion with Ed when they occurred in his posts. Jigsaw Killer (on page 5) appears to be the first jigsaw killer which Ruud posted. I've corrected obvious typos in walkthroughs which I've worked through (posted walkthroughs for puzzles which I've solved); I've noted that in the archive entries. A few walkthroughs seemed to have other errors but, where I haven't been able to contact the solver, I haven't corrected or commented on those errors. Puzzle rating table, with links to archive entries (after they have been posted) and puzzle threads in this forum; puzzles from Ruud’s site are temporarily linked to this page until the archive entry has been posted, I’ll remove the * when links are updated. Score = SudokuSolver v3.6.1 score; original SS scores, where posted, will be included in archive entries. +--------------------------------------+---------+-------+ +--------------------------------------+---------+-------+ +--------------------------------------+---------+-------+ +--------------------------------------+---------+-------+ +--------------------------------------+---------+-------+ +--------------------------------------+---------+-------+ +--------------------------------------+-----------+-------+ I’m surprised at the low SS scores for the early puzzles. Maybe they didn’t require the use of Law of Leftovers (LoL) or perhaps SudokuSolver scores LoL lower than I would. LoL is more than just 45 rule with innies equal to outies; for LoL the innies and outies candidates must be the same numbers. (See Solving Note later in this thread) Texas Jigsaw Killer 18 must have come as a shock after seventeen easier puzzles! Congratulations to the "tag" team for managing to solve it! Anyone interested in solving jigsaw killers might also like to try HATMAN's Human Solvable 19 here. It's similar to the Texas Jigsaw Killers, having killer cages and jigsaw patterns, one of which is an Old Lace, but it also has the extra constraint of regular nonets; for that reason it isn't a Texas Jigsaw Killer. This archive has now been completed. A pity that TJK50 hasn't been reached; unfortunately I can't retrospectively rename any of the puzzles from Ruud's site. Is there anybody out there prepared to create and post a few more TJKs, preferably with SSscores in the range 1.25 to 1.60, to reach the milestone of TJK50? I'd love the chance to try a few more. UPDATE. Many thanks to Ed for posting a new TJK! The introduction to TJK 47 suggests that TJK 50 may be reached. I'll keep trying new ones to encourage Ed! And now ixsetf has posted TJK 48 and told me there will be more to come. Great news! More recently, in 2019, Mathimagics has posted another five puzzles. Thanks to all puzzle creators! Looks like we've finally finished with Texas Jigsaw Killers but we're getting plenty of other types of puzzles. When this archive was originally compiled Ruud's site wasn't available so only diagrams generated by SudokuSolver were included for his puzzles. His site has become available again, at least temporarily, so his original diagrams have now been added. SudokuSolver-generated diagrams have also been added to some of the other entries. Andrew |
Author: | Andrew [ Fri Mar 22, 2013 7:59 pm ] |
Post subject: | Texas Jigsaw Killer Archive |
In the previous post I wrote: Before the puzzle entries, this archive starts with two other threads from the original Texas Jigsaw Killer forum. Sorry to be a bit slow in posting them. Here is the first of those threads.Normal Jigsaw Sudoku Puzzles was started as a Poll by lynn893 in Mar 2007. Would you like to see Regular (easy, medium, hard difficulty) jigsaw sudoku puzzles here? For the record, 5 votes were cast; 4 for "I would love to!" and 1 for "Not really". lynn893: Ruud, have you ever thought of putting 'normal' (as well as the 'killer') jigsaw puzzles on this site? I found them on the other site you moderate on and absolutely love them - although I am just starting out with them and am not a pro yet... it would be nice to see some here. Mike(mhparker): Ruud, Although I would also welcome some regular (i.e., non-killer) jigsaws, I definitely wouldn't like this to be at the expense of the Texas Jigsaws. Whereas the former can be found elsewhere, the latter are pretty well unique, and shouldn't be allowed to go the way of the dodo. A dissapointing feature of other jigsaws found on the web is that they can often be solved without using any Law of Leftovers (even so-called "diabolical" ones!). I would therefore be in favor of any regular jigsaws posted here being pretty tough, without being ruudiculous. In other words, hard enough to generate a bit of talk on them on the forum, whilst remaining fun to solve. Ruud: I have modified my puzzle generator to create 'regular' 9x9 Jigsaws in SumoCue format. Here is a sample (in tiny text): SumoCueV1=6J0=9J0=0J1=0J1=0J1=0J1=0J2=4J2=1J2=0J0=5J0=0J0=0J1=0J1=0J3=0J2=8J2=0J2=0J0=0J0=0J1=0J1=0J1=0J3=0J4=0J2=0J2=0J0=0J0=0J5=0J5=0J3=0J3=0J4=0J4=0J2=0J5=0J5=0J5=0J5=0J3=0J4=0J4=0J4=0J4=0J6=0J5=2J5=6J3=3J3=1J4=7J4=0J7=0J7=2J6=0J6=9J5=0J3=0J8=0J8=1J8=0J7=3J7=4J6=0J6=0J6=0J3=0J8=0J8=0J7=0J7=6J7=9J6=0J6=0J6=0J8=0J8=0J8=0J8=0J7=4J7 I still need to work at a program to rate these jigsaws. Some seem to exceed the "extreme" levels found at the UK competition... (Archive Note) The code string works for SudokuSolver; v3.6.1 gives it a score of 0.90. Mike(mhparker): That was quick! Thanks, Ruud. As far as rating goes, I personally throw every jigsaw sudoku I see into one of the following five "buckets", the sample puzzle you just gave us fitting squarely into the second-highest category (category 4): Category 1: Solveable via naked and hidden singles only. Probably only interesting for commercial publications that need to appeal to the masses. Category 2: As for category 1, but also requiring line/"box" interaction (locked candidates). Category 3: As for category 2, but also requiring knowledge of specific jigsaw techniques (Law of Leftovers, triangulation...). Note: This appears to be the end of the road for the Daily Telegraph, which appears to stop here and rate the puzzle "diabolical"! Category 4: As for category 3, but also requiring medium level vanilla techniques (e.g., naked/hidden subsets, X-Wing, etc.). If The Times published jigsaws, it would probably stop here and rate the puzzle "super fiendish". Category 5: As for category 4, but also requiring advanced vanilla techniques (e.g., chains/loops, ALS, etc.). I personally would be interested in categories 3 and 4, but it would be interesting to find out what other people would like to see here (lynn893, are you still listening?!). lynn893: I'm still listening! As I posted, I just found jigsaw puzzles. I'm not a pro in the solving techniques - I would say I'm 'medium ' I understand line / box candidates, twins, triples, quads, x-wing. That is almost my limit - although I have gone farther on occasion - but I also use alot of bifurication (yes, I know I spelled it wrong - whatever - it all comes down to guessing between two numbers in a grid! I end up[ writhing [ g10 - 9 - r4/c9 or r5c9] - then i end p doing one until I can't anymore, then I always do the other as well - to see if one ends up in an error - one usually does - then at least I can continue on with the one bi - whatever - that was correct! ) Ruud, please set us up with jigsaw puzzles that are NOT diabolical!!! Thanks so much from Canada! |
Author: | Andrew [ Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:04 pm ] |
Post subject: | Texas Jigsaw Killer Archive |
Killer Jigsaw walkthrough????? was posted in Mar 2007. lynn893: Can anyone give a definition of EXACTLY what is involved in solving a killer jigsaw puzzle? I found the 'regular' (gentle, moderate, diabolical) jigsaw puzzles on the other site that Ruud moderates, and really enjoy them. I'd love to try out some of the ones on this site, but really don't have a clue as to how to start one. If there is anyone out there who wouldn't mind setting up a little walkthrough/tutorial, that would be absolutely fantastic!! Thanks in advance! Mike(mhparker): I've just done the Texas Jigsaws #23, #24, and #25, and have enough material to write a walkthrough (if time allows). Unfortunately, I can already tell you that the initial moves in all three of these puzzles were completely different, so there's no one way to do them. On a positive note, once the first few "killer moves" (excuse the pun!) are found, the puzzles tend to solve quite quickly (unlike some of the Weekly Assassins, which require chipping away at the candidates for ages until a digit materializes). Unfortunately, I can't provide a tutorial here, because I haven't got a web site where I can host the screenshots. So my walkthroughs (should I post them) will be in textual form only. Therefore I strongly recommend reading Jean-Christophe's killer lingo guide (http://jcbonsai.free.fr/sudoku/?page_id=3), if you haven't already. Armed with this information, you'll be able to follow the walkthroughs using SumoCue, by performing the candidate eliminations manually. Unfortunately, it's common for people to by-pass steps they consider obvious when posting walkthroughs. For example, they'll just say something like "digit 6 locked in 15/3 cage in N1/C3", instead of "digit 6 locked in 15/3 cage in N1/C3, candidate 6 eliminated from all other cells in N1 and C3". So one has to be careful not to miss any intended candidate eliminations. |
Author: | Andrew [ Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:55 pm ] |
Post subject: | Texas Jigsaw Killer Archive |
Texas Jigsaw Killer 1 by Ruud (June 2006) Puzzle Diagrams: Code: Select, Copy & Paste into solver: Solution: Quote: SSscore: 0.85 Andrew (in 2013): An easy puzzle for anyone who wants to try their first Jigsaw Killer. Just use the cages and the jigsaw nonets for this one. Andrew's walkthrough: |
Author: | Andrew [ Fri Mar 22, 2013 11:37 pm ] |
Post subject: | Texas Jigsaw Killer Archive |
Texas Jigsaw Killer 2 by Ruud (June 2006) Puzzle Diagrams: Code: Select, Copy & Paste into solver: Solution: Quote: SSscore: 0.85 Andrew (in 2013): Apart from the difficulty of keeping track of the jigsaw nonets, because of the diagonal connections, this is another easy puzzle. Andrew's walkthrough: |
Author: | Andrew [ Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:58 am ] |
Post subject: | Texas Jigsaw Killer Archive |
Archive Note: Please don't get put off because Texas Jigsaw Killer 2 has diagonally-connected jigsaw nonets. Most of the puzzles in this archive have well-behaved jigsaw nonets and killer cages. The next puzzle with any diagonal connections will be Texas Jigsaw Killer 32, which has some diagonally-connected cages. From memory I think Texas Jigsaw Killer 34 is the only other one with diagonally-connected jigsaw nonets; it only has one nonet with diagonal connections. As an aside, some of the jigsaw nonet patterns are familiar to me, because they are ones regularly used on my first sudoku website http://www.sudoku.org.uk. This isn't surprising; Ruud used to be the forum moderator for that site. It originally had eight jigsaw patterns; then it held a competition for more patterns and the twelve winners have been used regularly since then making a total of twenty patterns. I'll give credits for any I which I recognise; they start at Texas Jigsaw Killer 22 (Orig 8 refers to one of the original eight patterns). Andrew |
Author: | Andrew [ Thu Apr 04, 2013 10:55 pm ] |
Post subject: | Texas Jigsaw Killer Archive |
Solving Note In the main post I wrote: I’m surprised at the low SS scores for the early puzzles. Maybe they didn’t require the use of Law of Leftovers (LoL) or perhaps SudokuSolver scores LoL lower than I would. LoL is more than just 45 rule with innies equal to outies; for LoL the innies and outies candidates must be the same numbers. I've now solved the first twenty five Texas Jigsaw Killers, apart from TJK 18 which I'll try later.Nineteen of the first twenty puzzles all have low SS scores. These ones can all be solved by using standard killer steps; there's no need to use CPEs or LoL for these puzzles, although in some cases they may give slightly shorter solving paths. If anyone wants a good puzzle to try using LoL: My feeling is that Texas Jigsaw Killers are a bit harder to solve than might be expected from the SS scores. That's because I sometimes found it hard to spot 45s, because the thick lines of the jigsaw pattern tend to distract one's eyes from the cage pattern. If you haven't tried them yet, please try Texas Jigsaw Killers. I found TJK 22 a particularly enjoyable one. Andrew |
Author: | Andrew [ Sun Apr 14, 2013 1:11 am ] |
Post subject: | Texas Jigsaw Killer Archive |
Creating a V2 from a V1 (Archive Note) This was posted in the TJK 30 thread but it's interesting enough to deserve its own archive entry. Ed: Sounds promising: a V2 perhaps Mike (mhparker): Unfortunately, I haven't got into V2 production yet . But I've got an idea how I could go about it . Just need to find the time (think you will be able to sympathize with that remark!). I suspect that by the time I've finished getting the production process sorted out, TJK31 will probably be upon us! In the meantime, any tips you or anyone else on the forums can give me about the best way to create V2's from V1's will be much appreciated. Para: If you need a challenge, there is always TJK 18. Ed: I might regret doing this ... . Making a harder version (V2) for TJK030 There are different ways to try and make a harder version. Same solution: close a front door. 1. open TJK030 in SumoCue 2. F10 to solve 3. combine/redesign cages that do not have the same digits. I usually combine 2 cages that lead to the first 'easy' placement. But no front doors in this puzzle, so I'll be cruel and try and close Mike's solution path and leave mine open. Decide to combine 10(2)r6c5 and 24(4)r7c5 to make a 34(6). 4. open a 2nd SumoCue 5. under File select New Jigsaw 6. Select (ZigZag) pattern 7. click in r1c1, type in the cage sum: "19" 8. hold down Shift key and click in each cell for the 19(5) (doing it this way means you can also make remote and diagonal cages if you want) 9. If you make a mistake with the cage shape, click in the cell that has the cage sum and press Delete. Start that cage again. 10. Once all the cages are in (with the new 34(6)) then press F10 . SumoCue has even more of a struggle to solve it, so you know its harder than the original. But the real good news is that it says "Puzzle solved". It has a unique solution. If it had said "multiple solutions found", break those two cages you combined and try something else.(you don't have to put all the other cages in again) 11. Under File, select "save" once you get a puzzle you're happy with. 12. Now comes the time consuming part: try and solve it. If it is solvable, its a V2, if its not, try something else or make it a tag solution. Same cages, slightly different solution. (Jean-Christophe first showed how to do this type) 1. Look at the solution to TJK030 2. See if the digits 1&2 share a cage. If they do, try 1&3 etc.....2&3 etc....3&4 etc... 3. If you find two digits that don't share a cage then you are in business. TJK030 doesn't have any, so can't use this way. 4.If you find 2 digits that don't share a cage, use the same cage pattern, and just adjust the cage sums to do a complete swap of locations for all of those 2 digits. 5. check for a unique solution (maybe not needed: but just for safety) 6. if its unique, try and solve. Same cage pattern, completely different solution. Don't know how to do this since I don't have a jigsaw sudoku generator. If I did, would just randomly see if I could find a solution that happens to fit into the cage pattern with no repeats. Can do your own solution manually as well. Haven't tried this way much. Para is good at doing this. Good Luck! Let me know if anything needs to be clearer. Looking forward to the revenge V3 (Archive Note) The code string for TJK 30 V2 was included at the end of Ed's post. It will be given in its own archive entry. |
Author: | Pinata [ Sun Apr 14, 2013 10:03 am ] |
Post subject: | Texas Jigsaw Killer Archive |
Andrew wrote: Creating a V2 from a V1 Same cage pattern, completely different solution. Don't know how to do this since I don't have a jigsaw sudoku generator. If I did, would just randomly see if I could find a solution that happens to fit into the cage pattern with no repeats. Can do your own solution manually as well. Haven't tried this way much. Para is good at doing this. Good Luck! Let me know if anything needs to be clearer. Looking forward to the revenge V3 (Archive Note) The code string for TJK 30 V2 was included at the end of Ed's post. It will be given in its own archive entry. Copy the cage pattern into jsudoku and then click on design then generate grid and check each grid for a v2 score. |
Author: | Andrew [ Sun May 05, 2013 1:02 am ] |
Post subject: | Texas Jigsaw Killer Archive |
Texas Jigsaw Killer 3 by Ruud (June 2006) Puzzle Diagrams: Code: Select, Copy & Paste into solver: Solution: Quote: SSscore: 0.80 Andrew (in 2013): An easy one with a short solving path. Andrew's walkthrough: |
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