Monday, 14 August 2023

Menderbug

Walkthrough for yesterday's Patrol: https://youtu.be/aD5qNxlL8mc
No otters today, but that's great because it let us stock up for tomorrow.

This genre sent me down quite the rabbit hole. I initially found it in Eric's rules document (and just had to use it... for reasons). I searched the server but it had really only been mentioned once. The first Puzzle Boss Rush contained a puzzle using very similar rules (but only number clues). That puzzle was listed without a genre name, but Sam identified it as Loop 12, even though it differed slightly from the rules described in the document. So I asked Sam, but he no longer had any memory of this genre. Finally, bakpao noticed that it was featured in Toketa Vol. 9 (in fact, using rules that were slightly updated from Eric's version again). Ironically, that book had been sitting on the shelf behind me the entire time.

Rules: Connect some pairs of orthogonally adjacent dots to form a single non-intersecting loop. Number clues indicate the longest straight loop segment(s) touching that cell. Arrows point at all the longest straight loop segment(s) touching that cell. (This means if there any arrows in a cell, the edges not pointed to are unused or have shorter segments.)

These rules combine to create a bunch of clue types with different behaviours. Check out the example to get a feel for them.

Score a Speedy Sloth 🦥 by solving the puzzle in 3:30 or less!
Collect a Quick Crab 🦀 by completing the puzzle in 6:30 or less!
Finish the puzzle in your own time to become the proud owner of a Non-Migratory Red-Crowned Crane 🐦!

Example (Penpa+): https://tinyurl.com/224pqa8v
Puzzle (Penpa+): https://tinyurl.com/283ssvcs