Quizzes & Puzzles32 mins ago
Listener 4281: Sporn By Hedgehog
54 Answers
A very straightforward numerical. I was surprised at how few candidates there were for some of the number patterns, giving very clear entry points to the puzzle. Thanks, Hedgehog, for not taking up as much of my weekend as usually goes into a numerical!
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Alas, don't really think this is a Listener puzzle at all. You generate/consult long lists of Squares and Primes, work out possible candidates and fit them in jigsaw-style based on their patterns. (Almost) no logic required. No endgame. No fun except for the satisfaction of completing the puzzle fairly quickly. No point in my view. Sorry, Hedgehog.
This puzzle is far from a yawn! It is a very fine example of what a good numerical puzzle should be. In fact it is one of the best in recent years. No silicon required at all just logic and a few basic facts about square and prime numbers. Bliss. For those who found it all too easy I have typed up the 36 puzzles that Rhombus had published in Games and Puzzles magazine along with a copy of his article on how to set numerical puzzles. Details on how to get these are on the Crossword Centre's message board. I would point out that these puzzles were published in the 1970s - a pre-internet and pre-PC ( in both senses ) era and as such should be tackled in that spirit! So if you think you're up to it then get in touch. As for fewer numerical puzzles, I would argue the opposite. We setters in this genre are trying to encourage people to give them a go and as such some puzzles may be at the easier end but that should not belittle Hedgehog's achievement in setting an excellent puzzle which had a most welcome and novel clueing method and no denouement!! Well done Hedgehog. I, for one, found this a positive delight.