Ev 1118 T20 By Oyler

[devadolly]

Forget it! All is forgiven Mr O.

[novalis]

I don't really mind which format is used and this made a pleasant change. That having been said I still cannot finish it. Can I just ask if it does not give the game away too much if the children are divided between male and female spectators or are they regarded as a separate entity?

[novalis]

I have just tried it with the children divided between male and female and cannot get the number of males to be a multiple of 27across. I seem to be ten out.

[jim360]

The clues say that all female spectators are "in their prime". This amounts to the statement that all children are boys.

[novalis]

Hi Jim360. Thanks for that but I am still not seeing it at all and am going round in circles. Again, if it does not give too much away does 27 across end with zero? If it does it leaves me completely in the dark...or should that be bad light stops play?

[dr b]

My 27A ends in a zero.

As for kids, men, women: males + females = spectators, some of whom are children. I thought the number of kids only really mattered in figuring 4D as only adults can buy booze.

[novalis]

Thanks for that Dr. B. The trouble I cannot make 7 across a multiple of what I have for 27 across without geting into difficulties elsewhere. I have checked my calculations for 22 down ad inifnitum as well.

[dr b]

novalis, email me at bbetker (at) gmail.com if you specific pointers

[dr b]

"want" specific pointers

[perseverer]

Considering the quantity of cider drunk, it's a miracle anyone was able to keep the score. And it looks as if England could do with the Wedlock spinner.

[Oyler]

I'm afraid that the Wedlock spinner Shoogly " The Googly " MacDougall plays for Scotland!

Wedlock + Witrush (9-5)?

[jim360]

Not so sure that we should be keen on the batsmen though... one six in an entire T20 innings?

[x_word_fan]

Anyone any thoughts as to why we are required to write the start time below the grid when it is the answer to one of the clues? Am I missing something?

[Cloverjo]

I like numerical puzzles, so was pleased to see this one. However, I have tried it 3 times now and can't make it fit. I have a grid that works except that my 17a isn't a multiple of 16 down. Not sure if I can face starting again.
I hope there will be more of these, though.

[x_word_fan]

Cloverjo - that happened to me - my mistake was choosing the wrong triangular number for 7d

[Ruthrobin]

I think that all this delighted input speaks for itself! Normally we get a thread that might run to double figures but this looks like being three times as long. I'm an outspoken moaner when the Listener numericals appear but have to agree that it would be great if, once every few months, there could be an EV numerical alongside the wordy one - and maybe in Oyler's more solver-friendly format with a theme and a bit of humour, rather than those hours of slog the Listener represents.

[Oyler]

Oyler is always solver-friendly!

[devadolly]

Well, at least this has resulting in some reparte this week which has been sadly lacking as of late. I'm with RR have a numeric side by side, I might even be tempted to try it if I'd had my Sunday fix of EV and was calm and collected. Having now looked into what a Fibonacci number is, would some kind number cruncher tell me why one would want to compile one?

[Oyler]

As the setter of this puzzle I think the reasons for setting it will be the same as those who compile crosswords in that
A - they enjoy doing it
B - they hope that solvers will enjoy solving it
and
C - they may be quite good at it!!

In this particular puzzle Chambers contains definitions as to the four types of named numbers that appear namely square, prime, triangular and Fibonacci. There are a couple of places to get started at and from there things should tick along quite nicely.

As I said in a previous post a blog will appear in 3 weeks time hopefully on fifteensquared.

Go on give it a go!

[jim360]

A puzzle like this I think is an ideal number puzzle for those who aren't particularly keen on Maths. The amount of actual calculation is very low -- a couple of subtractions, one or two divisions, that's about it. With a few tables freely available on the internet (just google "list of [prime numbers/ square numbers/ triangular numbers/ Fibonnacci numbers]" and the first link is nearly always what you need) you have all the information you should need, and really this isn't much more tricky than consulting a dictionary either. The effort involved is then in making sure you've extracted the right information from each clue and a bit of jigsawing of possible answers together. There's also a fairly generous starting point at 3a for example. At any rate the amount of number work is fairly low, so it's hopefully a good introduction to number puzzles. If this marks the first in a regular (if not very frequent) series of number puzzles at the EV, I hope very much that the same sort of puzzle is what we'll see. However wonderful some of the numericals over at the Listener and Magpie are, some of them are definitely not for those who aren't fond of maths!

I don't think you should write this puzzle off just because it has numbers in it. Have a go, and you might surprise yourself!

[devadolly]

Oh, I did! I did! It reduced me to a quivering wreck. 3a great I thought, only one digit to choose, obviously the starting point, all about cricket, great game......... all down-hill thereafter. No-one has yet told me the whys & wherefores of the F number?