einstien's puzzle

[belovelife]

6min 59 sec second try
i need to get used to the whole massive amounts of colors
althought it has more options for grid
i think i'll go higher
thanx for the game its awsome

[belovelife]

19 min 48 sec for the large one first try

[belovelife]

1:00.12 for the 8x8 with on hard

[belovelife]

2hr 6min 22sec
for my second time 8x8 no handicap

it does get harder

[belovelife]

40 min 53sec 8x8 0handicap

[belovelife]

it only as 5 puzzles

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by belovelife

it only as 5 puzzles

Kaser’s Sherlock puzzle program is a free demo. If you send him $20, he’ll sell you the other 64,000 puzzles for it. As the saying goes, programmers gotta eat

I tweaked (well, significantly enhanced would be a fairer description) the MUMPS code in post #9 to be able to solved the Zebra puzzle (added a “guessing” shell to the original code) with this code:

n (XLPZL,XWR,N,BD,D,B,M,K1,I1,V1) x XLPZL(1),XLPZL(4),XLPZL(8,1),XLPZL(8,2):K1,XLPZL(8,3):'F  ;XLPZL(8): find next hypothetical board
s (K1,I1,V1)="" f  s I=$o(XLPZL(3,"")) q:I=""  q:XLPZL(3,I)[";"  k XLPZL(3,I) ;XLPZL(8,0): initialize
s F=0,M=N+1,(K,I,V,K1,I1)="" f K=1:1:N f  s I=$o(BD(I)) q:I=""  f C=0:1 s V=$o(B(K,I,V)) i V="" s:C-1&(C<M) M=C,K1=K,I1=I s:'M (K1,I1)="" q ;XLPZL(8,1): find first most known unknown node
s V1=$o(B(K1,I1,V1)) i V1]"" s S=$o(XLPZL(3,""))-1,XLPZL(3,S)="1,"_V1_","_K1,V1="",F=1 ;XLPZL(8,2): make hypothesis
s S=$o(XLPZL(3,"")),F=$s(S="":1,1:XLPZL(3,S)[";")  s:F M=N+2 q:F  s V1=$p(XLPZL(3,S),",",2) k XLPZL(3,S) ;XLPZL(8,3): discard hypothesis

, generally fancied up its interface a little, then added a 3 new rule types (“is to the left of”, “isn’t between” and “is between”), and to make it capable of solving a Sherlock puzzle (and a 4th new rule type “multiple is”, that’s not necessary, but keeps the game and program rules one-for-one) with this code:

s V0=VV f I=2:1:$l(V0,",")-1 f J=I:1:$l(V0,",") s VV="=,"_$p(V0,",",I)_","_$p(V0,",",J) x XLPZL(4,0) ;XLPZL(4,"=="): multiple is: "==a,b,c,..." -> "=,a,b", "=,a,c", "=,b,c", etc.
x XLPZL(4,"<",1) f K=1:1:N k:K+KI>F2 B(K,I1,V1) k:N+1-K-KI<F1 B(N+1-K,I2,V2) ;XLPZL(4,"<"): is KI+ to the left of
s V1=$p(VV,",",2),I1=D(V1),V2=$p(VV,",",3),I2=D(V2),KI=$p(VV,",",4),(F1,F2)=0 f K=1:1:N s:$d(B(K,I1,V1))&'F1 F1=K s:$d(B(N+1-K,I2,V2))&'F2 F2=N+1-K ;XLPZL(4,"<",1)
s V0=VV,VV="+-=,"_$p(V0,",",2)_","_$p(V0,",",4)_",2" x XLPZL(4,0) s V2=$p(V0,",",3),I2=D(V2) f K=2:1:N-1 s V1=$p(V0,",",2),I1=D(V1),V3=$p(V0,",",4),I3=D(V3) x XLPZL(4,"'B",1) s V1=V3,I1=I3,V3=$p(V0,",",2),I3=D(V3) x XLPZL(4,"'B",1) ;XLPZL(4,"'B"): V2 isn't between V1 & V3
i $o(B(K-1,I1,""))=V1,$o(B(K-1,I1,V1))="",$o(B(K+1,I3,""))=V3,$o(B(K+1,I3,V3))="" k B(K,I2,V2) ;XLPZL(4,"'B",1)
s V0=VV,V1=$p(V0,",",2),I1=D(V1),V2=$p(V0,",",3),I2=D(V2),V3=$p(V0,",",4),I3=D(V3),VV="+-=,"_V1_","_V2_",1" x XLPZL(4,0) s VV="+-=,"_V1_","_V3_",2" x XLPZL(4,0) s VV="+-=,"_V2_","_V3_",1" x XLPZL(4,0) f K=1:1:N k:'$s($d(B(K-1,I1,V1)):$d(B(K+1,I3,V3)),$d(B(K-1,I3,V3)):$d(B(K+1,I1,V1)),1:0) B(K,I2,V2) ;XLPZL(4,"B"): V2 is between V1 & V3

The whole program, with the board and rules for “Sherlock 5x5 puzzle#1 by Everett Kaser (kaser.com)”, is:

n (XLPZL) m XWR=XLPZL(0,1) x XLPZL(8,0) f  x XLPZL(8),$g(XWR(7)):M>N q:$g(XWR(-1))  ;XLPZL: logic puzzle solver
x XLPZL(6) s XWR(0)=$g(XWR(0))+1 w XWR(0)," ",C r R,! W:S]"" XLPZL(3,S),! ;XLPZL(0,1): interactive display
s XWR(0)=$g(XWR(0))+1 i '$g(XWR(4,-1)) x XLPZL(6) w XWR(0)," ",C r " Skip to solution? NO/ ",R,! s:$tr(R,"q","Q")?1(1".",1"^",1"Q",1"q").e (XWR(-1),XWR(4,-1))=1,R="" s:$tr(R,"yes","YES")?1"Y".1"ES" XWR(4,-1)=1,R="" x:R]"" XLPZL(0,1,4,"?") w:S]""&'$g(XWR(4,-1)) XLPZL(3,S),! ;XLPZL(0,1,4): step display
s R=0 f  s R=$o(XLPZL(0,1,4,"?",R)) q:'R  w $p(XLPZL(0,1,4,"?",R)," ;"),! ;XLPZL(0,1,4,"?")
Enter - Enter (nothing) to show each step of the process ;XLPZL(0,1,4,"?",1)
      - 'Q' to quit ;XLPZL(0,1,4,"?",2)
      - 'Y' to skip showing each step and display the next solution ;XLPZL(0,1,4,"?",3)
This program solves "logic puzzles. ;XLPZL(0,1,4,"?",11)
To change puzzles: quit, ;XLPZL(0,1,4,"?",21)
 k XLPZL(2),XLPZL(3) x XRX  ;XLPZL(0,1,4,"?",23)
 enter new pieces and rules, then restart  ;XLPZL(0,1,4,"?",24)
A library of puzzles may be loaded from ^XD("XLPZL",1) ;XLPZL(0,1,4,"?",31)
New rule types may be defined by adding of XLPZL(4,ruletype) xecute code nodes. ;XLPZL(0,1,4,"?",41)
x XLPZL(7) W XWR(0)," Continue? NO/ " r R,! s:R'?1"Y".1"ES" XWR(-1)=1 s XWR(4,-1)=0 ;XLPZL(0,1,7): solution display
k B,D,BD s N=5,I="" f  s I=$o(XLPZL(2,I)) q:I=""  f J=1:1:N f K=1:1:N s V=$p($p(XLPZL(2,I)," ;"),",",J),B(K,I,V)="",BD(I,V)="",D(V)=I ;XLPZL(1): init B()
Sherlock 5x5 puzzle#1 by Everett Kaser (kaser.com) ;XLPZL(2)
11,12,13,14,15 ;XLPZL(2,1)
21,22,23,24,25 ;XLPZL(2,2)
31,32,33,34,35 ;XLPZL(2,3)
41,42,43,44,45 ;XLPZL(2,4)
51,52,53,54,55 ;XLPZL(2,5)
=,12,24 ;XLPZL(3,-6)
=,35,42 ;XLPZL(3,-5)
==,13,35,53 ;XLPZL(3,-4)
=,34,43 ;XLPZL(3,-3)
==,23,31,52 ;XLPZL(3,-2)
==,32,44,55 ;XLPZL(3,-1)
+-=,44,23,1 ;XLPZL(3,1)
+-=,33,51,1 ;XLPZL(3,2)
+-=,31,25,1 ;XLPZL(3,3)
+-=,14,54,1 ;XLPZL(3,4)
'B,51,41,52 ;XLPZL(3,5)
'B,44,55,35 ;XLPZL(3,6)
<,55,53,1 ;XLPZL(3,7)
'B,13,43,22 ;XLPZL(3,8)
'B,21,51,11 ;XLPZL(3,9)
'B,41,52,53 ;XLPZL(3,10)
B,23,13,34 ;XLPZL(3,11)
n (XLPZL,B,D,BD,N,XWR,C) s (C0,S)="" f  s S=$o(XLPZL(3,S)) x XLPZL(5),$g(XWR(4)) q:S=""&(C=C0)!'C  s:S="" C0=C i S]"" s VV=$p(XLPZL(3,S)," ;") x XLPZL(4,0) ;XLPZL(4): solve
n (XLPZL,B,N,D,VV) x XLPZL(4,$p(VV,",")) ;XLPZL(4,0)
s V=$p(VV,",",2),I=D(V),K=$p(VV,",",3) zt:'$d(B(K,I,V))  k B(K,I) s B(K,I,V)="" ;XLPZL(4,1): is in house #
s V0=VV,VV="+-=,"_$p(V0,",",2)_","_$p(V0,",",4)_",2" x XLPZL(4,0) s V2=$p(V0,",",3),I2=D(V2) f K=2:1:N-1 s V1=$p(V0,",",2),I1=D(V1),V3=$p(V0,",",4),I3=D(V3) x XLPZL(4,"'B",1) s V1=V3,I1=I3,V3=$p(V0,",",2),I3=D(V3) x XLPZL(4,"'B",1) ;XLPZL(4,"'B")
i $o(B(K-1,I1,""))=V1,$o(B(K-1,I1,V1))="",$o(B(K+1,I3,""))=V3,$o(B(K+1,I3,V3))="" k B(K,I2,V2) ;XLPZL(4,"'B",1)
s V1=$p(VV,",",2),I1=D(V1),V2=$p(VV,",",3),I2=D(V2),KI=$p(VV,",",4) f K=1:1:N k:'$d(B(K-KI,I1,V1))&'$d(B(K+KI,I1,V1)) B(K,I2,V2) k:'$d(B(K-KI,I2,V2))&'$d(B(K+KI,I2,V2)) B(K,I1,V1) ;XLPZL(4,"+-="): is next to
x XLPZL(4,"<",1) f K=1:1:N k:K+KI>F2 B(K,I1,V1) k:N+1-K-KI<F1 B(N+1-K,I2,V2) ;XLPZL(4,"<"): is KI+ to the left of
s V1=$p(VV,",",2),I1=D(V1),V2=$p(VV,",",3),I2=D(V2),KI=$p(VV,",",4),(F1,F2)=0 f K=1:1:N s:$d(B(K,I1,V1))&'F1 F1=K s:$d(B(N+1-K,I2,V2))&'F2 F2=N+1-K ;XLPZL(4,"<",1)
s V1=$p(VV,",",2),I1=D(V1),V2=$p(VV,",",3),I2=D(V2),KI=$p(VV,",",4) f K=1:1:N k:'$d(B(K-KI,I1,V1)) B(K,I2,V2) k:'$d(B(K+KI,I2,V2)) B(K,I1,V1) ;XLPZL(4,"="): is/is to left or right of
s V0=VV f I=2:1:$l(V0,",")-1 f J=I:1:$l(V0,",") s VV="=,"_$p(V0,",",I)_","_$p(V0,",",J) x XLPZL(4,0) ;XLPZL(4,"=="): multiple is: "==a,b,c,..." -> "=,a,b", "=,a,c", "=,b,c", etc.
s V0=VV,V1=$p(V0,",",2),I1=D(V1),V2=$p(V0,",",3),I2=D(V2),V3=$p(V0,",",4),I3=D(V3),VV="+-=,"_V1_","_V2_",1" x XLPZL(4,0) s VV="+-=,"_V1_","_V3_",2" x XLPZL(4,0) s VV="+-=,"_V2_","_V3_",1" x XLPZL(4,0) f K=1:1:N k:'$s($d(B(K-1,I1,V1)):$d(B(K+1,I3,V3)),$d(B(K-1,I3,V3)):$d(B(K+1,I1,V1)),1:0) B(K,I2,V2) ;XLPZL(4,"B")
n (XLPZL,B,N,C) x XLPZL(5,1),XLPZL(5,2) s C=V]"" x XLPZL(5,3) i C s Q="B" f C=0:1 s Q=$q(@Q) q:Q="" ;XLPZL(5): check for uniques & clean
s (K,I,V)="" f  s K=$o(B(K)) q:'K  f  s I=$o(B(K,I)) q:I=""  f  s V=$o(B(K,I,V)) q:V=""  s (C1,B1(I,V))=$g(B1(I,V))+1,B1(I,V,K)="",B2(I,V)=K k:C1>1 B2(I,V) ;XLPZL(5,1)
s I="",V=1 f K=1:1:N q:V=""  f  s I=$o(XLPZL(2,I)) q:I=""  s V=$o(B(K,I,"")) q:V=""  i $o(B(K,I,V))="" k B2(I,V) f KK=1:1:N k:KK-K B(KK,I,V) ;XLPZL(5,2)
s (K,V)="" f  s I=$o(B2(I)) q:I=""  f  s V=$o(B2(I,V)) q:V=""  s K=B2(I,V) k B(K,I) s B(K,I,V)="" ;XLPZL(5,3)
n (XLPZL,B,BD,N) x XLPZL(6,0),XLPZL(6,1) w ! ;XLPZL(6): display B()
f K=1:1:N w ?N+2*(K+1),K ;XLPZL(6,0)
s (I,V)="" f  s I=$o(BD(I)) q:I=""  w !,$e(I,1,N+2*2-2) f K=1:1:N w ?N+2*(K+1) f  s V=$o(BD(I,V)) q:V=""  w $s($d(B(K,I,V)):$e(V),1:" ") ;XLPZL(6,1)
n (XLPZL,B,BD,N) x XLPZL(7,1),XLPZL(7,0),XLPZL(7,2) w ! ;XLPZL(7): final display B()
s C=L+2 f K=1:1:N w ?C,K s C=$g(L(K),$l(K))+2+C ;XLPZL(7,0)
s (I,V,L)="" f  s I=$o(BD(I)) q:I=""  s:$l(I)>L L=$l(I) f K=1:1:N s V=$o(B(K,I,"")),V=$S(V="":"!",$o(B(K,I,V))="":V,1:"?") s V(K,I)=V s:$l(V)>$g(L(K)) L(K)=$l(V) ;XLPZL(7,1)
f  s I=$o(BD(I)) q:I=""  s C=L+2 w !,I f K=1:1:N w ?C,$g(V(K,I)) s C=$g(L(K),$l(K))+2+C ;XLPZL(7,2)
n (XLPZL,XWR,N,BD,D,B,M,K1,I1,V1) x XLPZL(1),XLPZL(4),XLPZL(8,1),XLPZL(8,2):K1,XLPZL(8,3):'F  ;XLPZL(8): find next hypothetical board
s (K1,I1,V1)="" f  s I=$o(XLPZL(3,"")) q:I=""  q:XLPZL(3,I)[";"  k XLPZL(3,I) ;XLPZL(8,0): initialize
s F=0,M=N+1,(K,I,V,K1,I1)="" f K=1:1:N f  s I=$o(BD(I)) q:I=""  f C=0:1 s V=$o(B(K,I,V)) i V="" s:C-1&(C<M) M=C,K1=K,I1=I s:'M (K1,I1)="" q ;XLPZL(8,1): find first most known unknown node
s V1=$o(B(K1,I1,V1)) i V1]"" s S=$o(XLPZL(3,""))-1,XLPZL(3,S)="1,"_V1_","_K1,V1="",F=1 ;XLPZL(8,2): make hypothesis
s S=$o(XLPZL(3,"")),F=$s(S="":1,1:XLPZL(3,S)[";")  s:F M=N+2 q:F  s V1=$p(XLPZL(3,S),",",2) k XLPZL(3,S) ;XLPZL(8,3): discard hypothesis

Now that I’ve gotten the code down, I need some help from somebody who’s actually good at these puzzles, like belovelife, to answer some questions about them.

A brief description of how the XLPZL program solves logic puzzles: It applies, in whatever order they’re defined, each given rule (AKA clue) to the “what’s known” diagram (the board with its colorful cards in the Sherlock game), removing cards until the board is unchanged after a round of applying all of the rules. If the board is solved - one card in each square - it shows the solution and lets you quit. Otherwise, it adds a “hypothesis” rule consisting of a guess of the first card in the first square with the fewest but more than 1 cards, reinitializes the board, and trys again. If the hypothesis rule yields a contradiction (a square on the board with zero cards in it), it’s replace with a guess of the next card in the first square with the fewest but more than 1 cards. This is repeated until either a solution is found, or there are no more guesses left, in which case the given clues are contradictory, and there’s no solution.

When I have XLPZL play 5x5 puzzle #1 (0 handicap) of Kaser’s Sherlock game, it’s necessary to make one correct guess between 2 possible cards (person #2 or person #5 in square #1, the correct guess being person #5). The way Kaser’s game scores a player, this means there’s an element of luck in whether you’ll win the game with 0 or 1 “notify” penalties for incorrect clicks.

My question: is there some subtle rule XLPZL is missing that allows a solution with no guessing?

The need to guess and number of correct guesses for a program like XLPZL varies from among logic puzzles. For example, the Zebra puzzle requires 2 successful guesses (and can have 3 unsuccessful leading to a contradiction), the Fish puzzle needs no guesses, and, the Sherlock puzzle above, 1 guess.

Another question:
With XLPZL, I just add rule types as needed to solve new puzzles. The Zebra and Fish puzzles needed 2 rule types: “X is in position A” (XLPZL(4,"1")); “X and Y are N positions apart” (XLPZL(4,"+-=")). XLPZL has an additional “X and Y are N positions to the left/right of one another” rule type (XLPZL(4,"=")), but doesn’t need it for these puzzles. Sherlock puzzles need 3 additional rules: “X is to the left or Y” (XLPZL(4,"<")), “Z is between X and Y” (XLPZL(4,"B")), and “1 square is between X and Y, and Z’s not in it” (XLPZL(4,"'B")). XLPZL has an unnecessary “X and Y and … are 0 positions apart” (XLPZL(4,"==")) which expands into multiple applications of XLPZL(4,"="), and allows entering Sherlock rules exactly as they’re given.

My question: is there some collection of rule types that any collection of logic puzzle rules can be written in?

Given the decades that people have been writing programs, both computer and human, to solve logic puzzles, I suspect questions like these have been rigorously answered, but haven’t come across any such literature.

[belovelife]

first , yes you can solve it w/o guessing
the way i do it is hold between 3 and 7 clues in my head and the pattern it would have to be then look at the remaining clues on the puzzle and see where this pattern can fit
kinda like memory
second
dude i only have baic understanding of programming
right after i learned recursion, i got the boot from my university
(i was a couple of weeks late for class)

[belovelife]

i think my average time for the flowix game einstien puzzle is around 5 min.

[Theory5]

do you guys know of an online version of this game so I can play at school? It looks challanging.