I have a puzzle (of my own creation) which is inspired by the Dots game.
To explain the puzzle, let me define some new terms. A box is complete if all four of its sides have been drawn. A box is open if exactly three of its sides have been drawn. A grid of dots is saturated if it contains no open boxes or complete boxes, and if it is impossible to add any new lines without creating an open box. In other words, a grid is saturated if it is impossible to make a move without giving your opponent an opportunity to score.
The goal of this puzzle is to find the least number of lines necessary to saturate a 5 by 5 grid of dots. And if you're up for the challenge, try a 6 by 6 grid, and then a 7 by 7 grid.
Example: for a 4 by 4 grid of dots, only 8 lines are necessary:
Solutions have been posted.
7 comments:
It is possible to do better than 16 lines in a 5 by 5 grid.
Is this a joke? Are you asking for proof that 15 is impossible?
No, I said it's possible to do it with 15, not impossible. And I do not expect any proofs.
Okay. Her is a solution (use Courier font):
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Ascii Art is seriousely hampered by the suppression of leading and multiple blanks. So we have a new but easier puzzle.
Well, I can see the solution regardless, by looking at the page source. Good job!
You can add the extra spaces by using " " with a semicolon at the end.
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However, this won't help much, since I don't think there's any way for you to use a monospaced font.
If anyone around here were html savvy enough, I'd love to give commenters the ability to use monospaced font tags and spoiler tags, but I have no idea how.
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