# A Minesweeper Crossword

This is a Random thought that occurred to me. It consists of combining aspects of Minesweeper, Nonograms, and Crosswords together to create this rather interesting and, I believe, difficult puzzle.

This is a multiple step puzzle. The first part will have numbers as its solution, the last part will have a well known saying as its solution. The rest is up to you to figure out.

The Rules:

• Each row/column consists of clues.
• Each clue has how many digits are in it written in the Parentheses "( )".
• No digit is greater than 8 or less than 0. But the totals in the clues can be higher than 8.
• Each clue is on a separate bullet.
• Between each clue is (at least) one space.
• The number between the braces "{ }" is the total number of spaces in the row/column.
• When a clue refers to the whole line, The bullets are tabbed over a little more.

If the rules are unclear just ask me in a comment or in chat, and I'll modify to question to try and make the rules clearer.

Clarifications:

• When a line says that it "Has only one number" that means the the lines digits are all the same, i.e. 3, 3 and 3 or 6, 6 and 6 (or however many digits there are in the line).

The Clues:

Grid:

There are 162 digits in this grid totaling 498.

Rows:

1: {2}

• A pair (1)
• The only Even One cubed, with only Primes (3)
• A uniquely even perfect one (2)

2: {6}

• One's older brother (1)
• The second Prime (1)

3: {1}

• The Fourth's younger siblings that add to the Fourth (2)
• A square with itself in the ones place and two older twins and two younger twins (5)

4: {6}

• Binary (1)
• A Pentagon (1)

5: {4}

• Half of a half of a half of a half of a half of a half of 128 (1)
• Sums to seven, the middle (2)
• A triplet (1)

6: {1}

• An even and an odd (in that order) adding up to the Fourth (2)
• Two ones made with a number three times, its double, and its half (5)

7: {3}

• A duo(1)
• A lucky number (in the US) made from an unlucky number (in Japan/China) and one less (2)
• A perfect made from a number and its double (2)

8: {6}

• A trio less one (1)

9: {1}

• A Prime made from non-consecutive Primes (2)
• The Ninth made from a Second, two Thirds, a perfect, and a doubled First(5)

10: {5}

• Uno plus one (1)
• The Third (1)
• The Second (1)

11: {6}

• A perfect in half (1)
• Twice the first on this line (1)

12: {3}

• The First (1)
• Thrice the First (1)
• The Fourth, made with a First (2)

13: {3}

• The Third, made with the useless multiplier (2)
• One hand (1)
• A pair made without twins (2)

14: {1}

• Same of the first on the line above (2)
• Equals this line with three unique Ones, a middleman, and the empty one (5)

15: {4}

• 12:'s #1 (1)
• A rooted 'no' (1)
• The two useless ones (2)

16: {3}

• The Highest (under a hundred) plus the First divided by 33 (1)
• The fifth in a certain spiral (1)
• Totaling the Fourth using the useless divider and some twins(3)

17: {4}

• A perfect divided by the First (1)
• The First Cubed, made from Primes (2)
• Same as 18:'s #3

18: {4}

• This line only has one number
• (1)
• The Third and Fourth's middleman(2)
• (1)

19: {4}

• A song sung by Fievel and Tiger (1)
• Totaling the end of this year (year this was originally posted) the last two's root and then half that (2)
• If you add the digits of any of this number's multiples you'll get a multiple of this number (1)

20: {1}

• 6:'s #1 (2)
• Totaling double the first clue (on this line) less one, made with three Firsts and two followers (one of each) (5)

21: {4}

• The beginning of this line (1)
• Twice the previous clue plus the end of this line (1)
• Totaling the previous clue using the first one (of this line) (2)

22: {5}

• This line only has one number
• (1)
• Totals an imperfect composite less than one short a decade (2)

23: {1}

• Same as 12:'s last, but flipped (2)
• Totaling Eighth, with a Third, younger twins and older twins (5)

24: {5}

• This line fills the podium, but with only the First in the right place
• (1)
• (1)
• (1)

25: {6}

• Same as the line above, but missing a number
• (1)
• (1)

26: {1}

• Same as line 23: but the last number is one less
• (2)
• (5)

27: {4}

• The digit that starts this line is this one (1)
• A root of this line (1)
• The smallest sum from two different positive integers (2)

28: {4}

• An uncommon operator? Maybe: Maybe not (1)
• The end of this line, only Primes (2)
• Used in squares (1)

29: {5}

• This line only has one number
• (1)
• Totals a square composite that when doubled becomes a cube (2)

30: {1}

• Top and bottom to make a fourth (2)
• Totals the Second squared then doubled, with two Seconds, one above, one below, and a Second doubled (5)

31: {4}

• A trio plus none (2)
• A quartet (1)
• The Knights Who Say Ni, from Japanese (1)

32: {1}

• Same as the clue above but plus one (2)
• Same as 30:'s last but the first is one less (5)

33: {4}

• The powers of two (sort of)
• (1)
• Twice the previous plus one (1)
• The first doubled twice (2)

34: {6}

• Looks like 11 (1)
• Looks like 101 (1)

35: {3}

• One higher than 4:'s first (1)
• One above plus the previous clue (2)
• Same as the previous clue (2)

36: {3}

• The lower of this line's two factors (1)
• Two Firsts with two useless multipliers in between (4)

Columns:

a: {0}

• Totaling the Twenty-First, with two dozen Firsts, a Fourth's worth of Seconds, and the rest useless one way or another (36)

b: {25}

• All the single numbers are the same
• (1)
• (1)
• (1)
• One less than the singles of this column, twice (2)
• (1)
• (1)
• (1)
• Same as the double clue from this column but with the second being one less, twice (3)

c: {34}

• Last one to place (1)
• Almost Runner up (1)

d: {8}

• Totals for this column are:
• 15 (4)
• 28 (6)
• 10 (2)
• 10 (2)
• 13 (3)
• 20 (4)
• 15 (3)
• 11 (3)

e: {15}

• "C" (1)
• The closest to death, in Asia (1)
• Same as 1:'s second, in the same order (3)
• A leg?, Japanese to English (1)
• Perfect (1)
• N = (C + O)/2 (2)
• Two Seconds and two Firsts (4)
• Half the previous clue, same numbers (2)
• Consecutive but out of order, Second to Third (3)
• Eyes on the classic nerd (1)
• 16:00 (1)
• All but a confused argument (2)

f: {18}

• The second squared upside-down (1)
• Same as 1:'s last, same order (2)
• Hexagon (1)
• Triangle (1)
• Highest number of consecutive "eyes" in Rome (1)
• Also pound (1)
• A triplet of Firsts followed by their double (4)
• Rectangle (1)
• This paradoxical clue is incorrectly written (323)
• One, two, ..., five six (2)
• A muddled cheese tofu mural (1)

g: {12}

• Like in golf (1)
• Double the line this clue is on (1)
• Same as 19:'s second but different order (2)
• "E" (1)
• The First to e:'s second, with the Third, two Firsts, a useless number, and two Seconds (6)
• Multiplied, its cube. Added, its square (3)
• Leap Year (1)
• Added, the Third. Subtracted, a useless number. (2)
• Trouble counting, First to a young composite, with a restart (5)
• d:'s last numbers, same order (2)

h: {14}

• Same as the very first number (1)
• Double the very first number (1)
• Two halves made perfect (2)
• Adds to the Second with the First (5)
• You and two friends (1)
• A couple (1)
• You, two friends, and a mirror (2)
• Adds to the Third, with the First twice (3)
• "B" (1)
• Looks like 10 (1)
• One less than a medical means to administer drugs (1)

So the question is, What is the well known quote and who is it by?

• Is the little black square supposed to be the semicolon you mentioned? – Alenanno Oct 24 '16 at 20:37
• The black squares are separators for the different clues. – dcfyj Oct 24 '16 at 20:40
• Whoa! This would've totally fit this if it were posted in a week or two. – Dan Russell Oct 24 '16 at 21:09
• Yeah, I know, but I didn't want to make you guys wait just to satisfy a fortnightly. – dcfyj Oct 24 '16 at 21:11
• Unfortunately you can't rely on consistent text width or spacing between systems/browsers... Can I suggest an alternate clue layout? – Alconja Oct 25 '16 at 3:05

(I did this without looking at the CW. I claim no credit for imposing arbitrary restrictions on myself, but it means any mistakes are my own :-).)

The final grid is as follows:

 2 # 3 2 3 # 4 2 2 # # 3 # # # # 2 5 # 5 4 6 6 4 2 # # 5 # # # # 2 # # # 3 4 # 3 2 5 # 4 2 2 2 1 2 # # 4 3 # 4 2 2 # # 4 # # # # 2 5 # 5 4 6 5 3 2 # # 5 # # # 3 3 # # 6 # # # # 2 # # # 6 # 5 2 1 4 # 5 # # 2 0 1 4 # 5 4 3 2 0 2 # # # 3 # 1 0 3 # # 5 # 3 3 1 3 # # 5 3 # 3 # 3 # # # 3 3 # 3 2 # # 4 2 # 3 # 2 5 # 3 2 2 3 2 2 # # 5 # 2 3 # 2 # # # 2 2 # # 2 5 # 5 3 4 4 3 2 # # 5 # # # 3 2 # # 5 # # # # 2 5 # 5 4 4 3 2 2 # # # 3 # 2 1 3 # # # 5 3 # 2 2 # # # # 2 2 # 1 4 # 6 4 3 3 2 0 3 # 4 # # 2 # 1 3 # 5 4 2 3 2 2 # 5 # # 4 4 # 3 # # 5 # # # # 3 # # 4 3 # 4 3 2 # # 2 1 1 2 #

which obeys the following constraint:

when a cell contains a number, that number is the total number of spaces surrounding it (as in Minesweeper). This is why the maximum digit is 8 rather than 9.

If we interpret

each row as containing the bits of an ASCII number

we get

"Do or do not, there is no try - Yoda".

"First", "Second", etc., are of course

the prime numbers.

When groups of cells are referred to collectively,

their sum is usually intended (never, I think, the number obtained by treating them as the digits of a base-10 number).

Note: in the course of solving this I found some errors in the puzzle, which dcfyj has corrected, but it's possible that some inconsistencies may remain (1) in the puzzle, (2) in my answer, or (3) between them. I will be grateful for having any of them pointed out :-).

# A MineSweeper Crossword: A Making of

I created this a puzzle a while ago, but @humn suggested that a "making of" wrap-up post would not be amiss, as such, here it is (I tried to keep it fairly spoiler free for those that wish to solve the puzzle at a later date).

This was written to the best of my recollection (some things may have happened slightly differently, but this is the gist of it).

This puzzle started off as one of my many random thoughts. "What if you clue minesweeper as though it were a crossword/nonogram?", and thus a puzzle began to be formed.

Now, at the time of making this I thought, "a simple minesweeper crossword will not do, I should make the minesweeper translate into a well known saying or some-such." (Obviously I didn't actually think it quite that way, but I don't remember what I thought, so you get the point.)

So my next step was to come up with something that people could easily recognize was they figured out the solution as such I chose the incredibly well known

Do or do not, there is no try

which is of course stated by

Yoda

With saying in hand (mind?) I started moving forward. I decided to translate the saying into

ASCII (specifically the binary)

to make it easier to put into the minesweeper grid.

Once that was done, I used the ones as "bombs" for minesweeper and all the other cells turned into numbers as per the minesweeper rules. Once my numbers were in place (I found out later I had miscounted in a few places, thanks @Gareth!), I started to think up clues to write to reference them.

I wanted the clues to be worded somewhat simlarly to a crossword, but I also wanted them (once solved) to be read as a nonogram. This meant that I had to think of ways to clue the numbers and then have the solvers use the one+ space required rule of nonograms to place the numbers in the grid.

Writing the clues was pretty hard for me, especially the 2s. I wanted to come up with a unique clue for each one I wrote, that way, the solver would still have to solve each one (no freebies! :P).

For the most part this uniqueness wasn't a huge issue, but I had so many 2s on the board (I believe 51) that coming up with a unique clue for each one was a task in itself... This part took me a few days to finish (working a few hours on it each day).

As I was writing the clues, I wanted to use primes in some of them, but I didn't want to be overly obvious that I was using primes specifically. So I came up with referring to them as capitalized ordinals. That allowed me the freedom of using the primes in my clues as well as giving the solvers something else to figure out.

Initially I was only going to clue the rows, but as I neared completing those clues I realized that it wasn't enough information to solve the puzzle. As such I had to come up with clues for the columns as well.

After an hour or two more, I had finally finished writing all my clues. Now began the process of posting it. The posting in itself wasn't particularly hard, just long. Plus I had to think of a way to format it.

If you look at the comments on the question (or the edit history) you'll see I went through a few different variations of formatting until I got to one that worked for everyone (or at least most people).

Fun Fact: My favorite clue out of the bunch is "A song sung by Fievel and Tiger (1)"

Second community wiki for the clues

As for the clues:

Rows:

1: {2}

• A pair (1) = 2
• The only Even One cubed, with only Primes (3)
• A uniquely even perfect one (2) = 28 (only 2 digit perfect number)

2: {6}

• One's older brother (1)
• The second Prime (1) = 3

3: {1}

• The Fourth's younger siblings that add to the Fourth (2) = 25 or 52 (two smaller primes that add to the fourth prime, 7)
• A square with itself in the ones place and two older twins and two younger twins (5)

4: {6}

• Binary (1) = 2
• A Pentagon (1) = 5

5: {4}

• Half of a half of a half of a half of a half of a half of 128 (1) = 2
• Sums to seven, the middle (2) 34 or 43 - the 'middle' pair of digits that sum to 7
• A triplet (1)

6: {1}

• An even and an odd (in that order) adding up to the Fourth (2)
• Two ones made with a number three times, its double, and its half (5)22241 in some order - 11 made from 3 2s, a 4 (its double) and a 1 (its half)

7: {3}

• A duo(1) = 2
• A lucky number (in the US) made from an unlucky number (in Japan/China) and one less (2) = 43? (lucky number=7 [sum], unlucky=4, one less=3)
• A perfect made from a number and its double (2)24 or 42 Sum to 6, a perfect number

8: {6}

• A trio less one (1) = 2
• A quad (1) = 4

9: {1}

• A Prime made from non-consecutive Primes (2) 37 (only 2 digit prime to which this applies)
• The Ninth made from a Second, two Thirds, a perfect, and a doubled First(5) = 35564 (second prime=3, third=5, third=5, perfect=6, doubled first=4, sum=ninth prime=23)

10: {5}

• Uno plus one (1) = 2
• The Third (1) = 5 (third prime)
• The Second (1) = 3 (second prime)

11: {6}

• A perfect in half (1) = 3 (6 is a perfect number, three is half that)
• Twice the first on this line (1) = 6? (twice 3?)

12: {3}

• The First (1) = 2 (first prime)
• Thrice the First (1) = 6 (three times the first prime)
• The Fourth, made with a First (2) = 25 or 52 (sum is 7, the fourth prime, and one of the two needs to be the first prime)

13: {3}

• The Third, made with the useless multiplier (2) 51 or 15 - third prime, made by multiplying by 1
• One hand (1) 5 (five fingers on a hand)
• A pair made without twins (2)

14: {1}

• Same of the first on the line above (2)
• Equals this line with three unique Ones, a middleman, and the empty one (5) 28202 or 20282 three unique instances of the first prime, 8 as the middleman (because of the 'belt', and zero is empty. Sums to 14, which is this line

15: {4}

• 12:'s #1 (1)
• A rooted 'no' (1)
• The two useless ones (2)

16: {3}

• The Highest (under a hundred) plus the First divided by 33 (1)
• The fifth in a certain spiral (1)
• Totaling the Fourth using the useless divider and some twins(3) = 313 (total is fourth prime, 7, and useless divider=1, and twins=3 and 3)

17: {4}

• A perfect divided by the First (1)
• The First Cubed, made from Primes (2)
• Same as 18:'s #3

18: {4}

• This line only has one number
• (1)
• The Third and Fourth's middleman(2)
• (1)

19: {4}

• A song sung by Fievel and Tiger (1) = 2 (song is called Duo)
• Totaling the end of this year (year this was originally posted) the last two's root and then half that (2)
• If you add the digits of any of this number's multiples you'll get a multiple of this number (1) = 3 (only number with this property)

20: {1}

• 6:'s #1 (2)
• Totaling double the first clue (on this line) less one, made with three Firsts and two followers (one of each) (5)

21: {4}

• The beginning of this line (1)
• Twice the previous clue plus the end of this line (1)
• Totaling the previous clue using the first one (of this line) (2)

22: {5}

• This line only has one number
• (1)
• Totals an imperfect composite less than one short a decade (2)

23: {1}

• Same as 12:'s last, but flipped (2)
• Totaling Eighth, with a Third, younger twins and older twins (5)

24: {5}

• This line fills the podium, but with only the First in the right place
• (1)
• (1)
• (1)

25: {6}

• Same as the line above, but missing a number
• (1)
• (1)

26: {1}

• Same as line 23: but the last number is one less
• (2)
• (5)

27: {4}

• The digit that starts this line is this one (1)
• A root of this line (1)
• The smallest sum from two different positive integers (2)

28: {4}

• An uncommon operator? Maybe: Maybe not (1)
• The end of this line, only Primes (2)
• Used in squares (1)

29: {5}

• This line only has one number
• (1)
• Totals a square composite that when doubled becomes a cube (2)

30: {1}

• Top and bottom to make a fourth (2)
• Totals the Second squared then doubled, with two Seconds, one above, one below, and a Second doubled (5)

31: {4}

• A trio plus none (2) 30
• A quartet (1) 4
• The Knights Who Say Ni, from Japanese (1) = 2 (ni means 2 in Japanese)

32: {1}

• Same as the clue above but plus one (2)
• Same as 30:'s last but the first is one less (5)

33: {4}

• The powers of two
• (1)
• Twice the previous (1)
• The previous twice (2)

34: {6}

• Looks like 11 (1) = 3 (in binary)
• Looks like 101 (1) = 5 (in binary)

35: {3}

• One higher than 4:'s first (1) = 3 (clue 4's first answer is 2)
• One above plus the previous clue (2)
• Same as the previous clue (2)

36: {3}

• The lower of this line's two factors (1)
• Two Firsts with two useless multipliers in between (4)

Columns:

a: {0}

• Totaling the Twenty-First, with two dozen Firsts, a Fourth's worth of Seconds, and the rest useless one way or another (36) (If capitalized ordinals are primes, then these should sum to 73, with 24 2s, 7 3s, and 4 1s and a 0 to make up the balance)

b: {25}

• All the single numbers are the same
• (1) 7 - see 9 across part 1
• (1)
• (1)
• One less than the singles of this column, twice (2) either 66 or 12, depending on what 'twice' means
• (1)
• (1)
• (1)
• Same as the double clue from this column but with the second being one less, twice (3) either 655 or 111

c: {34}

• Last one to place (1) = 3 (third is the last official "place" in a horse race)
• Runner up (1) = 2

d: {8}

• Totals for this column are:
• 15 (4)
• 44 (9)
• 10 (2)
• 13 (3)
• 20 (4)
• 15 (3)
• 11 (3)

e: {15}

• "C" (1) = 3 (3rd letter?)
• The closest to death, in Asia (1) = 4 (number four sounds like death in Chinese)
• Same as 1:'s second, in the same order (3)
• A leg?, Japanese to English (1)
• N = (C + O)/2 (2) 14 Nitrogen, typical atomic weight 14, which is equal to the average of the typical atomic weights of carbon and oxygen (12 and 16)
• Two Seconds and two Firsts (4)
• Half the previous clue, same numbers (2)
• Consecutive but out of order, Second to Third (3)
• Eyes on the classic nerd (1) = 4 ("four-eyes")
• 16:00 (1) = 4
• All but a confused argument (2)

f: {18}

• The second squared upside-down (1)
• Same as 1:'s last, same order (2)
• Hexagon (1) = 6 (six sides)
• Triangle (1) = 3 (three sides)
• Highest number of consecutive "eyes" in Rome (1)
• Also pound (1)
• A triplet of Firsts followed by their double (4)
• Rectangle (1) = 4 (four sides)
• This paradoxical clue is incorrectly written (323)
• One, two, ..., five six (2) = 34 (filling in the ...)
• A muddled cheese tofu mural (1)

g: {12}

• Like in golf (1) 4 (fore!)
• Double the line this clue is on (1) 6
• Same as 19:'s second but different order (2)
• "E" (1) = 5 (fifth letter)
• The First to e:'s second, with the Third, two Firsts, a useless number, and two Seconds (6)
• Multiplied, its cube. Added, its square (3) 333 (3*3*3 = 27, 3+3+3 = 9)
• Leap Year (1)
• Added, the Third. Subtracted, a useless number. (2)
• Trouble counting, First to a young composite, with a restart (5)
• d:'s last numbers, same order (2)

h: {14}

• Same as the very first number (1)
• Double the very first number (1)
• Two halves made perfect (2)
• Adds to the Second with the First (5)
• You and two friends (1)
• A couple (1) = 2
• You, two friends, and a mirror (2)
• Adds to the Third, with the First twice (3)
• "B" (1) = 2 (second letter)
• Looks like 10 (1) = 2 (in binary)
• One less than a medical means to administer drugs (1) = 3 (IV = 4 in Roman numerals)
• Any thoughts on what all the capitalized ordinals mean? The "First" the "Second" the "Third" etc.? – Dan Russell Oct 25 '16 at 14:22
• At least 2 of the clues were incorrectly interpreted. Both in the columns. – dcfyj Oct 25 '16 at 14:27
• @DanRussell I have a feeling it might be primes, but that's largely a guess – LogicianWithAHat Oct 25 '16 at 14:38

Table

CSV Version

a b c d e f g h
2 : 3 x x : x x  (1)
x : : x : : : :  (2)
x 7 : x x x 6 x  (3)
2 : : 5 : : : :  (4)
2 : : : x x : x  (5)
x 7 : - x x - -  (6)
2 : - - x : - -  (7)
2 : - - : - - -  (8)
3 7 : 3 5 5 6 4  (9)
2 : - - - - - -  (10)
3 : - - - - - -  (11)
x : - - - - - -  (12)
x x : - - - - -  (13)
x x : x x x x x  (14)
x : - - - - - -  (15)
x : - - - - - -  (16)
x : - - - - - -  (17)
x - - - - - - -  (18)
x : - - - - - -  (19)
x 7 : x x x x x  (20)
x : - - - - - -  (21)
x - - - - - - -  (22)
x 7 : x x x x x  (23)
x : - - - - - -  (24)
x : - - - - - -  (25)
x 7 : x x x x x  (26)
x : - - - - - -  (27)
x : - - - - - -  (28)
x : - - - - - -  (29)
x x : x x x x x  (30)
x x : - - - - :  (31)
x x : x x x x x  (32)
x : - - - - - :  (33)
3 : - - - - - -  (34)
x : - - - - - -  (35)
x : - - - - - -  (36)
a b c d e f g h


Can't find a way to insert a table, so I'm setting this up as a community wiki answer for the first part. 'x' represents a space where we know there's a number but don't know what it is yet. ':' represents a space that we know to be blank.

• I added a visual table. Keep updating the CSV version; when it's finished, ping me, I'll add the final version. – Alenanno Oct 25 '16 at 15:46