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Hello,

here is a puzzle I created. I plan to post a few more in the near future. If you like it, google Cubiscape for more.

Goal:

You are the blue ball and have to get to the green square without being caught by the red or blue cube.

screen shot

Rules:

  • Game is turn based.
  • Each turn you can move by one tile and both the red and blue cube can also move by one. You move first, then moves the blue cube and then the red cube. You cannot skip your move.
  • Moves are only possible horizontally (left/right) or vertically (up/down).
  • The red cube is chasing you. It will always seek to get closer to you. If it can choose from either going horizontally or vertically, it will always prefer going horizontally. If any available move would put it further away from you, it will not move. If it ever reaches the tile you are standing on, you lose.
  • The blue cube always mimics your last move. If it is not possible, it does nothing. If you move to a tile occupied by the blue cube, you lose.
  • When you reach the green tile, both cubes still get to do their moves. If they reach you, you still lose.

Important Notes:

  • The cubes can block each other. You probably should use that to your advantage ;)
  • This puzzle is more difficult than my last one and the shortest solution (that I know of) is over 15 steps long. Better get a piece of paper :)
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  • $\begingroup$ I think your image link needs to start with just "http" not "https", I can open it with the first but not the second. These are a lot easier to play around and experiment with in the app, working on it though. $\endgroup$
    – Mike Ball
    Mar 14, 2017 at 20:37
  • $\begingroup$ Yes, the app gives instant feedback. I'm trying to pick those that are doable on paper. The last one got solved quickly, so this time it's more difficult. If it proves to be too much I will post a slightly easier one tomorrow :) $\endgroup$
    – PeterK
    Mar 14, 2017 at 20:45
  • $\begingroup$ Btw I removed the 's' from https but for some reason it seems to stay when i confirm the edit? Or is it just me seeing it there? $\endgroup$
    – PeterK
    Mar 14, 2017 at 20:50
  • $\begingroup$ I still can't see the image. I'm a bit of an SO noob though so idk what's going wrong, hopefully a mod sees the struggle and can help fix it. $\endgroup$
    – Mike Ball
    Mar 14, 2017 at 20:55
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    $\begingroup$ StackExchange is moving to exclusively https for images, and part of that process is it no longer accepts http protocol URLs, but will quietly translate to https if possible; i.stack.imgur.com URLs in particular will be converted for you. In the future (if not already), attempting to add an image from an http URL which cannot be automatically corrected for you will in fact be rejected outright. Apparently at the moment there's an issue with the https service on imgur, which makes proper URLs fail to show their images; this should be temporary. $\endgroup$
    – Rubio
    Mar 14, 2017 at 22:33

2 Answers 2

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right right right right left left left up up down right left down right right right up up up up

or moves in the end - right right up up right up up

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  • $\begingroup$ Perfect! This is the shortest solution i know of (there is another variant, but takes same amount of moves). Good job! $\endgroup$
    – PeterK
    Mar 14, 2017 at 21:04
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Assuming I didn't accidentally simulate the AI wrong somewhere I think you should be able to go

right, right, up, down, left, up, right, right, up, right, up, left, left, left, down, down, right, down, left, up, right, right, right, up, up, up
So the puzzle starts like this
Initial Puzzle
where light blue is the player, dark blue is the blue cube, red is the red cube, and green is the goal tile. After the first 7 moves we've positioned the red cube directly behind us with no regard for the blue cube, giving us this position
Step one
So we go all the way to the right and up to "attach" ourselves to the blue cube, with the red cube chasing us. Note my original solution had steps 9 and 10 swapped, which would allow the red cube to catch us, I believe this solution forces the red cube to take a path that keeps us safe.
Step two
Then we go down, causing the red cube to be blocked by the blue one and lag behind us, then catch the blue cube on the pillar in the middle to get on the right of it, allowing us to ultimately get to the end.
Step three
Finally we perform the same maneuver as at the beginning of the puzzle to get the red cube chasing us again, this time with the blue cube out of the way
Step four
Then beeline to the end tile, and victory!

But that might not be the most optimal route. I've been informed that this isn't the optimal route

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  • $\begingroup$ This solution is correct. A shorter one exists though, requiring 20 moves. $\endgroup$
    – PeterK
    Mar 14, 2017 at 20:49
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    $\begingroup$ I figured mine was a little long >.< if I get a chance later tonight I'll take another crack at it. Really fun app btw, I've been quite enjoying it :) $\endgroup$
    – Mike Ball
    Mar 14, 2017 at 20:51
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    $\begingroup$ Nice visualization Mike :) $\endgroup$
    – PeterK
    Mar 14, 2017 at 21:19

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