Questions tagged [solvability]
A question about whether a puzzle can be solved.
24 questions
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Is it possible to use one sequence of moves to solve the Rubik's cube from any position?
Is there a sequence of moves that can be repeated over and over again which can solve any legal position the Rubik's Cube? If so what is it, and if there's more than one, what's the shortest? If not, ...
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Polyomino T hexomino and rectangle packing into rectangle
Let's pack some (one or more) T hexominoes together with some (one or more) small $a\times b$ rectangles into some bigger $m\times n$ rectangle without holes and overlapping pieces.
For example, I ...
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Polyomino Z pentomino and rectangle packing into rectangle
See my similar question about T hexomino (Polyomino T hexomino and rectangle packing into rectangle)
This is exactly same but with other polyomino - Z pentomino.
Let's pack some (one or more) Z ...
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Fast strategies for solving Einstein's puzzles?
The Einstein's puzzle or zebra puzzle is a well-known logic puzzle. Are there any very easy ways to solve it fast?
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What is the maximum number of solutions a Sudoku puzzle can have?
I've seen Sudoku puzzles that can be solved two different ways. Referring to a traditional 9x9 grid:
Is it possible for a Sudoku puzzle to have more than two solutions? If so, what is the maximum ...
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Alphametic (Verbal Arithmetic) general strategy
According to Wikipedia, Alphametics, also known as verbal arithmetic, can be defined as "a type of mathematical game consisting of a mathematical equation among unknown numbers, whose digits are ...
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Check to see if a Configuration is Possible: prove there's an Hamiltonian path on a connected subset of the square grid graph
Alright, here's a new one for you guys. Instead of solving it, you need to determine if any given configuration is possible to solve, without actually solving it. It needs to be a general method of ...
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Tips for solving poem riddles
Poem riddles are becoming more prolific and more popular on Puzzling.SE (examples: Pacoverflow Riddle Poem, Pacoverflow Riddle Poem #2, Identity Crisis: What Am I?).
Inspired by the 'Tips for Golfing ...
user2174
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How many possible starting positions are uniquely solvable for a nonogram puzzle?
This type of puzzle goes by many names: Nonogram, Picross, and Griddlers are all mentioned on the Wikipedia page, Simon Tatham calls it Pattern, I was introduced to it as Descartes Rainbow, ...
The ...
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General strategies for solving metal disentanglement puzzles
(When I talk about metal disentanglement puzzles, I have in mind Hanayama and Tavern puzzles.)
As opposed to twisty puzzles - which I can approach by playing with commutators and conjugates as a way ...
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Can the rook pass every square just once?
I had a math teacher in high school who gave us a puzzle to solve. We had to draw a chessboard with one piece that could only move in straight paths. Diagonal movement was forbidden. The goal was to ...
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Is solving a puzzle using uniqueness invalid? [duplicate]
(I don't know if this is appropriate to ask here, since it's a bit of a soft question about puzzles, rather than a puzzle itself. I'm not certain about the tags either.)
When I was first introduced ...
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Does the Rubik's Cube in this painting have a solved state?
This is an image of a Rubik's Cube I found in the Men's Toilets during the first day of a big Scrabble tournament.
This position is impossible for the standard Rubik's Cube (White/Red/Blue opposite ...
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Why does the 4x4 Rubik's cube have parity cases, while the 3x3 does not?
I'm a little uncertain as to why these two parity situations occur on the 4x4 Rubik's cube. The first parity case that can occur is this one, where an edge is simply flipped upside down:
The ...
user20
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Does this metal puzzle have a solution (Baguenaudier)
When I was young I got this puzzle as a gift to me.
The aim is to get the long piece out. I haven't yet found a solution, and I'm not sure if there is one
Does this have a solution and if so ...
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Barely Illegal Rubik's Cube State
(If you are not interested in the backstory, you can skip right to the picture.)
At Most Complicated Illegal Partial State of Rubik’s Cube, user @happystar asks a very interesting question about ...
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Should the angels play their game?
Two angels in heaven want to play a game. One of them comes up with an arbitrary, computable function from the integers to the integers. The other angel has to guess what it is. The second angel can ...
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Rubik's cube without any algorithms
I am learning to solve a Rubik's cube using some algorithms (I don't completely understand why they work). I had a Rubik's cube when I was little and I remember solving it 2-3 times without using any ...
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How to solve this 3D wooden puzzle which becomes an interlocking cross?
I got a 3D wooden puzzle in which you are supposed to rebuild. I took pictures of the 6 pieces (click images to enlarge):
I found this image on the Internet. I believe it's the solved version:
How ...
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JonMark Perry's Grid Logic Puzzle
Consider the following puzzle type proposed by JonMark Perry.
Start with a square grid of arrows, each one pointing in one of the four cardinal directions. For example:
You start at the top left. ...
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Web of Spirits - a puzzle of romance
Spirit Web:
Can you figure out the interconnected web of affections among these characters using the provided clues?
Basic Rules:
1: There are exactly three existing relationships.
2: No character in ...
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Solving Rubik's cube with one algorithm [duplicate]
I was wondering if it's possible to solve a Rubik's cube just iterating a single algorithm. It doesn't matter how complex the algorithm is (as long as it is less than 1 million moves), nor the time ...
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Solutions for generic polyomino puzzles
Inspired by Mosaic with tetris blocks I was wondering if there were any generic algorithms to solve or show there was a solution to these types of problems (i.e. placing polyominos on a 2D board).
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Unsolvable sudoku net with maximum blocks
Definitions
For a $9\times9$ grid $G$ (not necessarily respecting sudoku rules), a subset of cells $S$ is defined to be sudoku-friendly if the values in $S$ do not contradict the rules of sudoku.
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