Slashdot Mirror
Google-Sponsored 2004 US Puzzle Championship
kublai kahn writes "On the NPR Weekend
Edition Sunday puzzle segment this past weekend, Will Shortz mentioned
the 2004 US Puzzle Championship,
sponsored by Google. Registration
closes on Thursday 17 June, and the competition is conducted online on
Saturday 19 June. "The top two US contestants will be selected to
join the US Team at the World Puzzle Championship in Opatija,
Croatia. Prizes will be awards to the top US contestants." (This was
mentioned on Slashdot last
year as well.) I'll be away from my internet connection over the
weekend, but perhaps others from the Slashdot crowd can compete.
Check the practice
test to see if it's your cup of tea."
You'll be away from your internet connection?
Away...
uh...
I just don't get it.
<grrr>
The first puzzle would be how to avoid getting slashdotted.
Get the PDF file containing the instructions while the server has been slashdotted. Now that's a challenge!
For the real test, you should print and read the Preview Instructions well in advance of the actual test. The Preview Instructions may include special last-minute instructions that will not appear elsewhere.
...get...instructions...well...in...advance...but. ..must...get...last...minute...instructions...
Okay I'm out. My brain already hurts...
I was in the park the other day wondering why frisbees get bigger and bigger the closer they get - and then it hit me.
And when I discovered they weren't talking about tetris, the white dove of hope came crashing back to earth in a fiery ball of feathers.
At least I get some roasted avian out of the deal...
#define CLUE 0
Do you actually think that there are 200,000 slashdotters that actually click links to RTFA? Let reduce that number down a bit.. say 5?
Hmmm.
Here's a puzzle for you: walk on a bridge and find a way to instantaneously reduce the weight on the bridge by an amount that is exactly your weight.
"Yes, I have a Disaster Recovery Plan. It's called my Resume"
This practice puzzle is a typical example of what you might expect to see at the Championship. There are other types of puzzles in the test, so if you don't score well on this don't lose all hope!
.
The following might sound easy but it's harder than it sounds. The hardest puzzles are always the ones with the fewest rules!
PRACTICE PUZZLE
Join the dots with a line. There are only four rules:
1. Only straight lines are to be used (no curves, bends or corners)
2. These straight lines must start and end at a dot
3. You may only go through a dot one time
4. You may NOT intersect lines
5. You may NOT lift the pen from the paper during the process of solving the puzzle once you have laid it on the paper
Are you ready?
Here's the puzzle:
.
(NOTE: If you run out of ink once you start the puzzle you will be disqualified)
(NOTE 2: this is a 2-dimensional puzzle. Any attempts to solve this puzzle in three-dimensional space will result in disqualification.)
Scoring:
less than 3 minutes - Incredible! We recommend you take part in the competition. May we commend your parent's rearing skills!
3-6 minutes - Pretty good. If your skills in other types of puzzles are at this level or higher, we recommend signing up! You might have been deficient in some nutrients as a child.
6-12 minutes - Decent. If this type of puzzle is not your forté and you are better at others you might still have a chance.
12-20 minutes - Poor. Sorry, but your dot-connecting skills are not up to par with our competition. This is probably because you were dropped on your head as a baby.
Over 20 minutes - Abysmal. Your parents must have a postgraduate degree in any social sciences subject. Thus is life.
"We have an A-Bomb...what more do you want, mermaids?" --I.I. Rabi, speaking in defense of Robert Oppenheimer
Google + Boggle =
Boogle! Fun for the entire family! Do a hidden word search on each Google query!
Bryan R.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, or $12.50 as seen on eBay.....
...it's Puzzlemaster Will Shortz. Please show proper respect, or we will send a (24-Down) to (10-Across) out your porch light.
Rule number one, all things are never equal.
You are in a maze of twisted little posts, all alike.
Join the dots with a line. There are only four rules:
1. Only straight lines are to be used (no curves, bends or corners)
2. These straight lines must start and end at a dot
3. You may only go through a dot one time
4. You may NOT intersect lines
5. You may NOT lift the pen from the paper during the process of solving the puzzle once you have laid it on the paper
Are you ready?
"I see five rules"
"I'm sorry, but there are actually only four rules"
[ZOT!]
"AAAGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
char *mySig;
It's in the middle of f'n nowhere and you want me to go there to solve puzzles? What am I supposed to do for fun, cross the border and pick me up some romanian women???......
sign me up...
Wheel of Time: Book by Book and Sumview (summary review) Bigdady92 style: http://bigdady92.blogspot.com/
Oh, you have to love the opt-in selection on the registration page:
Click here if you would like to be contacted by Google regarding employment opportunities and other promotions.
Pay me $100k to work for them or spam me to decrease my mortgage payment while I increase my penis size; it's all the same, right? Why, Google, why?