Puzzles with Multiple Solutions

[GoogleCodeExporter]

It's bad form in the KenKen puzzle creating world to allow puzzles with 
multiple solutions.  That is, 
there should be only one combination of numbers which can legally fill the 
puzzle space.  Since you 
are most likely generating your puzzles, it would be good to include a puzzle 
solver which can 
detect if there are multiple solutions, such as:
http://www.mlsite.net/blog/?p=121

If multiple solutions are discovered, then the puzzle should be thrown out and 
another generated. 
Or, there may be a way to prevent multiple solutions through an alteration in 
the puzzle generation.  
I haven't studied coding a KenKen generator, so I'm not sure.

Either way, if there are multiple solutions to a KenKen puzzle, it drives a 
human solver nuts.  This 
KenKen program from Android would be so much better if you could eliminate (or 
at least choose 
to eliminate via Settings) puzzles with multiple solutions.

Original issue reported on code.google.com by say...@gmail.com on 20 Dec 2009 at 3:17

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Examples of rage over multiple-solution puzzles:
http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=9769&page=6

Original comment by say...@gmail.com on 20 Dec 2009 at 3:55

[GoogleCodeExporter]

http://code.google.com/p/pyken/

"occasionally, it will even generate a puzzle for which there are two (or more) 
very similar solutions, although this unwanted behaviour is slowly being 
stamped out."

So maybe they have some idea of how to do it?

Original comment by omegat...@gmail.com on 6 Sep 2010 at 3:51

[GoogleCodeExporter]

[deleted comment]

[GoogleCodeExporter]

[deleted comment]

[GoogleCodeExporter]

A fix for this is being developed/tested and should be available in the next 
release.

Original comment by em...@srlee.com on 26 Oct 2010 at 7:17

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Original comment by em...@srlee.com on 8 Nov 2010 at 4:29

• Changed state: Fixed

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Now that this has been fixed (nearly a year later), when can we expect the 
update? Going through all the comments on the app in the Market seems to 
support my original thought that people are really unhappy with the multiple 
solutions for a single puzzle.

Original comment by say...@gmail.com on 8 Nov 2010 at 10:03

[GoogleCodeExporter]

[deleted comment]

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I also noticed all the comments in the Market, which is why I joined the 
project as a developer, to try and solve this.

The owner of the project is away at the moment (only he can do an official 
market release), but I expect it will be updated in the Market within the next 
two weeks. Let's hope people will revise their comments once they've got the 
update ;-)

For those who can't wait, have Android 1.6 or later and know how to install it 
manually, I've attached the latest apk file. This version also supports 
installing to SD Card.

Original comment by em...@srlee.com on 9 Nov 2010 at 12:35

Attachments:

• Mathdoku.apk

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Ah, why thank you. I shall install this apk and be happy ^_^

Original comment by say...@gmail.com on 9 Nov 2010 at 1:22

[GoogleCodeExporter]

When selecting the checkbox for Maybe and placing notes, the numbers that 
appear have overly tight kerning. The numbers are spaced horizontally in such a 
way that the numbers are difficult to read.

Using tentative version 1.6 on Motorola Droid running Android 2.2

Original comment by say...@gmail.com on 9 Nov 2010 at 1:52

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Was hesitant to post the above as an actual bug as it may only be an issue with 
the tentatively released apk file.

Original comment by say...@gmail.com on 9 Nov 2010 at 1:53

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Thanks for posting the problem with the "maybe" numbers. It was a result of 
changing the minSdkVersion from 3 to 4 for the apk file, which causes the 
reported screen resolution to change! That in turn highlighted some code that 
was using a hardcoded value, instead of using the device resolution.

I've now fixed the code (and it should make better use of the space available, 
so you can fit more 'maybe' numbers on a 7x7 or 8x8 grid).

New package available: "Mathdoku-1.6beta.apk" on the Downloads tab (above).

Thanks again for reporting it, so it could be fixed before releasing on the 
Market. 

Original comment by em...@srlee.com on 9 Nov 2010 at 5:34

[GoogleCodeExporter]

No problem, thank you for all your help and work!

I have loaded the new beta file, and the spacing is excellent for the smaller 
boards now.

However, the 8x8 overflows the box if you use all maybe numbers. And really, 
the 7x7 and 8x8 both overflow a bit once you reach the 7th maybe number.

I have seen other KenKen apps which display the maybes as a grid instead of a 
line. It would be a 2x2 for the 4x4, and a 3x3 for the rest, centered on the 
selected square. It's important to keep the placement of each number spatially 
consistent, so that the user can rely on spatial memory to quickly glance and 
know which numbers are being considered.

So the two grids would always be:

1 2
3 4

1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9

And upon selecting a maybe number, the number would appear on this grid in its 
standard location centered on the selected space. 

The Alternate Theme option also doesn't seem to change the theme. What's the 
plan with that?

Sorry to be a bother, handle these things in the priority which you see fit.

I'm still running all this on the Motorola Droid running Android 2.2
The above notes refer to Mathdoku-1.6beta.apk from November, 9 2010

Original comment by say...@gmail.com on 9 Nov 2010 at 5:59

[GoogleCodeExporter]

>> The Alternate Theme option also doesn't seem to change the theme. What's the 
plan with that?
Issue 5 raised for this bug.

Original comment by em...@srlee.com on 16 Nov 2010 at 7:09

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Issue 10 has been merged into this issue.

Original comment by em...@srlee.com on 2 Dec 2010 at 4:58

[GoogleCodeExporter]

The multiple solution issue seems to have returned in the latest version.

Original comment by david.j....@gmail.com on 6 Jan 2011 at 5:59

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I haven't seen any multiple solution puzzles recently (and I've done a lot of 
playing!). If you see any examples, could you please post the details (maybe 
try to take a readable picture with a camera and attach the picture here).

Original comment by em...@srlee.com on 6 Jan 2011 at 8:15

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I've been playing this on my commute every morning and evening and haven't run 
into any multiple solution issues. However, I'll keep my eyes open for any. The 
only time I really run into difficulty with a solution is when there are far 
too many addition/subtraction cages compared to multiplication/division. 
Perhaps make some considerations for balance of signs in the puzzle?

Original comment by say...@gmail.com on 6 Jan 2011 at 2:30

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Ok, if I'm the only one who's seen it, perhaps I was mistaken. I didn't think 
to save the game in question, but if I think I run into it again, I'll be sure 
to post. Thanks for the quick responses, though, and I really like the recent 
improvements!

Original comment by david.j....@gmail.com on 7 Jan 2011 at 4:22

[GoogleCodeExporter]

[deleted comment]

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Original comment by paul.din...@gmail.com on 15 Mar 2013 at 2:37

• Changed state: Verified