Listener 4281: Sporn By Hedgehog

[AHearer]

A very straightforward numerical. I was surprised at how few candidates there were for some of the number patterns, giving very clear entry points to the puzzle. Thanks, Hedgehog, for not taking up as much of my weekend as usually goes into a numerical!

[TheBear69]

Yawn...Sorry, Hedgehog, much too easy, even without a good entry point, brute force works pretty quickly.

[jim360]

I thought the cluing method was fairly novel, although after initial entry it became a case of searching for long squares or primes with a particular pattern. Oh well. Thanks Hedgehog for a clever miniature.

[Contrarian]

Far too easy, I'm afraid.

[AndrewG-S]

Fairly fun and novel, but very quick. No calculator needed at all. Definitely one for the numberphobes to try.

[emcee]

Good beginner's puzzle and a novel idea. Thanks, Hedgehog.

[roslyn251254]

Wow - I've finished 3 consecutive Listeners - I'm addicted! Luckily I'm a mathematician so this one was good for me!!

[trux]

Alas, don't really think this is a Listener puzzle at all. You generate/consult long lists of Squares and Primes, work out possible candidates and fit them in jigsaw-style based on their patterns. (Almost) no logic required. No endgame. No fun except for the satisfaction of completing the puzzle fairly quickly. No point in my view. Sorry, Hedgehog.

[jim360]

I was thinking though, it this the closest we'll get to an NP-complete Listener?

[trux]

Aaargh, Jim lad ... had missed the subtle nuance of it all in that it's a 100% pure numerical puzzle. Except it isn't. It's a number-search puzzle. No calculations / logic really needed at all. Still winning the Z cup hands down.

[doctormatt]

Yes: quite quick and easy! Good job as we're away tomorrow.

[JustinTime]

Not just yawn. yawn squared.
Agree with trux - a number fill in problem, at Daily Express level at best.
maybe we could reduce the numericals to three a year.

[TheBear69]

As measured by entries to John Green, numericals are more popular, so there's no way they will be reduced. The Magpie has 12 per year and those are almost always first rate, so we should not judge the class from this example.

[Ruthrobin]

Has anyone else got a non-unique solution?

[olichant]

Ruthrobin - no, but I initially thought I had...

[aldanna]

Ruthrobin - as I am uninterested in numericals I am not doing this one but Himself has nearly finished and currently does have a non-unique solution. He is (doubtless corectly) assuming he has made some error.

[olichant]

Please ignore my post, sent in haste. I did have an ambiguity, resolved by re-reading the preamble, but I suspect that is not what you are referring to.

[Ruthrobin]

Thanks, no the preamble was carefully read and removes that possibility. Still seem to have a non-unique solution.

[Ruthrobin]

Spotted my error - all is well!

[upsetter]

The fundamental feature of a good Listener is that it puts a smile on ones face. This did not.

[Oyler]

This puzzle is far from a yawn! It is a very fine example of what a good numerical puzzle should be. In fact it is one of the best in recent years. No silicon required at all just logic and a few basic facts about square and prime numbers. Bliss. For those who found it all too easy I have typed up the 36 puzzles that Rhombus had published in Games and Puzzles magazine along with a copy of his article on how to set numerical puzzles. Details on how to get these are on the Crossword Centre's message board. I would point out that these puzzles were published in the 1970s - a pre-internet and pre-PC ( in both senses ) era and as such should be tackled in that spirit! So if you think you're up to it then get in touch. As for fewer numerical puzzles, I would argue the opposite. We setters in this genre are trying to encourage people to give them a go and as such some puzzles may be at the easier end but that should not belittle Hedgehog's achievement in setting an excellent puzzle which had a most welcome and novel clueing method and no denouement!! Well done Hedgehog. I, for one, found this a positive delight.