Listener 4334 By Brimstone

[Contrarian]

Much easier than it first appears, if you know where to start.

Thanks Brimstone.

[AHearer]

I thought this was OK, but I think I must have gone wrong somewhere, as I found that the last paragraph of the preamble was necessary to distinguish between two possible solutions rather than being, as appeared, a hint to help with the solution.

[scooterbug]

I'm not sure that I could have completed the final step without the information in the last paragraph. I worked backwards from there.

Maybe there's an underlying mathematical principle with which I am unfamiliar (entirely possible) that simplified the process, but the construction is pretty incredible, no? There's an awful lot going on in the magic cuboid!

[BobHWW]

Yes, I think the last paragraph was a slightly clumsy way of getting round the two possible solutions. Enjoyable none the less. Many thanks Brimstone.

[upsetter]

We had resolved to be grown up about the numerical crossword for the greater good of continuing to aspire to the Magic 52.
The reason why have nonetheless thrown our toys out of the pram is we are sure that this puzzle is incapable of providing entertainment.
A series of reductiones ad absurdum inevitably gives the values of the letters, so the whole thing reduces to avoiding careless mistakes.
If we really have missed an opportunity perhaps someone will let us know.

[trux]

For a numerophobe, I really enjoyed this after I'd got over my initial fear of not even being able to understand the preamble. A truly 3-dimensional puzzle in that each successive stage required a different approach to solving. One EXCEL spreadsheet to confirm some of the bigger numbers, some lateral thinking and scissorwork, then pieced it all together. Most satisfying and rather chuffed. Many thanks to Brimstone. I could become a numerophile after all....

[crosswhit99]

Yes, the starting point wasn't that tricky to find and the gridfill was a logical progression thereafter. With 4096 possible orientations for the cuboid's slices a big spreadsheet did the job without the need for hints. Thanks for the diversion Brimstone !

[perseverer]

Entertainment value? Not sure, but certainly a sense of achievement, and wonder at how you construct such a grid.

[s_pugh]

Admittedly I’m a numerophobe but this one has me utterly lost simply with the preamble. It might have helped encourage more participation if Brimstone had perhaps included an example of how a clue might lead to a given answer, as it is I haven’t a foggiest. Rant over. Puzzle in bin where it belongs.

[midazolam]

s_pugh it is a very straightforward grid fill. The points in the preamble that are noteworthy include: each cell is a number less than 52, parts of clues need to be squared and added to together to form the entry, letters in clues are primes 51 it is too large)

therefore the entry is

A^2 + (A*A)^2 + (A*A*A)^2 + (A*A*A*A)^2 = 340

which is entered with 3 in the first cell and 40 in the second

[please take note crosswordsolver.org: these are the types of hints that are helpful to solvers, not stating A = 2 and the answer is to 1d is 340, as that does not help solvers improve with these advanced thematic crosswords/crossnumbers (if there is such a thing as the latter). When I came to this site a long time ago we decided almost intuitively as a group to help nurture rather than give answers away. The former has been lost over the years and I think should be encouraged, but at least we have kept away from the latter (each to their own I suppose)]

[midazolam]

ignore "51 it is too large" my web page jumped around

I missed out the bit:

it cannot be A = 3 as the entry would be 7335 and as 73 is greater than 51 it is too large

[Monkmonk]

This puzzle is a splendid example of a straightforward numerical and logical exercise. To suggest it belongs in the bin is to do Brimstone a great disservice.

[midazolam]

I think I should give up

It even missed out my made up clue, which was

A, AA, AAA, AAAA (2 cells in length)

but I think you get my drift

[tilbee]

Agreed with some others that the grid fill was straightforward enough. For the final step used purely the helpful information included within the preamble - first to reduce the number of possible options, and then Excel to validate which remaining options would leave a sum of 200 in the original single digit cells. Very satisfying when this worked out (for once) first time. A nice logical challenge so thanks to Brimstone.

[AndrewG-S]

Lovely puzzle, I preferred working out the endgame to the puzzle itself , which once broken into became less interesting as it progressed but that is often the way with numericals. Many thanks brimstone for a good logic challenge.

[jockie]

I'm glad that constructing a spreadsheet is far too troublesome. Once I had the gridfill, working out the required rotations took only 1 1/2 sides of A4 and about 45 minutes of trial and error. Reducing the 4096 possibilities to about 60 was the breakthrough.

[Cloverjo]

I really enjoyed this. I love the numerical Lsteners. I know that once you get the entry it's usually a logical progression to the finish, but I loved the idea and construction of it.
On crosswordsolver.com I don't think anyone will say A = whatever. They might give a hint to the best clue to try to solve first. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

[icynorth]

I'm assuming this thread is for appreciation rather than hints, although it's difficult with this puzzle to do one without the other.

It's a fascinating pattern, and the puzzle stretched my abilities to work out the necessary rotations - well done!

[rickyjohn200]

what does a 3 by 3 by 7 cuboid looklike ie how do uihave a top middle and bottom this make no sense what so ever

[Atherun]

Would it be ok for someone to give a hint (which clue to start with etc. or a walk through 1 clue?) am confused but highly numerate. What do the bars in the grid mean. Why is there no clue for 2ac etc. thanks

[Cloverjo]

Rickyjohn, I don't know if I'm allowed to do this but anyway: if you could cut the grid up into 3 sets of 3 rows and put them on top of each other (also imagining that each layer has the same thickness as the side of a square in the grid) you'd have a cuboid.