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Listener 4516 - A Defter Premier By Arden
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Not like me to be done on Friday, still less posting first (if indeed I have). I found this very straightforward, but rather tedious, with lots of the same operation, occasionally speeded up with a spreadsheet. I thought the hidden feature would prove challenging, but it didn't.
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A fine numerical from an excellent setter that could be solved sitting comfortably in an armchair with a standard scientific calculator. Lots of nice deductions and reasoning that did away with any need for a computer. I really enjoyed this - thanks Arden. By the way, The Bear69, I find it somewhat disrespectful to give a comment of ' yawn ' especially when it's a setter of Arden's pedigree. This is his 4th Listener numerical and he's set 28 for The Magpie along with 3 in Tough Crosswords and a few for CQ!
Oyler,
I have nothing but admiration for anyone who sets a Listener, particularly the numericals. How anyone can even contemplate the task is beyond me. However, the test of any puzzle lies in the reaction of those who attempt to solve it, not in the pedigree of the setter. Even Euripides didn't write top notch dramas every time, and, sad to say, many of us felt this puzzle was below standard. I could not see anything in the way of deductions or reasoning - I am no mathematician, so could have missed the nuances - and solved this by the simple expedient of finding a starting point and calculating the options. Brute force from a brute. As I intimated above, I almost found the process dull enough to fail to complete. No offence intended to anyone, but this was not the fine dining we have come to expect.
I have nothing but admiration for anyone who sets a Listener, particularly the numericals. How anyone can even contemplate the task is beyond me. However, the test of any puzzle lies in the reaction of those who attempt to solve it, not in the pedigree of the setter. Even Euripides didn't write top notch dramas every time, and, sad to say, many of us felt this puzzle was below standard. I could not see anything in the way of deductions or reasoning - I am no mathematician, so could have missed the nuances - and solved this by the simple expedient of finding a starting point and calculating the options. Brute force from a brute. As I intimated above, I almost found the process dull enough to fail to complete. No offence intended to anyone, but this was not the fine dining we have come to expect.
