Hashiwokakero
Japanese Logic Puzzles #6
Mcreaser is a big fan of geocaching. He's also a fan of
Japanese-style logic puzzles, and so, he thought, why not put them
together?
Everyone knows about the archetypal Japanese logic puzzle,
Sudoku. Less well known, but equally rewarding, are some of the
other puzzles made popular in Japan, particularly in the puzzle
magazine, Nikoli. To find this cache, you must solve the
following moderately difficult Hashiwokakero puzzle.
Note: The letters are not part of the puzzle proper, they are only
used for retrieving the coordinates from the solved puzzle.
Like all such puzzles, there is software available to
automatically solve Hashiwokakero. Please do not use a
computer program to solve this puzzle. The goal of this
series is to introduce geocachers to other logic challenges, and
using computer software defeats that purpose. The above puzzle is
not overly difficult and can be solved inside of 15 minutes once
you've learned the rules.
There is a short tutorial on solving Hashiwokakero puzzles at
Nikoli.
Once you have completed the puzzle, you may find the coordinates
using the following formula. The value of each letter in the puzzle
is how many bridges cross that letter.
N 44 37.ABC W 63 39.DEF
- A = a + b
- B = c + d
- C = e * f
- D = g
- E = (h * i) + j
- F = k * l
The cache is a small camoed container (suitable for small trade
items) that is located just off the back-of-the-lake trail in Long
Lake Park. It will probably take about an hour to hike to this
location and back again. This geocache is not winter friendly.
Please close the lid tightly and replace the cache exactly as
found.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on
Geochecker.com.