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Round 5 IB questions

The same puzzles in part A and part B named "Six winds" and "Four winds" correspondingly. Are these different puzzles? What is the purpose of changing name?

I hope that the Puzzle Director will answer your question soon :)

Karel (Admin)

"Special Notes" on the top page in IB section A well implies the answer to your question...

Yes, I had this suspicion, but "four standard directions" does not comply with this version.

So every puzzle in section A can have a hexagonal grid? Or just puzzles 1, 3 and 9?

Can't be all hexagonal, the skyscrapers rules aren't compatible with a hex grid. Well, maybe if there are holes in the grid... But this kind of instruction booklet cuteness doesn't seem in line with how the GP is usually run.

And anyway, with hex six winds, what are the "four standard directions"? And what does it mean for a pill to be 1x3 or 3x1?

I guess there are six standard directions (bad copy/paste?). Not so sure about the non hexagonability of the skyscrapers. It can be slightly adapted for sudokus, therefore for skyscrapers... It is sufficient to say that there are no identical numbers on any line, for example.

Considering hexagonal grids. Could answer rows be highlighted somehow? Following this rows, which "jumps" up and down, adds some unnecessary complications to the puzzles.

Agree with Andrey's post - solving the answer row conundrum in the A section is an unstated further puzzle, one which I am not at all convinced I have correctly solved.

I can't see why you would add so much potential confusion and frustration to the test when there are (to my mind) much simpler alternatives available.