![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
If anyone has e-mailed me since June 18th, I have just accidentally deleted your mail without looking at it. Sorry about that; please mail me again. (And what a world we live in where we tell each other about such mishaps this way...)
About eighteen months ago, I posted about the croco-puzzle site featuring logic puzzles of around three dozen different types and a walk-through (now slightly out of date) for participation in its daily puzzle structure. Since then I have been solving the daily puzzles most days, though I know to look in advance and see whether the puzzles are likely to take me half an hour or not and decide whether I have the time to spare. It's provided me with plenty of fun puzzles and a great deal of the most enjoyable sort of frustration.
I made passing mention of a ladder competition that I have run for most of that time on the UK Puzzle Association forum, which has added a little something to participation for about a dozen or so of us. In truth, the ladder has not quite taken off to the extent I had hoped, in part because of the degree of commitment it has required and possibly in part due to some slightly erratic administration on my part. We may have drawn about as much fun as there is to be had from the ladder already and in about three months' time, we'll take a break.
The timing of this is based on the forthcoming inauguration of the Croco-League, a team competition based on solving puzzles on that site. The description is all in German, and consequently I haven't heard as much discussion about the forthcoming league as I think there should have been. The league structure is cleverly designed, welcomes puzzle solvers of all standards so long as they have a basic familiarity with at least some of the site's puzzle types, and will require players to solve no more than three puzzles in alternate weeks. Participation is free.
( Description of play. )
In conclusion, I think this looks tremendous. Looking at the sign-up list there are teams from Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Japan, China, the Czech Republic and Serbia as well as different parts of Germany. I know of at least seven UK solvers who are interested in being on a team, so it's likely that there will be at least two UK teams.
I reckon the "national team" approach doesn't work so well if there are more than six people from a nation who want to take part; I'd much rather represent a smaller part of the UK rather than representing a UK B- (or, more likely, D- or E-) team, but this is a personal viewpoint. Similarly, I would expect there are enough US- and Canada- based solvers to generate several US teams, when the US logic puzzle family gets as excited about the existence of the league as it should. (There is one "Team US/UK", but I don't know anyone on it; I don't even know where the people are based.) US logic puzzle family, consider yourselves informed!
Some familiarity with the Croco-Puzzle interface would be helpful but is by no means essential - after all, you can practice with several years' worth of prize puzzles, in conjunction with the English-language translations of the puzzles' rules. If you've ever wanted to be part of a logic puzzle team in a meaningful team competition, but (like me) have no chance of getting on one of the national teams for the world championships, there are no better opportunities.
Anyone else, particularly UK-based, interested in signing up for a team? I can put you in the right place!
About eighteen months ago, I posted about the croco-puzzle site featuring logic puzzles of around three dozen different types and a walk-through (now slightly out of date) for participation in its daily puzzle structure. Since then I have been solving the daily puzzles most days, though I know to look in advance and see whether the puzzles are likely to take me half an hour or not and decide whether I have the time to spare. It's provided me with plenty of fun puzzles and a great deal of the most enjoyable sort of frustration.
I made passing mention of a ladder competition that I have run for most of that time on the UK Puzzle Association forum, which has added a little something to participation for about a dozen or so of us. In truth, the ladder has not quite taken off to the extent I had hoped, in part because of the degree of commitment it has required and possibly in part due to some slightly erratic administration on my part. We may have drawn about as much fun as there is to be had from the ladder already and in about three months' time, we'll take a break.
The timing of this is based on the forthcoming inauguration of the Croco-League, a team competition based on solving puzzles on that site. The description is all in German, and consequently I haven't heard as much discussion about the forthcoming league as I think there should have been. The league structure is cleverly designed, welcomes puzzle solvers of all standards so long as they have a basic familiarity with at least some of the site's puzzle types, and will require players to solve no more than three puzzles in alternate weeks. Participation is free.
( Description of play. )
In conclusion, I think this looks tremendous. Looking at the sign-up list there are teams from Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Japan, China, the Czech Republic and Serbia as well as different parts of Germany. I know of at least seven UK solvers who are interested in being on a team, so it's likely that there will be at least two UK teams.
I reckon the "national team" approach doesn't work so well if there are more than six people from a nation who want to take part; I'd much rather represent a smaller part of the UK rather than representing a UK B- (or, more likely, D- or E-) team, but this is a personal viewpoint. Similarly, I would expect there are enough US- and Canada- based solvers to generate several US teams, when the US logic puzzle family gets as excited about the existence of the league as it should. (There is one "Team US/UK", but I don't know anyone on it; I don't even know where the people are based.) US logic puzzle family, consider yourselves informed!
Some familiarity with the Croco-Puzzle interface would be helpful but is by no means essential - after all, you can practice with several years' worth of prize puzzles, in conjunction with the English-language translations of the puzzles' rules. If you've ever wanted to be part of a logic puzzle team in a meaningful team competition, but (like me) have no chance of getting on one of the national teams for the world championships, there are no better opportunities.
Anyone else, particularly UK-based, interested in signing up for a team? I can put you in the right place!
