lat-puzz.com

by **peter365** » Tue Nov 24, 2015 2:05 pm

Hi there fellow puzzlers.

Using Balin's locking method I've archived the previous chatroom as it was getting a bit long.

Please get this new chat off to a flyer by posting something interesting or funny.

Peter

by **Balin** » Tue Nov 24, 2015 11:04 pm

Not sure how interesting this is, nor is it funny, but it's a bit odd going into Thanksgiving this year without the annual Nimue speech as to why she doesn't like Thanksgiving.

by **peter365** » Wed Nov 25, 2015 9:27 am

True and equally strange not to be looking forward to a woubit Christmas brain buster. I miss those days.

by **Balin** » Thu Nov 26, 2015 1:34 pm

That said, I do wish everyone here a very enjoyable and happy Thanksgiving.

by **KayleeArafinwiel** » Sun Nov 29, 2015 5:25 am

I am not Nimue, nor am I woubit. However:

I did not like Thanksgiving for many years, ever since my parents split on that day when I was 13.

Thursday, after 17 years of essentially hating/dreading Thanksgiving on a regular basis, I finally had a good time again. *is relieved* My friend Michelle invited my mother and I, and her parents to join her at her house. We brought three pies from Marie Callender's restaurant.

...it's very odd to know Nimue's not going to ask me what I ate, but on the off chance anyone cares, it was turkey breast, riced potatoes, mixed vegetables, crescent rolls, gravy, cranberries, and stuffing (with no onion) as well as apple pie and pecan caramel pie with pumpkin mousse. (We also brought regular pumpkin pie, but I did not have that) There were also creamed onions on offer, but since I can't have onions I was not expected to partake.

Martinelli's sparkling cider (non-alcoholic, that is) and water were on offer to drink. I had both.

Christmas puzzle? Anyone?

*misses woubit*

Kaylee

by **Lynne** » Sun Nov 29, 2015 2:23 pm

The only time I've ever attended a Thanksgiving meal was with my niece and family. We sat at the side and weren't offered anything to eat or drink. People came and talked to us and we watched people enjoy their meal. But at least being on Skype we didn't have to do any washing up.

by **peter365** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 2:43 pm

No doubt the retail sector are hungrily eyeing up Thanksgiving as another selling opportunity. I've just recovered from having Black Friday shoved down my throat. I love the states but not every one of their traditions has to travel over here.

by **Lynne** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 3:19 pm

I loathe going out shopping at the best of times so Black Friday would be my worst nightmare. Online shopping is my m.o. Apart from anything else, the regular shop rarely has my choice of books (I download all fiction anyway to save space and money). I hate clothes shopping but I will buy the odd top if I'm dragged out to Asda. Yep, His Nibs is the Food Shopper Extraordinaire. We're Prime members of Amazon and currently have a no-rush option for posting. By choosing that instead of next day delivery you get a £3 credit for downloadable products. So far I've got £21 towards my Kindle books. Yay for family wishlists that include items from Amazon!

by **wolfier** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:36 pm

I hate having Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoved down my throat too but I just can't skip reading what Flipp sends me these days :p

by **Balin** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 12:55 am

I don't think I've ever shopped on Black Friday. I don't like crowds so that would just be a BAD idea.

by **peter365** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 9:52 am

But at least in the US Black Friday makes some sense because it coincides with the Thanksgiving holiday and most people (I believe) have a day off. In Europe it's an ordinary working day so it makes no sense.

by **wolfier** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 7:41 am

Yeah in Canada it makes zero sense, as well, since it is just a regular work day. We treat it as a taste of what's to come during our usual "boxing week" sales.

by **Lynne** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:19 am

I've said this before but my flabber was gasted when I read that Sales now start on Boxing Day in the UK (and Canada??) I worked at Harrods when I first left school. I lived in London but returned home to the Midlands for Christmas. With no public transport on Christmas Day I would have missed the holiday totally if I'd had to work the next day. Sales were occasions when there was no leave - in 1975 my brother in NY had to arrange his wedding around the summer Sale if I was to be there.

by **peter365** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 10:43 am

I'm with you on this Lynne, I think it's a disgrace that for a lot of retail staff Christmas night is a school night. The only way to stop it is for the customers to ignore shopping on St Stephen's Day (that's what we call boxing day here in Ireland).

by **Lynne** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:52 pm

I've been debating getting a Kindle proper. At the moment I use my phone (I was surprised that it's not too small for me - in fact 50-60 words at a glance is optimum for speed reading if you need to do that) or I use the program on my laptop. I can then knit and read at the same time, which is great when doing blankets for the family (on my fifth so far).

I wondered about a Kindle in order to have an alternative gadget. I read a one star review and it complained of ads taking up space on the page. He/she said that you can pay for the option not to have them but you still have a scrolling bar of about 1cm. If that scrolls, I would have serious eye problems trying to read. I'd feel seasick, rather like reading the old microfiches.

Is that really the case? I don't get ads on the iPhone app or laptop program. Why get them when you've forked out for a Kindle?

Also I had problems with my music on my iPhone. Itunes took back all but one track of an album I'd bought. I don't remember getting a refund, but I didn't notice for a long time. IThe full album is on my iPod and as I now never connect it to Itunes it's safe. I'm happy not to connect it - there's a ton of stuff on there and I just keep it as is and download any new music onto my phone. BUT they can take stuff off the phone if they want to, or add to it (U2 album anyone? - took up space I could ill afford). So the question I'm asking is - if I download my entire library onto a Kindle (as opposed to my phone or laptop) and then never connect it back to the internet, are the books safe? Or could they be taken by 3G or something?

If you've read this far - thank you!

Anybody got experience of them, for or against?

by **wolfier** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 1:26 am

I've had a Kobo. When I read on it the scroll bar does not really bother me.

However, ever since I've had a phablet it had since been fallen into disuse. After all I have to charge the phone nightly anyway and I seldom read in the dark, so not having e-Ink isn't an issue.

However if you're considering a usual ereader with LCD screen, would much rather use a tablet.

by **jondahr** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 7:59 pm

Greetings, inhabitants of the Chatroom!

First of all: I caught up with the renewed LTPF just recently and would just like to say how glad I am to find the forum live and kicking (ow!).

However, after the reincarnation the capital J of my nick seems to have vanished? Does anyone know why this is?

Looking forward to many, many more puzzling times with you all!

by **wolfier** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 8:10 pm

Two men walk into a bar.
One man orders H2O. The other says,
"I'll have H2O, too".
The second man dies.

No, it is not a puzzle

by **peter365** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 9:51 am

I'd imagine drinking Hydrogen Peroxide is pretty dangerous :lol:

Hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of merging your post with the general chatroom.

by **peter365** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 9:53 am

Welcome back jondahr (Jondahr) not sure what happened to your captial J but it's nice to see you back around these parts.

by **biograd** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 7:08 pm

I had a dream last thing this morning before I woke up that resembles Balin's "causality" puzzles. I'd have made it into a puzzle myself if it weren't for the fact that (given it was a dream), many of the links are so improbable in real life that nobody could guess them. I couldn't have guessed them myself, if someone else had told me part of the dream and asked me to fill in the blanks.

And "phablet" is a good word.

by **Admin** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 11:20 pm

If you want or need a last minute Christmas present then why not one of the these lateral puzzles books?
[url]
http://www.destination-innovation.com/a ... zle-books/[/url]

by **peter365** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 8:45 am

Dear Admin

I've solved 7 of the 8 Christmas Cracker riddles that you emailed to me but the last one is driving me crazy . I know it's something really obvious and simple but I just can't see it. I thought it might be something to do with the alphabet but I'm stuck. Please help.

A woman is behind you yet you are not in front of her. How come?

by **GalFisk** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 4:35 pm

Are you back to back, both behind the other? Or is this something entirely different, since an alphabet appears to be involved?

I'll not be posting any more new puzzles this year, as I'm leaving for Sicily in a couple of weeks. Two weeks of good daylight and above-freezing temperatures? Yes please.
Maybe i'll even find inspiration for some good puzzles.

I haven't seen RedWine here in a while. I liked her puzzles and that we live in similar time zones. I hope she returns.

by **WiZ** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 7:09 pm

I think back-to-back is the correct answer. Unless she's 'behind you' in the figurative sense, supporting you in whatever you're trying to achieve.

I also think the forum, like a cheese evening, steak dinner or Catholic mass, is the poorer for the absence of Redwine.

by **Lynne** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 9:01 pm

Good to see you Wiz! Got a job yet? There are lots of questions waiting for you on your puzzle!

by **peter365** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 8:51 am

I'd echo that sentiment Lynne. I need to know WiZ's theory on Irish pub's mirrors.

by **WiZ** » Sun Dec 20, 2015 10:22 pm

Lynne: Yes, I have landed a role as a Senior Property Rights Analyst at Land Information New Zealand, which I believe I will enjoy. It begins in January, however, so I am doing a bit of house-sitting at the moment. Currently watching Eggheads while trying not to disturb the soft, sleepy cat on my lap as I type.

Peter (and Lynne): Your wish is my command.

by **Admin** » Tue Dec 29, 2015 6:41 pm

Peter,

A woman is behind you yet you are not in front of her. How come?

You are back to back of course.

Good work on the others.

Happy New Year to all our puzzlers.........................

Paul

by **peter365** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 1:36 pm

Happy new year to all my puzzle pals.

by **WiZ** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 11:40 pm

Happy new year!

Enjoy one of my favourite images from 2015. Discovered in an edition ofThe New Zealand Herald, it oughtn't take a master of lateral thinking to discern what's wrong with this picture:

by **irishelk** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 12:46 pm

So this is frustrating. I have a note in my phone where I can write good ideas for lateral puzzles as they come along. A couple months ago I wrote:

"He was killed by too much air."

Can't for the life of me remember what the solution was. :cry:

I'm getting old.

I think it was pretty good, too. I'm fairly certain it had nothing to do with balloons, hot air or otherwise. I don't think it was about the bends or any other internal malady--I've heard puzzles similar to that before, so it wouldn't have been novel enough for me to write down. It was probably based on something I heard on a podcast or the radio, so maybe a historical or scientific incident? Other than that I'm stumped. I can't even remember if he was HAM.

P.S. WiZ, I picture so many angry consumers punching their finger at the page in vain!

by **Doriana** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 5:04 pm

Happy New Year 2016, puzzlers! After a long absence, yours truly Doriana Kitteh is back on the LTPF with a brandnew puzzle.

by **Jpgamer31** » Thu Jan 14, 2016 4:48 am

Happy New Year everyone. Just saying thanks to everyone who's been posting puzzles (they are really fun). Also thanks for everyone who has worked hard to solve them. Can someone email me a general process to creating these puzzles. I've been interested for a while but I don't know where to start. My email is James.green31@outlook.com Thanks everyone and happy new year (even though I'm a little late)

by **WiZ** » Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:45 pm

Back in the days in which this hive of minds was a little more buzzy, there were some quite animated discussions as to what constituted a lateral puzzle and what the best methods were to come up with one, for whatever the term meant for you.

Consider this Chatroom archive from 2013, which deals with sources of inspiration and how these are converted from stories and explanations to puzzle questions and statements, and which elements are important to include or leave behind, and the sort of thought processes you want players of your puzzle to undergo in their quest to reach the solution: http://www.lateralpuzzles.com/discus/me ... 1364893979 (begin with Balin's post at 12:44 on January 25).

or this, which deals with the feasibility of hosting a 'classic style' puzzle on a forum populated by people specially trained to quell false assumptions in the first post, ask good, broad questions in the early stages, and apply creativity where required: http://www.lateralpuzzles.com/discus/me ... 1375437525 (begin with Beachbum's post at 6:05 on April 14).

There are some things I would caution a host to stay clear of, regardless of the format of their puzzle. It's not much fun if a degree of specialised knowledge is required, or the puzzle deals with the minutiae of something the average person (TM) wouldn't have a passing familiarity with. It's also dissatisfying if the solution hinges on an assertion from the puzzle host that is questionable at best, rather than something self-evident from the story, testimony from experts or those involved in the puzzle, or something simple and plausible at face value. A puzzle springs to mind in which "STOOOOOPID" advertisers who say products are 'New and Improved' are shooting themselves in the foot by denigrating their existing products, as if there is literally no middle ground between 'fundamentally flawed' and 'theoretically improvable in any sense, whether or not this improvable aspect could be conceived of at the time'.

Much like in songwriting, I find that being pro-active in searching for inspiration is most helpful. Read widely. Look for newspaper articles that make you think 'not even Nostradamus would have seen THAT coming'. Books of pub facts or popular science explaining strange phenomena in layman's terms are useful. Draw on your own experiences. 'A funny thing happened to me on the way to the post office...' and the like. Start with the part of the story that nobody would believe, and get the guessers to work out why they should. Or go with hypotheticals; you can build puzzles around those idle thoughts that build fantastic scenarios out of unknowns. You do, of course, run the risk of using false premises or coming to a false conclusion, but you'll probably be mostly right, and will interest the people who deign to play your puzzle.

by **Jpgamer31** » Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:51 pm

Thanks, this is really helpful.

by **Jpgamer31** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 2:51 am

irishelk wrote:So this is frustrating. I have a note in my phone where I can write good ideas for lateral puzzles as they come along. A couple months ago I wrote:

"He was killed by too much air."

Can't for the life of me remember what the solution was. I'm getting old.

I think it was pretty good, too. I'm fairly certain it had nothing to do with balloons, hot air or otherwise. I don't think it was about the bends or any other internal malady--I've heard puzzles similar to that before, so it wouldn't have been novel enough for me to write down. It was probably based on something I heard on a podcast or the radio, so maybe a historical or scientific incident? Other than that I'm stumped. I can't even remember if he was HAM.

P.S. WiZ, I picture so many angry consumers punching their finger at the page in vain!

It is possible that he was injected with an air bubble? I know in the medical field, it is necessary to purge a needle before injection otherwise you can kill the patient. Hope that helps you remember (if that's what it was). I think that also makes a good puzzle if anyone can come up with one (I'm not experienced with creating puzzles, will try maybe).

by **WiZ** » Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:21 pm

Solved puzzles by month, 2015:

Jan 15 - 6
Feb 15 - 61
Mar 15 - 67
Apr 15 - 40
May 15 - 12
Jun 15 - 28
Jul 15 - 19
Aug 15 - 6
Sep 15 - 9
Oct 15 - 12
Nov 15 - 24
Dec 15 - 22

(going by timestamp of final post)

by **Jpgamer31** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 2:53 am

I see Feb - March is the busy time for the forum

by **WiZ** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 3:15 am

Sorrrrt of.

Here's the data from the last decade or so: http://www.lateralpuzzles.com/discus/me ... 1424829212

As you can see, it varies pretty wildly. We're inconsistent. I like seasonal trends, myself.

Activity tends to die off around the middle of the year, and we're more active in the first three and last three months of the year as a rule (especially the last three).

But in terms of how great this variance is, or which specific months are most active, we're all over the place. Symptomatic of our being a small forum, really. Recently, we only have about 20 active users posting on any given week.

by **KayleeArafinwiel** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 10:14 pm

Your one and only truly Kaylee Kitteh has returned with yet another puzzle. I am hoping it fares better than the last one.

Hoping all are well,

Kaylee

by **peter365** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 8:21 am

Nice to see you back this way Kaylee

by **Jpgamer31** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 11:22 am

I am debating buying a 3D printer. Does anyone else have one? Could anyone give a recommendation. I only want it for me so I don't need a huge one. I'm looking for one that has good quality and maintenance. My budget is $1200.

I am worried they will begin to rise in price as they move to commercial business rather than individual homes.

by **KayleeArafinwiel** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 5:21 pm

peter365 wrote:Nice to see you back this way Kaylee

Thanks Peter, lovely to see you too

How's life and puzzling treating you these days?

by **peter365** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 9:04 am

Both life and puzzling are going great but I'm finding it increasingly hard to come up with puzzles. Oh for the imigination of a Balin or a WiZ.

I've bowed to pressure from my daughters and have started reading Harry Potter, I'm really enjoying it, it's a lot funnier than I'd imagined.

by **WiZ** » Fri Feb 05, 2016 2:00 am

"Imagination" may be a little kind. What I do, really, is roam the internet with a club, find interesting facts and beat them into the shape of lateral thinking puzzles.

by **tommyp** » Sun Feb 07, 2016 12:46 am

When it comes to instructions for creating lateral puzzles, I think it's better to just follow and try to solve a few puzzles and then try to do something different. When I was active (Bronze Age) I tried to create new types of puzzles (I don't remember what I called them, except for Idiomuzzles...) to see if they worked. And use American English instead of British English, to tick woubit off... ;-)

I'll see if I can be active here again (I believe I, like Paul van Herck, invent a Pluterdag or something similar).

by **Jpgamer31** » Sun Feb 07, 2016 3:00 pm

What are all the types of puzzles?

by **Balin** » Sun Feb 07, 2016 4:09 pm

Not a complete list, but here's what I remember:

-Standard puzzles (or "the classic style"): Puzzle statement, yes-no questions to figure out the situation.
-Neologisms: the puzzle statement revolves around an invented word, puzzlers have to figure out the meaning of that word.
-Scrunds: about a common, silly (usually) misconception.
-Lateral adventure: a text adventure-style game where puzzlers have to help the puzzle protagonist do things to escape from wherever they are or solve whatever task has been put before them.
-Lateral maze: puzzlers have to guide the protagonist through a maze where there is a certain rule or rules dictating the traversal of rooms.
-Versponse: all questions and answers are given in rhyme.
-Idiomuzzle: the puzzle statement is a sentence with some words highlighted (in a different color text), puzzlers must figure out the correct synonyms or associated words to form a common idiom.
-Multi-tiered idiomuzzle: same as previous, except there are multiple steps of synonyms or associated words.
-Headline: puzzle creator gives the topic of the headline, puzzlers have to figure out what that headline is.
-Crossword-style: the puzzle statement is in the form of a cryptic crossword clue; puzzlers have to figure out the clue, then figure out the situation given by the deciphered statement.
-Woubit's Christmas puzzles: created by Woubit, in an adventure style, where all the clues would lead to a Christmas-themed solution.

I probably made this sound more complicated than it actually is.

by **peter365** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:22 am

Hi there

Veterans of the old forum will recall that we had a Lateral Limbo section for puzzles that were neglected by the puzzle host. On occasion the host would return some time later and restart the puzzle but more often than not the remained in Limbo for 6 months or so before being deleted permanently. When we migrated to the new forum we agreed that it was agreed that we would dispense with Limbo and just delete puzzles that were neglected for say two months.

Thanks to a puzzle I just hosted I've been asked to consider reinstating limbo for puzzles and I thought I'd come on here and get the views of the members. My problem with Limbo on the old forum was that we had a number of serial offenders who would often neglect puzzles on numerous occasions meaning some would take months to be completed. I recall one puzzle that had 3 or 4 trips to Limbo and ultimately remained unsolved. I feel that this is unfair to members and i favoured the short sharp shock tactic of deleting which would focus hosts' minds on sticking with a puzzle until solved.

I'll bow to the consensus here if you feel we should have limbo back. Let me know what you think.

by **peter365** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:21 am

Good list Balin to which I can add the Connections puzzle where the solver has to work out the connection between seemingly unrelated items .

by **Jpgamer31** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 2:32 pm

How about a puzzle life/strike system. If limboed 2/3 times then its time for deletion. Or implement a total time system. Where a puzzle can only spend a MAX of 6 months in limbo. Or a combination.

The nine lives solution
A puzzle gets 9 lives.
Moving to limbo costs one life.
A month in limbo costs one life.
Once all lives are depleted, the puzzle is destroyed. (upon reaching 0 lives, the puzzle is deleted).

by **WiZ** » Tue Feb 09, 2016 7:25 pm

There's also the rulebreaker, in which the puzzlers ask questions that are answered according to a certain rule/format. The objective is to guess the rule. This includes the CA (can't answer) variant, in which only certain questions may be answered at all.
Following on from that, there's the breakruler, a puzzle involving a broken ruler. No, really.

by **peter365** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 9:49 am

We haven't had a rulebreaker in a long time. Which for me is good as I never really had much time for them.

by **Balin** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 1:08 pm

I ran a BINGO-themed rulebreaker shortly after the forum switch. It ended up being lack-of-interest $poylered but I was thinking of re-running it, so don't peek so soon.

by **Jpgamer31** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 10:15 pm

I'm curious about the lateral maze style puzzle. Can someone post a link or PM me a link to one?

by **WiZ** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 3:41 am

Here:

http://www.lateralpuzzles.com/puzzles/v ... =6&t=10621

And here:

http://www.lateralpuzzles.com/discus/me ... 1130276516

by **Balin** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 12:38 pm

Jp, in WiZ's 2nd link, click "[Haenlomal] Prism (Lateral Maze)" in the blue bar at the top of the screen in order to get to the rest of the posts in that puzzle.

by **Jpgamer31** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 9:14 pm

Thanks Balin. I enjoyed those mazes. I will have to design my own and post it. Do you think the current community would receive it well?

by **Balin** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 11:46 pm

I think so. There's a lot higher ratio of classic puzzles to the other types ever since the forum switch, but variants are typically received well.

Just remembered there was another maze called QUANTUM by Liquizt that got started, Limbo'd, killed, re-started a few years later, re-Limbo'd, and re-killed.

by **Jpgamer31** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 4:23 am

I have a limit on puzzles. 2 weeks no post, 1 hint. 3 hints max. If it isn't solved after all of that I would spoil its contents. Unless injured or prevented otherwise, I can't ser myself limboing a puzzle. Speaking of limbo, has Peter or other admins decided on a limbo section?

by **Jpgamer31** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 4:28 am

Also it would probably help organizing a poll that can give stats. Perhaps a temporary "lateral poll" post. A user may only respond once with either "Y" or "N". Then tally that number and act on that decision. A poll that follows this format gives everyone an equal voice and cannot be plagued by spammed responses. It may also be a good idea to set up the guidelines for limboed puzzles (I.e. Which puzzles can be limboed, how long, how many times, how many puzzles can a user have limboed, etc...)

by **peter365** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 8:32 am

woubit is back !!!

by **GalFisk** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 9:15 pm

And RedWine too!

by **Jpgamer31** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 9:26 pm

I know this has been discussed in the chat room before but how did you all choose your usernames. I know Galfisk's story but what about everyone else. Mine is my standard. Jpgamer31 was an email I used for a long time and it just stuck with me. Jp is a nickname for my name James Preston. Gamer comes from my love of video games and I was born on 10/31/98, thus the 31.

by **RedWine** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 9:28 pm

My username is from the colour I particularly like :-)

by **RedWine** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 10:05 pm

Oh, and maybe my username also has something to do with "the older - the better", which I hope will be true about me one day :-D

by **WiZ** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 10:06 pm

Back in 2001 (and possibly earlier), I was Wizardofoz, because I thought that was a funny thing to call yourself on the internet (I was an avid online gamer, and my friends tended to call themselves things like SithGokuSatanWolf666).

Then I thought it made me sound too Australian, so I changed it to WizardofNZ in 2003. Because I couldn't be bothered typing it out at the start of all my puzzles (and because it looked a little like a clan tag), I would preface them all with WiZ.

Now we've made the change to the new forum, I decided to dispense with the original name altogether - I've been WiZ as far as everyone's concerned for about a decade and a half now. The fact that everyone still bothers to capitalise the Z every time they type my username out, despite the fact that it increases the number of keystrokes by 25% and adds nothing to the clarity/content, warms my heart a teensy bit every time I see it.

by **Balin** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 2:21 am

I have a few usernames I use online, but when I joined the forum in 2010 I wanted a new one, so I took the name of the dwarf whose tomb the Fellowship of the Ring comes across in Moria. (It's a little fitting; I'm a LOTR fan and I'm short.) That said, I didn't realize the dwarf's name was pronounced BAH-lin (yes, it's said in the movie, I had a dumb moment) so I always pronounce my username BAY-lin.

by **Jpgamer31** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 9:00 pm

To be honest Balin, that is how I envisioned it being said. (BAY-lin)

by **Doriana** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 11:24 pm

I picked my username based on The Picture of Dorian Gray, a book I loved back when I joined the forum in 2010 (I still like it, just not as much as I used to). I added the -a to make it clearer that I'm a girl.

Puzzlers! My boyfriend and I will be leaving for a three-week vacation to New York tomorrow. If anyone wants to meet up in NYC, shoot me a message. I probably won't have time to take care of my puzzles while abroad, so please don't delete them - I'll be back in early/mid March.

by **peter365** » Mon Feb 15, 2016 11:02 am

I hate my user name but I'm too pig headed to change it. On other fora (mostly sports discussion groups and IMDB) my name is 'Worldleaderpretend' the origin of which is self explanatory if you're familiar with my musical tastes.

by **WiZ** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 3:15 am

Well, this is your mistake, Peter. We'll let you make it good.

by **Balin** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 5:05 am

There's a website where you can create your own room escape games (http://doctorfou.com/games/room-escape-maker), and while you only get three games per account (there are ways to earn more), you can create multiple accounts if you have more than one email address. While most people who do this use one username with subsequent digits (User, User1, User2, etc.), I use all the different usernames I have online, and actually created two specifically for the site ("Crocea," named after Jaune Arc's sword in RWBY, and "Pharos," the Greek word for "lighthouse"). I'd say my three "Balin" games were my transition from nothing special to creative.

by **peter365** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 3:26 pm

Question : Is there anything more annoying than losing a wallet containing cash, bank cards, drivers licence, annual rail travel ticket, a gift card with €50 on it, various membership cards and most importantly some pictures of my daughters.

Answer: No there bloody isn't.

by **Balin** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 8:44 pm

That sucks. Really hope you get that wallet (plus contents) back.

by **Balin** » Fri Feb 19, 2016 12:05 am

Traveling to New York yesterday to see Hamilton, I was able to meet up with Doriana and her boyfriend beforehand for conversation and lunch. Was an absolute pleasure.

by **WiZ** » Sun Feb 21, 2016 7:25 pm

Once again, I've drawn on this forum for songwriting inspiration. This one comes from a riddle that will have appeared in a few inboxes. Comes complete with demo.

Thanks to Jpgamer31 for tapping my muse on the shoulder:

http://fawm.org/songs/59439/

by **Balin** » Mon Feb 22, 2016 4:42 pm

Suddenly that riddle seems very deep. Nice work WiZ.

by **peter365** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 11:54 am

WiZ wrote:Well, this is your mistake, Peter. We'll let you make it good.

Indeed , I've raised many a wall only to knock them down again.

by **peter365** » Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:03 am

Had my wallet returned to me with all contents intact. Absolutely delighted.

by **WiZ** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 6:52 pm

Huzzah! A happy ending! Great news, Peter.

by **peter365** » Mon Feb 29, 2016 5:01 pm

A nice reminder that there's still some good people out there.

by **Jpgamer31** » Mon Feb 29, 2016 5:08 pm

What if the person that returned it is the same person that stole it and they have a crazy story as to why they didn't take anything.

by **peter365** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 1:16 pm

Jpgamer31 wrote:What if the person that returned it is the same person that stole it and they have a crazy story as to why they didn't take anything.

There's a puzzle idea lurking in here.

by **Jpgamer31** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 1:43 pm

peter365 wrote:
Jpgamer31 wrote:What if the person that returned it is the same person that stole it and they have a crazy story as to why they didn't take anything.

There's a puzzle idea lurking in here.

Didn't even think about that lol. Your free to run any puzzle if you can think of it. I am far to busy to host a puzzle at this time (have to study for AP tests).

by **Jpgamer31** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 2:09 pm

WiZ wrote:Once again, I've drawn on this forum for songwriting inspiration. This one comes from a riddle that will have appeared in a few inboxes. Comes complete with demo.

Thanks to Jpgamer31 for tapping my muse on the shoulder:

http://fawm.org/songs/59439/

Really enjoyable song, love it. That is an interesting style of writing music (music based on riddles). Very creative.

by **Doriana** » Sat Mar 12, 2016 11:15 pm

Balin wrote:Traveling to New York yesterday to see Hamilton, I was able to meet up with Doriana and her boyfriend beforehand for conversation and lunch. Was an absolute pleasure.

It was indeed! So nice to meet a fellow lateral puzzler in real life, and this is the second time I had this pleasure. I'm back from the States safe and sound, with 150 unread e-mails on my work account and 10 days to finish my research paper. Ugh.

by **Balin** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 4:20 am

How did the rest of your trip go, Doriana? I saw on Facebook you went to Boston but was wondering where else you'd gone.

by **Admin** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 12:41 pm

Re Peter's wallet. Researchers found that people were more likely to return a lost wallet if there was a picture of a family in it.

Which prompts this puzzle.

Why did a single man put a picture of complete strangers in his wallet?

by **RedWine** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 1:02 pm

Re Admin's puzzle:

were the complete strangers some famous people depicted on some banknotes (or coins)?

by **Jpgamer31** » Sun Mar 27, 2016 2:55 am

Recently, I had the opportunity of discussing something rather interesting, the topic is one of time.
Let us suppose that without a doubt the following things are true:

- The singularity before the big bang was in a state of timelessness.
- Time requires motion.
- Motion implies any motion whatsoever (motion throughout the galaxy counts).
- Timelessness = no past, no present, no future.
- Universe = milky way galaxy / real of humanity.

Scientist for years have been arguing that because the singularity was so tightly packed that motion of any kind was impossible and because of this, the singularity is in a state of timelessness. I find this to be rather inconsistent because by that logic, the singularity still exists (it is timeless therefore doesn't have a future). We cannot be the future of the singularity because we experience time. The argument now is this: If I take a man, and freeze him to the point that all his molecular motion stops, and then I proceed to stop the universe's movement (In essence, the man is completely motionless and therefore timeless), would he still exist? While some people would say "but I can still see him," they in-fact would not see him, and would have no memory of him whatsoever. This is because the man is in a state of timelessness and therefore has no past, present, or future. If he has no past, then they cannot remember him (if I did, then he would not be timeless). By this logic, you may also assume that once he becomes timeless, he can never go back into our universe for if he did, he would not be timeless. If anyone can counter this assertion I would be glad to hear an opposition. (Question A)

Now for a more interesting argument.

Assume that the universe is in its normal state of motion and we again, freeze this man (except this time the universe is in motion). This man is frozen for 10 years exactly. When he is awakened he will have not aged a single nanosecond from when he was frozen and would in fact, remember nothing save the knowledge he had before he was frozen. Did the man experience time? Some may argue yes because the people around him will have aged. Some will argue no because he himself did not experience (or rather perceive) the time passed. What is your stance? Please support your answers with reason and logic. (Question B)

I suggest you tackle the first argument first. This really comes down to the difference between experience and perception. If something happens to you on Monday, but you don't find out until Friday, did you have an experience of Monday's results on Tuesday? What about Saturday? (Question C)

Essentially, it comes to the question: Does experience require cognition? (Question D)

Please post a response to A,B,C, and D. Please use logic, reason, and if possible, examples. Hypothetical situations are allowed.

by **peter365** » Fri Apr 08, 2016 11:45 am

If a question is asked on the 27th March and does not receive a response until 8th April has it experienced time?

Only kidding JP but you do seem to have stumped the group with this one. I do love all that space and time stuff but I'd make a fool of myself if I tried to answer your questions.

by **Jpgamer31** » Fri Apr 08, 2016 11:48 am

Haha, you seem to be experiencing the same thing I felt when I ran into this discussion...I don't blame you.

by **Balin** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:35 pm

Might as well throw in my one cent: my instinctive answer is yes, experience requires cognition. Thinking of movies like Demolition Man and Idiocracy, where characters are frozen or in hibernation for long periods of time, the reaction is always one of surprise at the new state of the world around them. They may have been biologically alive, but they did not experience it because they were not aware of it.
Then of course you can bring up questions about people who do crazy things while drunk and don't remember them; did they experience it because they have no memory of it? I would say they did because a) they may have had experience of said things while doing them and then forgotten them the next day, and b) there will be physical evidence of their non-recalled actions.
Or how about sleep? People are unconscious during sleep and may be unaware of what's around them. I slept through a small tornado once, so while I may have been alive and present during the tornado, I didn't experience it.
(I think this is the first time my philosophy degree has come in handy since graduation.)

by **Jpgamer31** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 4:28 pm

Consider this then, if I have the ability to have a perfect dream (a dream that is 100% accurate to the real world), did I gain experience of something. Lets say I had a perfect dream where I was in a burning building. By definition, this dream models the real world perfectly and therefore everything I did in the dream would produce the same results in the real world. Did I gain experience from this. I would say yes because if I happened to be in a burning building in the real world, I would have experience on what to do and what not to do. For the purpose of this example assume that I know the dream is a perfect dream. As for your example of a drunk man, what if there was no evidence he did it? Did he still experience it? What if you woke up, moved a plate into the kitchen, but suddenly forgot everything you did. Simultaneously, another person moves the plate back upstairs and you both return to your original positions. Did this event occur? Did you experience moving the plate? Did you experience the passage of time?

Essentially what I'm saying is that a man who was frozen experienced the passage of time because when he wakes up things are different. While he didn't perceive the passage of time, he still experienced it because he is now in a different time period. Like the drunk man, there is physical evidence that the events occurred and while he may not remember them, he still experienced them, thus experience does not require cognition. Even in your drunk man example, the drunk man was not cognitively aware of what he was doing if he forgot everything the next day. Sorry if my wording is confusing, it's kind of hard to say.

by **Admin** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 7:27 pm

Are you open minded? Of course you are - you are a puzzle solver. But you still have thinking habits.

My Tedx talk on the topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vgl3v8rjj8

by **peter365** » Wed May 04, 2016 8:53 am

Heading to the UK with friends today , we're going horse racing for a few days. Looking forward to it, I love visiting the UK as I'm quite an ale fan and the variety over there is amazing.

As some of you will know I'm an aviaphobe so i'll be ferrying over while all my pals are flying.

by **Zanreo** » Fri May 13, 2016 7:51 pm

Hey, so this is something that's been bugging me for a while about this site - I have to log in over again every time I come back. Would it be possible to keep your login, or would this not work for this forum?

by **peter365** » Sat May 14, 2016 12:29 pm

Zanreo , I've merged this post into the general chatroom. I'm not sure of the answer to your question but I do have my internet explorer remember my id and password so at least I don't have to key it in each time I visit the site.

by **Zanreo** » Sun May 15, 2016 3:21 am

Alright, only thought it was kinda weird since this is the first forum I've had to do this wirh

by **WiZ** » Thu May 26, 2016 12:16 am

Hey, LTP fans!

Some of you have worked out by now that I'm a lyricist. I've just release my second (free-to-download) compilation album, featuring mainly my collaborations with musicians over the last three years.

https://stephenwordsmith.bandcamp.com/album/tintinnitus

This is the long-awaited sequel to my debut compilation album, Mantichorean.

Once again, I have collaborated with the stars of FAWM and 5090 to bring you a leap-FAWM (that's fourteen-and-a-half-songs)'s worth of listening pleasure.

A true international effort, this album features contributions from New Zealand, Australia, The UK, The US, Canada, Mexico, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway.

Come, listen, and explore themes of fortune, luck, superstition, the passage of time, consciousness, greetings, partings, and our ultimate fate.

And, on the way, meet a cast of characters and storytellers unlike any other: An amorous brigand, a motley poker crew, a lovelorn apothecary, a Nordic Hugh Hefner, a fellow born before his father, a mayor having the most trying day of his career, and the world's most undesirable man.

Tintinnitus. May it ring ever in your ears.

by **WiZ** » Thu May 26, 2016 12:25 am

Further to the above - this album covers a period in which I was experimenting with lateral thinking puzzles as a source of inspiration for my material.

Song #7 is based on two puzzles - one from Challenging Lateral Thinking Puzzles, and one from Perplexing.

Song #14 is based on a puzzle that was posted on this very forum, which I thought had a nice poetic quality to it.

Frank Visconti's "The Blinking Light": http://www.lateralpuzzles.com/discus/me ... 13061.html

Hope you enjoy the album.

by **Balin** » Thu Jun 02, 2016 3:46 am

Haven't listened to the entire thing yet but I'm enjoying the album. Very nice-sounding music with amusing subject matter. Thanks for posting it here, WiZ.

by **Balin** » Thu Jun 02, 2016 4:06 am

As mentioned in the solution to my puzzle "Men walk back into bars," here are the two chess problems composed by Vladimir Nabokov that I found in puzzle books I own, in case any of you want to take a crack at them.

This first one I read in Find the Winning Move by Gary Lane.

White mates in 3:

: Nabokov1.png (18.02 KiB) Viewed 199964 times

This one I read in Chess Braintwisters by Burt Hochberg.

White retracts his last move and mates in 1:
(Translation: White takes back or un-plays his previous move, and plays a different move to checkmate Black.)

: Nabokov2.png (17.98 KiB) Viewed 199964 times

by **peter365** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 12:52 pm

I think we can add Chess to 'Space and Time' on our list of topics that halt the chatroom :lol:

by **WiZ** » Thu Jun 16, 2016 12:15 am

I would have said something, but Chess remains a mystery to me. I understand the rules, but I haven't had any training (or indeed idle thoughts) with respect to strategy. Such a puzzle is well beyond my means.

Speaking of puzzles, I put this one to you - it's not a lateral puzzle, and not appropriate enough to the closed-question-and-answer format to merit its own thread. But I would be curious as to any response, as I am thinking of using the underlying principle as a gamebook puzzle in November.

Scenario:

There is a large room containing 400 numbered safety deposit boxes (on the east and west walls). At the north end of the room is a large set of double doors, each with one keyhole. Two of the 400 boxes each contain one of the requisite keys to open the lock. On the north wall, on either side of the doors, is a code indicating which box contains the key to the corresponding door.

A man wearing a toga and a laurel wreath enters the room through the south door. He is a literate man who has travelled from the heyday of the Roman empire. He sees the two codes, and immediately heads over to the appropriate boxes, obtains the keys, unlocks the double doors, and exits the room, whereupon he is rewarded with a plate of fried aurochs, served with honey. The north door is locked, and the keys returned to the same boxes, which are then shut.

A boy wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt enters the room through the south door.. He is an aficionado of gamebooks, and his approach to solving any puzzle is to convert a letter to a number based on its position on the alphabet (i.e. A=1, B=2, ... Z=26), and adding them all together. He sees the two codes, and, after a few seconds, heads over to the appropriate boxes, obtains the keys, unlocks the double doors, and exits the room, whereupon he is rewarded with a portion of provisions (add 4 stamina points).

Questions:

A) What were the two codes?
B) Please outline the thought process that brought you to the solution covered in A.

by **WiZ** » Thu Jun 16, 2016 12:18 am

Additional: If you feel you require more information to solve the puzzle (I don't think you do, but I speak as the deviser of the puzzle), you may ask additional questions. These should be used to establish parameters, rather than get a hint towards the solution itself (I need to know how much information I would need to provide the reader with initially for the puzzle to be fair[er]).

Thank you for your cooperation.

by **WiZ** » Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:03 am

Also, it's strange to think that, given our membership count, only one of our spambots is celebrating their birthday today.

(Yes, it's probably something to do with the extent to which they fill in their profiles etc)

by **Balin** » Thu Jun 16, 2016 3:44 pm

WiZ, I've sent a PM to your puzzle. Love it.

Here are the solutions to the two Nabokov chess puzzles.

Puzzle 1: White mates in 3.

The key move is 1. Rh8! after which Black has three possible moves:
[*]If 1... Ke3, 2. Rh3+ Kd4 3. Ne2#
[*]If 1... Kxd3, 2. Rh3+ Kd4 3. Qf4#
[*]If 1... Kxc3 (the main line), 2. Rh3 Kd4 3. Qb2#

Puzzle 2: White retracts his last move and mates in 1.

White's last move was dxNc8=R (translation: white pawn on d7 captures black knight on c8 and promotes to a rook). He retracts that move and plays 1. dx(R)e8=N#!

by **WiZ** » Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:42 pm

You are, of course, correct, and I read your response to B with much interest. Would be great to hear from anyone else who gives it a go; get a bit of the ol' vox populi to paint a full picture.

by **CoffeeBean** » Wed Jun 29, 2016 3:05 pm

Admins, on the original site there is an unfinished puzzle titled "Tangled Web of 5" -

http://lateralpuzzles.com/discus/messag ... 1406555890

This is a puzzle that I posted (under my former user ID), but was unable to finish it at the time. Is there a way to move it to this new forum so that it can be solved after a near 2-year hiatus?

by **Balin** » Wed Jun 29, 2016 6:57 pm

I'm not an admin on the old site, but what I can (and will) do is copy/paste the puzzle statement and all answered questions into a new thread here so it can be continued.

by **jumpingjacks** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 2:06 am

Hello everyone!! I don't know if anyone will remember me, but I was active on here years ago (about 6 years I believe!) as jumpingjack. And what a great many changes have taken place since! We have a new shiny forum and everything! Anyway, I can no longer log in with my old account, since a recovery password was sent to my old email address, which I no longer use and which hotmail now tells me doesn't exist. So I've split like an amoeba and am now jumpingjacks

If an admin or moderator can help get my old account back to me again, that would be great, otherwise, I guess it's a fresh start. Hi!

by **WiZ** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 10:27 am

Welcome back, Coffeebean/Ixoye and Jumpingjack[s]!

by **CoffeeBean** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 8:05 pm

Thank you! Good to be back.

by **peter365** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:27 am

I remember both of you.

by **peter365** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:32 am

I remember both of you.

by **Balin** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 4:56 pm

Happy 4th of July to my fellow American puzzlers!

I have an LTPF story related to Independence Day. Three years ago, I was interning in Washington, D.C. for the summer and decided to go to the A Capitol Fourth concert on the Capitol's West Lawn. Sitting on the lawn waiting for the show to start, I was trying to come up with word puzzles and came up with a room where everything was one letter off: a man would be in a giant sink, on a floor painted like an ace of diamonds, swinging a wooden stock at a duck trying to hit it towards a goat. (Sink = rink, ace = ice, stock = stick, duck = puck, goat = goal.) This "hockey" would then be one letter off from "jockey." Thinking there might be a puzzle in that, I came up with others and formed them around the conceit of having to find missing movies from a rental shop. And that was how I came up with the Maria Collins adventure series.

The third puzzle in that series, "When I make enough money," is running now and has stalled. If anyone would like to hop in, please do so. (Yes, I'm shamelessly asking for puzzle participation in my "Happy 4th of July" post. So it is.)

by **jumpingjacks** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 11:37 pm

Matt you know I can't resist a lateral adventure... =D Do I really need to have read the first two parts for it to make sense though? I might need some time to get up to speed if that's the case!

by **Balin** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 1:52 am

You should be able to hop right in, no problem.

(And I know very well you can't resist a LatVenture. I remember June 2010.)

by **peter365** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 7:20 am

Hope you all had a great 4th of July, I remember your video store puzzle very fondly Balin but I've missed the start of your current one. I'll try and get up to speed.

by **jumpingjacks** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 12:19 pm

Haha yes!!! This one looks a bit more complicated than a pool cue, a CB radio, a flaming margarita and an evil Gilderoy Lockhart though

Will have a read through in a bit!

by **WiZ** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 11:14 pm

Hi, guys. This came up on the Facebook 'On this Day' app, and I thought I'd share it with you:

----------------------------

6 YEARS AGO TODAY
Thursday, 8 July 2010

8 July 2010 at 01:29 ·
is looking for someone who'd like to play a few of the lateral thinking puzzles from his new books with him. I am prepared to ply you with wine, cheese, smooth jazz and hilarious BBC comedy. Let's make an evening of it. Anyone interested? It's hard having a 2-person hobby and knowing that very few people in the world share it.

--------------------------

The story had a happy ending - someone responded, and we got through about a third of Outside-the-Box Lateral Thinking Puzzles that evening. Then the wine and tiredness took over, and the ratio of silly to sensible questions slipped into the red.

by **Balin** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 4:17 pm

In a recent puzzle, my Clue mystery-adventure LTP came up, and I mentioned I was working on a Clue-themed logic puzzle for Sporcle. I've finished it, so if any of you would like to try it out, here you go:
http://www.sporcle.com/games/Balin/two-corpses-everythings-fine

by **Jpgamer31** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 9:47 pm

How many posts long does the chatroom get before it is archived? It takes forever to ser the latest post on my phone because of all the scrolling.

by **jumpingjacks** » Tue Jul 12, 2016 6:00 pm

I've been reading some older chatroom posts, and have just come across WiZ's puzzle about the boxes and the locked doors. I have a solution for it, should I PM or discuss it here?

by **WiZ** » Tue Jul 12, 2016 8:25 pm

Feel free to post it here. The puzzle was posted long enough ago that everyone's had more than enough time to make a submission (and few have), so there's no need to be coy.

by **jumpingjacks** » Tue Jul 12, 2016 8:42 pm

Ok! So my answers are 63 and 69.

Reasoning: Both the Roman empire man and the gamebooks boy manage to come to the right answer, through different means. Since the codes are letters, I suppose it's reasonable to assume that they are Roman numerals - the Roman man is simply interpreting them as two numbers, while the boy is doing his thing of converting each letter into a number, and then adding them up. Since they both arrive at the right answer, our task is to look for two numbers that fit both methods - as Roman numerals, but also when the boy's method is used.

Now I'm not extremely handy with Roman numerals, I can go up to perhaps 50 or so and that's about it. So I would be curious to know if anyone else had a better method of figuring out what those numbers are. For me, I just used a sort of educated trial and error. I worked out the gamebook boy values of different Roman numeral letters, then figured that even the highest values (containing, for instance, 4 X's, 4 I's, 4 C's etc) wouldn't go beyond a certain number. So I could eliminate pretty much anything over 200. I then picked out one or two numbers at random to check, found the numbers obtained from the letters were too small, and dropped my boundaries to under 100. From there, it was just a case of figuring out which numerals were most likely to be letters that add up to a similar value, and then checking them.

And so we have - 63 (LXIII), which would be 12+24+3(9) = 63
And 69 (LXI), which would be 12+24+9+24 = 69

Is this correct? What are some other methods?

by **Balin** » Tue Jul 12, 2016 11:32 pm

Right on the nose, Jackie. Here's how I solved it (warning – long):

Since the codes lead to numbered safety deposit boxes and the man is from ancient Rome, it stands to reason the codes are Roman numerals. This fits with the boy's interpretation of the codes as well; since he assigns the alphabetical number to each letter, it makes sense that the codes are letters, which Roman numerals are.

Since both interpretations of the codes lead to the keys being found, both must lead to the same two answers. If we call the first box with a key Y and the second Z, then either one code translates to Y one way and Z the other, and the other vice versa, or one translates to Y in both and the other to Z in both. But since there are two north doors and each code is designated to a different door, we are looking at the second scenario.

Therefore we are looking for two values Y and Z less than 400 where the Arabic translation of the Roman numeral equals the sum of the Roman numeral's alphabetical values.

Since we are looking at numbers less than 400, we can eliminate D and M. (CD is the Roman numeral for 400, but its alphabetical sum is 7.) The other letters used as Roman numerals and their alphabetical values are (in the form
Roman value - letter - alphabetical value):

1 - I - 9
5 - V - 22
10 - X - 24
50 - L - 12
100 - C - 3

At this point while trying to solve the puzzle, I noticed that since C has such a high difference between its Roman value and its alphabetical value, it was very unlikely that either locker was above 100. So I decided to focus on 1-99 and only go above 100 if I needed to.

In order to more easily go through the values 1-99, I calculated the alphabetical values of Roman numerals 1-9 and every multiple of 10; this way I could just add the two values together to see if they matched. First, 1-9:

1 - I - 9
2 - II - 18
3 - III - 27
4 - IV - 31
5 - V - 22
6 - VI - 31
7 - VII - 40
8 - VIII - 49
9 - IX - 33

Then I started with 10 - X - 24, and eliminated it: 24 is already over 10, so all of these will be too high.

Then 20 - XX - 48: same, everything too high.

Then 30 - XXX - 72: same. I also noticed that the highest value here was 38 - XXXVIII - 121, and realized that adding a C still wouldn't get me to the right value, so it was almost certain that the right boxes were less than 100.

Then 40 - XL - 36: the only 1-9 value that would stay in the 40s was 1, which is 41 - XLI - 45, and everything else would be too high. (At this point I could have noticed that the alphabetical of XL is the same as LX and skipped a few steps, but I didn't.)

Then 50 - L - 12: while 57 and 58 make it into the 50s, they end up as 52 and 61 (which is not actually in the 50s), so not quite.

Then 60 - LX - 36, and I quickly came to 63 - LXIII - 63 (36+27), which matches. Before I could continue with 64, 65, 66 and so on, I thought, "wasn't the value for 9 exactly 6 more than the value of 3?" I checked and it was, so I jumped right to 69 - LXIX - 69 (36+33), and had my second solution.

I went through the 70s, 80s, and 90s to confirm there were no other answers, starting with 70 - LXX - 60, and everything was too high (though 71- LXXI - 69 was close).

Then 80 - LXXX - 84, and again everything was too high. (Noticing that 88 - LXXXVIII - 133 was too far off for any additional C to match, I now completely eliminated the 100s.)

Lastly 90 - XC - 27, and again everything was too low.

Thus I had the two solutions: LXIII (63) and LXIX (69).

by **WiZ** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 12:34 am

A splendid effort, both of you. It's good to know that there was some method and inductive reasoning involved in the trial-and-error process, and that your approaches were similar and led to the same result.