Related papers: Latin Puzzles
The Decodoku project seeks to let users get hands-on with cutting-edge quantum research through a set of simple puzzle games. The design of these games is explicitly based on the problem of decoding qudit variants of surface codes. This…
Computing the autotopism group of a partial Latin rectangle can be performed in a variety of ways. This pilot study has two aims: (a) to compare these methods experimentally, and (b) to identify the design goals one should have in mind for…
This paper proves that push-pull block puzzles in 3D are PSPACE-complete to solve, and push-pull block puzzles in 2D with thin walls are NP-hard to solve, settling an open question by Zubaran and Ritt. Push-pull block puzzles are a type of…
Suppose that $k$ is a function of $n$ and $n\to\infty$. We show that with probability $1-O(1/n)$, a uniformly random $k\times n$ Latin rectangle contains no proper Latin subsquare of order $4$ or more, proving a conjecture of Divoux, Kelly,…
For $\mu$ given latin squares of order $n$, they have {\sf $k$ intersection} when they have $k$ identical cells and $n^2-k$ cells with mutually different entries. For each $n\geq 1$ the set of integers $k$ such that there exist $\mu$ latin…
This paper presents a novel construction method for symmetric Sudoku-type games based on Lee distance perfect codes and diameter perfect codes. The proposed method utilizes the tiling property of these codes to define the structure of the…
While logic puzzles have engaged individuals through problem-solving and critical thinking, the creation of new puzzle rules has largely relied on ad-hoc processes. Pencil puzzles, such as Slitherlink and Sudoku, represent a prominent…
In a latin square of order $n$, a near transversal is a collection of $n-1$ cells which intersects each row, column, and symbol class at most once. A longstanding conjecture of Brualdi, Ryser, and Stein asserts that every latin square…
A Latin square of order $n$ is an $n \times n$ matrix of $n$ symbols, such that each symbol occurs exactly once in each row and column. For an odd prime power $q$ let $\mathbb{F}_q$ denote the finite field of order $q$. A quadratic Latin…
A critical set in an $n \times n$ array is a set $C$ of given entries, such that there exists a unique extension of $C$ to an $n\times n$ Latin square and no proper subset of $C$ has this property. For a Latin square $L$, $\scs{L}$ denotes…
Many puzzle video games, like Sokoban, involve moving some agent in a maze. The reachable locations are usually apparent for a human player, and the difficulty of the game is mainly related to performing actions on objects, such as pushing…
Despite the fact that latin cubes have been studied since in the 1940's, there are only a few results on embedding partial latin cubes, and all these results are far from being optimal with respect to the size of the containing cube. For…
Formulating a Schubert problem as the solutions to a system of equations in either Pl\"ucker space or in the local coordinates of a Schubert cell usually involves more equations than variables. Using reduction to the diagonal, we previously…
A latin bitrade (T1, T2) is a pair of partial latin squares which are disjoint, occupy the same set of non-empty cells, and whose corresponding rows and columns contain the same set of entries. A genus may be associated to a latin bitrade…
We analyze the computational complexity of several new variants of edge-matching puzzles. First we analyze inequality (instead of equality) constraints between adjacent tiles, proving the problem NP-complete for strict inequalities but…
A locally irregular graph is a graph whose adjacent vertices have distinct degrees, a regular graph is a graph where each vertex has the same degree and a locally regular graph is a graph where for every two adjacent vertices u, v, their…
Let $L$ be an order-$n$ Latin square. For $X, Y, Z \subseteq \{1, ... ,n\}$, let $L(X, Y. Z)$ be the number of triples $i\in X, j\in Y, k\in Z$ such that $L(i,j) = k$. We conjecture that asymptotically almost every Latin square satisfies…
This paper presents a comparative analysis of Sudoku-solving strategies, focusing on recursive backtracking and a heuristic-based constraint propagation method. Using a dataset of 500 puzzles across five difficulty levels (Beginner to…
In this paper, constructions of multimagic squares are investigated. Diagonal Latin squares and Kronecker products are used to get some constructions of multimagic squares. Consequently, some new families of compound multimagic squares are…
By making use of the generalized concept of orthogonality in Latin squares, certain t-partite graphs have been constructed and a suggestion for a net work system and some applications have been made.