Scrambled Word Puzzle
Well, last night I decided it was about time I added another game to my Online Games page. So, I sat and I thought and I thought, and I came up with another "Scrambled Word Puzzle".It's not particularly sophisticated (what do you expect for something invented and programmed all in one evening!) but I thought it might be a fun way for people to be introduced to Quote Puzzler.
What is the premise of the game? The computer selects a five letter word, and you have to guess what that word is. To help you out, the computer gives you five other words. The word you are guessing takes one letter from each of the other words.
In other words...you are given a 5x5 grid of letters, and you have to take one letter from each row and column to create another word.
You can click the "Check Letters" button any time to see how many letters you have right.
I haven't yet linked this page in to The Problem Site - I'm waiting to see if any of you have comments about whether or not it works for you!
Posted On Oct 5, 2005 at 5:46 AM
On Oct 6, 2005 Laura wrote: Very interesting game - I think my brain will do a better job of figuring this one out than with the quote puzzler ;-)
Doug Replied: I'm actually in the process of rebuilding the user-interface on this silly little game so it doesn't refresh the page every time you click a letter. That'll make it quicker to play.
Be sure to check back in a day or two to see when it's updated!
On Oct 6, 2005 Doug wrote: Hmmm...so much for "a day or two". I just posted the new version.
On Oct 6, 2005 Doug wrote: One visitor to the site asked: Are those REALLY words in the first five rows of the puzzle?
And the answer is...most of them are, believe it or not.
For example...do you know what a socle is? It's a plain square block higher than a plinth, serving as a pedestal for sculpture, a vase, or a column.
What about a galop? (not a gallop!) It's a lively dance in duple time, popular in the 19th century.
But that doesn't mean they're all words...
...hmmm...this just gave me an idea for another game. Stay tuned...
On Oct 7, 2005 Doug wrote: And here we go...here's the writeup of the new game!
Word Game Explanation
And here's the game itself:
One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others
On Oct 9, 2005 Kathy Twitch wrote: Just HOW have you computed the AVERAGE number of moves that are used to solve the puzzles for the word scramble game if it was only invented 3 days ago!?!
Doug Replied: Well, you know, it's a pretty popular game!
There are several hundred puzzles, and each has been played (on average, of course) about 5.4 times.However, knowing that this would be the case, I got lazy and just created random statistics for games which hadn't yet been played.
So...sue me.
On Oct 15, 2005 Kathy Twitch wrote: Funny! I happened to have solved 2 puzzles in a row that had the same word as the answer! What are the odds of that happening, I wonder...?
I have found a technique which makes it much easier to play this game.
Doug Replied: well, it's not too unlikely. What's your technique?
On Oct 16, 2005 Kathy Twitch wrote: To make the puzzles easier to solve I try to figure out the most likely combination for the last 2 letters and put those in first. Then there are only 3 left to figure out and the letters that (likely) cannot be used are eliminated. Saves many wasted moves, for the most part, and makes it easier to focus.
Had a grumble session with a puzzle tonight: I found 2 perfectly good answers that were not the solution before I hit upon the correct one.
Doug Replied: yep...that happens sometimes.
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