When solving logic puzzles (sudoku, akari, any of the stuff in Artisan of Glimmith, etc) is it okay to assume uniqueness as part of the solve?
@amy oh no it depends. but i’ll say yes since i think most of them are conventionally constructed for uniqueness
@amy @alyssa sudoku puzzles are only considered to be “correct” starting positions if they produce a single answer but despite this some people think its gouache to use uniqueness to solve
never really got that one personally (though i am against bifurcation as a solve method for similarly nebulous reasons)
@Satsuma @amy @alyssa i think that when uniqueness is used as part of a puzzle solving strategy, it means the puzzle is poorly constructed. the experience of a puzzle is supposed to be a journey from many potential possibilities to one correct one. it spoils the journey and the wonder if you have to assert uniqueness rather than discover it. people should not design puzzles this way
but as a player, i think the puzzle designer does not get to choose your techniques. you can and should win by any means possible
@Satsuma @alyssa In 14 Minesweeper Variants, if you make a deduction that happens to be true but can't be proved with the information currently available to you, the game treats it the same as being wrong
And in that game, you explicitly aren't allowed to use uniqueness. There are things I've figured out must be true in a puzzle but I'm not allowed to click them or use them for further logic, because they only must be true if I assume the puzzle is uniquely solvable. That's true, but I'm not allowed to assume it