So I was playing the 3DS "port" of Picross S made by Vulpes-Vulpeos, but since it's really a Switch game, I'm posting this discussion here.
[Edit] Turns out I was completely wrong.
Oh well. If any other puzzle fans feel like using this thread to chat Picross, be my guest.
I believe I've come across the first "unsolvable" Picross puzzle that Jupiter has put out in a decade! To be clear, there are no truly unsolvable puzzles in the series, but ever since Picross DS (2007?) they've made sure that every puzzle is solvable by direct logic alone, without requiring any trial-and-error moves.
To illustrate this, most Picross games have a "Navigation" feature (also called "Blue Force" in Pokémon Picross) that turns the hint numbers blue on any row or column that has at least one square that can be figured out by deduction. And when you solve those square(s), that in turn causes other rows or columns to gain solvable squares. If you play with Navigation kept on, you'll see some blue numbers throughout the entire puzzle up until you finish it.
According to GameFAQs, the puzzle I've found in Picross S is M148, but in the 3DS port it's M142. I've played this puzzle a dozen times and gotten stuck at exactly the same spot every time:
Notice the blue question mark, which means Navigation is turned on. Blue numbers last appeared on column 2/3, and disappeared when I put the X in the highlighted square in that screenshot. This means the puzzle can't be completed from this point without trial-and-error.
I've compared the solution to the non-Mega version of that puzzle and confirmed that 1) Everything in the screenshot is correct so far, and 2) There's no error caused by the porting process.
Anyway, I know this might not mean much to a lot of you, but for us Picross fiends this is a pretty big deal if true! I've played Picross e1 to 9, Pokémon, Club Nintendo original and Plus, Sanrio Characters, and Twilight Princess, and this would be the first "unsolvable" out of all of them. Makes me wonder how they missed it, maybe there's a flaw in their algorithm.
Is there something I'm missing? Have you found any other puzzles you believe are unsolvable or want to crowdsource possible solutions to them? Want to discuss puzzle-solving techniques in general?
[Edit] Turns out I was completely wrong.
Oh well. If any other puzzle fans feel like using this thread to chat Picross, be my guest.To illustrate this, most Picross games have a "Navigation" feature (also called "Blue Force" in Pokémon Picross) that turns the hint numbers blue on any row or column that has at least one square that can be figured out by deduction. And when you solve those square(s), that in turn causes other rows or columns to gain solvable squares. If you play with Navigation kept on, you'll see some blue numbers throughout the entire puzzle up until you finish it.
According to GameFAQs, the puzzle I've found in Picross S is M148, but in the 3DS port it's M142. I've played this puzzle a dozen times and gotten stuck at exactly the same spot every time:
Notice the blue question mark, which means Navigation is turned on. Blue numbers last appeared on column 2/3, and disappeared when I put the X in the highlighted square in that screenshot. This means the puzzle can't be completed from this point without trial-and-error.
I've compared the solution to the non-Mega version of that puzzle and confirmed that 1) Everything in the screenshot is correct so far, and 2) There's no error caused by the porting process.
Anyway, I know this might not mean much to a lot of you, but for us Picross fiends this is a pretty big deal if true! I've played Picross e1 to 9, Pokémon, Club Nintendo original and Plus, Sanrio Characters, and Twilight Princess, and this would be the first "unsolvable" out of all of them. Makes me wonder how they missed it, maybe there's a flaw in their algorithm.
Is there something I'm missing? Have you found any other puzzles you believe are unsolvable or want to crowdsource possible solutions to them? Want to discuss puzzle-solving techniques in general?
Last edited by HelpTheWretched,
