It doesn't quite have my ice puzzle seal of approval, but the idea of using the same input set for two different puzzles is worth a moon.
My main problem with this game is that none of the puzzles felt like they were hiding any interesting epiphanies. It's more about going through the analysis each level needs. None of the levels are so complex that this analysis is remarkably interesting, although it was a bit satisfying to go through them.
I wonder if my interest in ice puzzles actually hurts this game. Perhaps I've developed such good heuristics for reading and solving ice puzzles that these were easier than they should have been. Most of the puzzles in this game were actaully intuitive to me.
Due to my ice puzzle skills, the main twist is almost helpful as often as it introduces a complication. This is because you can simplify your analysis by focusing on the side that seems harder and also immediately discard any line that would send either square into unrecoverable territory.
The main way the puzzles wear their solution on their sleeves is from the puzzle elements on the board. Most of them are placed there for a reason, so then it becomes very powerful to center your analysis over how you are going to use them. The game introduces new mechanics to iterate on the puzzles, but these actually make them easier in some sense, because they're like beacons to latch onto in figuring out the solution. The levels become less about "how do i construct a path to the goal" and more about "how do i correclty use all these things that are obviously going to be a part of my path to the goal"
My main problem with this game is that none of the puzzles felt like they were hiding any interesting epiphanies. It's more about going through the analysis each level needs. None of the levels are so complex that this analysis is remarkably interesting, although it was a bit satisfying to go through them.
I wonder if my interest in ice puzzles actually hurts this game. Perhaps I've developed such good heuristics for reading and solving ice puzzles that these were easier than they should have been. Most of the puzzles in this game were actaully intuitive to me.
Due to my ice puzzle skills, the main twist is almost helpful as often as it introduces a complication. This is because you can simplify your analysis by focusing on the side that seems harder and also immediately discard any line that would send either square into unrecoverable territory.
The main way the puzzles wear their solution on their sleeves is from the puzzle elements on the board. Most of them are placed there for a reason, so then it becomes very powerful to center your analysis over how you are going to use them. The game introduces new mechanics to iterate on the puzzles, but these actually make them easier in some sense, because they're like beacons to latch onto in figuring out the solution. The levels become less about "how do i construct a path to the goal" and more about "how do i correclty use all these things that are obviously going to be a part of my path to the goal"