|
Nikoli (publisher)
is a Japanese publisher that specializes in games and, especially, logic puzzles. ''Nikoli'' is also the nickname of a quarterly magazine (whose full name is ''Puzzle Communication Nikoli'') issued by the company in Tokyo. ''Nikoli'' was established in 1980 and became prominent worldwide with the popularity of ''Sudoku''. The name "Nikoli" comes from the racehorse who won the Irish 2,000 Guineas in 1980; the founder of Nikoli, Maki Kaji, was fond of horseracing and betting. Nikoli's claim to fame is its vast library of "culture independent" puzzles. An example of a language/culture-dependent genre of puzzle would be the crossword, which relies on a specific language and alphabet. For this reason Nikoli's puzzles are often purely logical, and often numerical. Nikoli's Sudoku, the most popular logic problem in Japan, was popularized in the English-speaking world in 2005, though that game has a history stretching back hundreds of years and across the globe. The magazine has invente ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kabushiki-gaisha
A or ''kabushiki kaisha'', commonly abbreviated K.K. or KK, is a type of defined under the Companies Act of Japan. The term is often translated as "stock company", "joint-stock company" or "stock corporation". The term ''kabushiki gaisha'' in Japan refers to any joint-stock company regardless of country of origin or incorporation; however, outside Japan the term refers specifically to joint-stock companies incorporated in Japan. Usage in language In Latin script, ''kabushiki kaisha'', with a , is often used, but the original Japanese pronunciation is ''kabushiki gaisha'', with a , owing to rendaku. A ''kabushiki gaisha'' must include "" in its name (Article 6, paragraph 2 of the Companies Act). In a company name, "" can be used as a prefix (e.g. , '' kabushiki gaisha Dentsū'', a style called , ''mae-kabu'') or as a suffix (e.g. , '' Toyota Jidōsha kabushiki gaisha'', a style called , ''ato-kabu''). Many Japanese companies translate the phrase "" in their name as "Company, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bag (puzzle)
Bag (also called ''Corral'' or ''Cave'') is a binary-determination logic puzzle published by Nikoli. Rules Bag is played on a rectangular grid, usually of dashed lines, in which numbers appear in some of the cells. The object is to draw a single, continuous loop along the lines of the grid that contains all the numbers on the grid. Each number indicates the total number of cells visible in any orthogonal direction before a line of the loop is reached, plus the cell itself. For example, a 2-cell will have one cell adjacent to it, followed by a wall of the loop. Solution methods The easiest starting place is to find a "maximum cell"; that is, a numbered cell which if the walls are not at the maximum distance possible, the number is not satisfied. For example, in a 10x10 grid which has not started to be solved, a 19-cell is a maximum cell, since if the four walls are not at the edges of the grid, the number of cells visible wouldn't be enough. After making some progress, "mini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keisuke (puzzle)
Keisuke is a logic puzzle published by Nikoli. Rules ''Keisuke'' is played on a rectangular grid, in which some cells of the grid are shaded. Additionally, external to the grid, several numeric values are given, some denoted as horizontal, and some denoted as vertical. The puzzle functions as a simple numeric crossword puzzle. The object is to fill in the empty cells with single digits, such that the given numeric values appear on the grid in the orientation specified. Example ACROSS → 13, 23, 233, 3221, 21222 DOWN ↓ 12, 21, 22, 232, 3132, 33313 Solution {, class="wikitable" width="150px" style="font-style: bold; text-align: center;" , - , 2, , 3, , bgcolor="black", , , 1, , 3 , - , bgcolor="black", , , 3, , 2, , 2, , 1 , - , 2, , 3, , 3, , bgcolor="black", , , 3 , - , 2, , 1, , 2, , 2, , 2 , - , bgcolor="black", , , 3, , bgcolor="black", , , 1, , bgcolor="black", Solution methods The best way to start a Keisuke is to look for i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cross Sums
Kakuro or Kakkuro or Kakoro ( ja, カックロ) is a kind of logic puzzle that is often referred to as a mathematical transliteration of the crossword. Kakuro puzzles are regular features in many math-and-logic puzzle publications across the world. In 1966, Canadian Jacob E. Funk, an employee of Dell Magazines, came up with the original English name ''Cross Sums'' and other names such as ''Cross Addition'' have also been used, but the Japanese name ''Kakuro,'' abbreviation of Japanese ''kasan kurosu'' (加算クロス, "addition cross"), seems to have gained general acceptance and the puzzles appear to be titled this way now in most publications. The popularity of Kakuro in Japan is immense, second only to Sudoku among Nikoli's famed logic-puzzle offerings. The canonical Kakuro puzzle is played in a grid of filled and barred cells, "black" and "white" respectively. Puzzles are usually 16×16 in size, although these dimensions can vary widely. Apart from the top row and leftmo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inshi No Heya
{{Italic title, reason= :Japanese words and phrases ''Inshi no heya'' ( 因子の部屋 ; lit. "factoring rooms") is a type of logic puzzle published by Nikoli. It is a specific form of the KenKen puzzle genre where every operation is implied to be multiplication. Rules ''Inshi no heya'' is played on a square grid, broken into "rooms" by heavier borders. One of every room's dimensions will be a single cell; the length or width of the room varying by room. Each room may run either horizontally or vertically, and has a small number appearing in its upper left corner. The puzzle starts with all the cells empty. The goal is to fill all the cells with nonzero single-digit numbers (1 through n, where n is the length of the grid's edge) such that: *The numbers in each room, when multiplied together, equal the small number in the upper left corner of the room * No number appears twice in a column or row Solution methods A usual place to start are single-celled boxes, as these ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hotaru Beam
Hotaru Beam ({{lit, firefly beam) is a binary-determination logic puzzle A logic puzzle is a puzzle deriving from the mathematical field of deduction. History The logic puzzle was first produced by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who is better known under his pen name Lewis Carroll, the author of ''Alice's Adventures in W ... published by Nikoli. Description ''Hotaru Beam'' is played on a rectangular grid, usually of dashed lines, in which numbers in circles appear at some of the intersections on the grid. Additionally, each circle has a dot on one of the grid lines leading into the circle. Rules (translated from Nikoli) # Draw a line from each white circle's black dot to any white circle, following the grid's horizontal and vertical markings. # Lines cannot be drawn from a black dot to another black dot, nor can they be drawn from a white circle not at its black dot to a white circle not at its black dot. # No crossing or branching of lines is acceptable. At the end, the drawn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heyawake
Heyawake (Japanese: へやわけ, "divided rooms") is a binary-determination logic puzzle published by Nikoli. As of 2013, five books consisting entirely of ''Heyawake'' puzzles have been published by Nikoli. It first appeared in ''Puzzle Communication Nikoli'' #39 (September 1992). Rules ''Heyawake'' is played on a rectangular grid of cells with no standard size; the grid is divided into variously sized rectangular "rooms" by bold lines following the edges of the cells. Some rooms may contain a single number, typically printed in their upper-left cell; as originally designed, every room was numbered, but this is rarely necessary for solving and is no longer followed. Some of the cells in the puzzle are to be painted black; the object of the puzzle is to determine for each cell if it must be painted or must be left blank (remaining white). In practice, it is often easier to mark known "blank" cells in some way—for example, by placing a dot in the center of the cell. The fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hashiwokakero
''Hashiwokakero'' (橋をかけろ ''Hashi o kakero''; lit. "build bridges!") is a type of logic puzzle published by Nikoli. It has also been published in English under the name ''Bridges'' or ''Chopsticks'' (based on a mistranslation: the ''hashi'' of the title, 橋, means ''bridge''; ''hashi'' written with another character, 箸, means ''chopsticks''). It has also appeared in ''The Times'' under the name ''Hashi''. In France, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium it is published under the name Ai-Ki-Ai. Rules ''Hashiwokakero'' is played on a rectangular grid with no standard size, although the grid itself is not usually drawn. Some cells start out with (usually encircled) numbers from 1 to 8 inclusive; these are the "islands". The rest of the cells are empty. The goal is to connect all of the islands by drawing a series of bridges between the islands. The bridges must follow certain criteria:. * They must begin and end at distinct islands, travelling a straight line ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goishi Hiroi
Goishi Hiroi, also known as Hiroimono, is a Japanese variant of peg solitaire. In it, pegs (or stones on a Go board) are arranged in a set pattern, and the player must pick up all the pegs or stones, one by one. In some variants, the choice of the first stone is fixed, while in others the player is free to choose the first stone. After the first stone, each stone that is removed must be taken from the next occupied position along a vertical or horizontal line from the previously-removed stone. Additionally, it is not possible to reverse direction along a line: each step from one position to the next must either continue in the same direction as the previous step, or turn at a right angle from the previous step. These puzzles were used for bar bets in 14th-century Japan, and a collection of them was published in a Japanese puzzle book from 1727. Determining whether a given puzzle can be solved is NP-complete. This can be proved either by a many-one reduction from 3-satisfiability ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gokigen Naname
Gokigen Naname, also known as Slant, is a binary-determination logic puzzle published by Nikoli. Rules ''Gokigen Naname'' is played on a rectangular grid in which numbers in circles appear at some of the intersections on the grid. The object is to draw diagonal lines in each cell of the grid, such that the number in each circle equals the number of lines extending from that circle. Additionally, it is forbidden for the diagonal lines to form an enclosed loop. Unlike many of Nikoli's similar puzzles, such as Hashiwokakero, a single network of lines is not required. Solution methods Deductions easy to spot * 4 in the middle of the grid specify its four cells. * Corners with 0 or 1 specify that cell. * Borders with 0 or 2 specify those cells. Deductions from single numbers * When numbers 1, 2 or 3 get its connections, one can fill remaining cells The other way around applies: numbers 1, 2 or 3 with that amount unfilled cells and other cells avoiding the number specify the r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fillomino
Fillomino (フィルオミノ) is a type of logic puzzle published by many publishers. Other published titles for the puzzle include ''Allied Occupation''. Rules ''Fillomino'' is played on a rectangular grid with no standard size; the internal grid lines are often dotted. (When published as ''Allied Occupation'' in the World Puzzle Championship, the cells of the grid are circular, but this is purely an aesthetic concern.) Some cells of the grid start containing numbers, referred to as "givens". The goal is to divide the grid into regions called polyominoes (by filling in their boundaries) such that each given number ''n'' in the grid satisfies the following constraints: * Each clue ''n'' is part of a polyomino of size n; * no two polyominoes of matching size (number of cells) are orthogonally adjacent (share a side). It is possible for two givens with matching number to belong to the same polyomino in the solution, and for a polyomino to have no given at all. Solution metho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
