I knew that updating the logic problems for the new website would be a big task. Several logic problems were never posted to the last version of the website, and those that were still needed updated graphics and, in some cases, updated detailed solutions. I decided to break the logic problem update into pieces, so that I could better manage the work and post updates more frequently. Here’s what’s new in the first update:

Logic problem #1 – Coin Box
The main coin chest graphic was redone to make it look more like an actual chest of small drawers (like an old card catalog). This is the third or fourth version of this graphic, and I’m finally happy with it. The solution graphics, while visually the same as the last version, also needed to be redone, since the original graphics inside the Adobe Illustrator file somehow had already been exported to a non-vector format.

Logic problem #2 – Two-year Garden
The solution graphics in the last version contained explanatory text, which I’m universally trying to eliminate. This text was removed and replaced with descriptive text on the actual page. I had updated the solution graphics at some point for the last revision of the website, but those updated graphics were never posted for some reason. I further modified those updated graphics to improve the font and color. The detailed solution text was updated and expanded to be more clear, and to replace the aforementioned text from the old graphics.

Logic problem #3 – Castaway, Part 1
This update required the most work out of the first group. The graphics for this puzzle need to illustrate the ordering of names, and the previous graphics (including a hideous font choice) didn’t look very good. I replaced them by changing the font and creating a “ballot” theme as seen on the TV show that inspired the puzzle. The page-wide format of the old website allowed ample room for the graphics to be placed next to their corresponding clues and explanations. The current skinny-column version of the site (which improves readability) doesn’t contain very much room to have text next to graphics, so the CSS spacing of the two-column view is a bit of a hack.

While the solution, in terms of the order of names kicked off the island, is unchanged, the text of the detailed solution and the structure of the solution is improved. The original solution sometimes inserted names between previously ordered pairs, while the new solution strictly builds before or after the currently ordered list. This was motivated by the previously mentioned difficulty with the graphic layout (inserting names required wider graphics that would not have been easily arranged on the new website), but also made the solution more straightforward. With the detailed solution changes, the following clues were eliminated, since they were redundant and no longer necessary to solve the problem:

Paul:
I was kicked off after Bill.
I was kicked off before Russel.

Tiffany:
Holliday was kicked off before Paul.
Emory was kicked off before Eutaw.

Logic problem #4 – Bookstore
Even though the text (numbers, really) in the solution graphics is a bit small, it is reiterated in the text of the detailed solution, so these graphics were not changed (except, as with all graphics on the site, replaced with new svg versions). I corrected a typo in a solution equation which I hadn’t previously caught.

Logic problem #5 – Cineplex
I increased the size of the cineplex solution graphics to match the main cineplex puzzle layout graphic. The text of the detailed solution was modified to include the original clues and increase clarity of the solution.