Picross DS-General Discussion

[quote name='wubb']Picked it up and yeah it looks like 100 might be the limit for custom boards. Not bad.

The no multiple accounts thing is a major bummer. Had a few friends try it out this weekend and they had to sort of not look at the screen when choosing a puzzle to play since it shows the solved puzzles in thumbnail. I was really surprised they didn't have a system like brain age where it allows multiple accounts and then shows how your time stacks up to the other people and charts your daily Picross times against everyone, etc. Dumb. You basically have to buy a separate copy of the game for each serious player in the house. Ugh.

Other than that I love the game.

Are there puzzles available to download from Nintendo? I thought they review I read said the old GBA version's puzzles were up but when I hopped on it just said 'puzzles coming soon' or something like that.[/quote]

My only complaint is the same as yours - only having one save slot sucks. My wife is the primary player of the game (in the same way that she is the primary sudoku player in Brain Age) so I am stuck with puzzles where the thumbnail is already completed. I've just been trying not to look at the thumbnail when I start the puzzle but it is hard.
 
Yep, and they didn't even make it an option to turn off the thumbnail previews of solved puzzles. I half think they purposefully did it that way to force multi-player households into buying multipe copies. :bomb:

Backlash, just gimme your FC and I'll add it. I'll have to look up mine here later. I think the way it works is that once both

1) I've added your code and connected to WFC
2) You've added my code and connected to WFC

Then I can download the puzzle. I'll d/l it, edit it (to change the name say) and then reupload it for you just in case dowloading the exact same puzzle from me doesn't reset the thumbnail.
 
I made a couple Mario themed puzzles I'm somewhat proud of. (Didn't make them for difficulty but for the picture. Although one of them turned out pretty difficult I think.) Unfortunately one of them had to be 'corrected' to work so it's not quite how I'd want it.

Anyway my friend code is:

356589
486958

PM me or post your FC if you add me. I'd love to check out some other CAG made puzzles!
 
I find myself sneaking time to play this whenever I can, on break while at work, on the computer. It's one of those rare games that just consumes my thoughts. It's hard to explain, but it's like I'll find myself looking at two random objects and wondering if I could fit 2 or 4 tiles between them.

I tried to register a friend codes from gamefaqs to get some custom puzzles, but even though the people have said they put in my friend code, I still don't see any puzzles when I go to the Puzzle Exchange area. Is it something that's supposed to take a day or two, or something?
 
Picked it up, my friend code is: 0344-6706-2983

If you would like to exchange codes, please PM me as I can't guarantee that I'll be paying attention to this thread.

And hootie, quit being lazy and compile all of our friend codes to the first post of the thread. :lol:
 
This is cheap and everyone seems to love it, but I tried a demo of Picross online and I guess I'm too dull to play. I can do Sudoku no problem, but I just cannot seem to grasp this. I suck. :lol:
 
[quote name='modium']
I tried to register a friend codes from gamefaqs to get some custom puzzles, but even though the people have said they put in my friend code, I still don't see any puzzles when I go to the Puzzle Exchange area. Is it something that's supposed to take a day or two, or something?[/quote]

The thing about that is I think both people have to be online at the same time to DL each other's puzzles. We should make a meet up time once or twice a week to have everyone turn on their wifi at the same time for 10 minutes to exchange puzzles.

I think I have added everyone on here that gave up a friend code so far. :bouncy: Feel free to do the same for me if you want. I only have the 1 homemade puzzle so far though.

Also, if the OP is updated with our FCs, It might also be useful to add the number or the name of the name of the homemade puzzles they have to DL next to their name so that we know who to check.
 
I just made my first puzzle last night. Was not aware you could go up 20 x 20. I think I'll redo the one in 20 x 20 and see how that looks.

EDIT: Looks so much better in a 20x square. I don't have any wi-fi at the moment but if/when I do I'll share it. It's a pretty easy puzzle.
 
Can I get some quick opinions on this game? Is it addicting? and is this "the" puzzle game for the DS at the moment? Or are there other puzzle game choices that still overshadow this?
 
[quote name='BREVITY']Very addictive but for me not as much as Puzzle Quest.
I find myself constantly wanting to move the pieces verically.[/QUOTE]
Oh, hmm, so does this play like another bejeweled or meteos? Maybe I should just look for puzzle quest, if they even have them available, that is.

edit: I'll try to play that homebrew in the meantime.
 
[quote name='halu102']Oh, hmm, so does this play like another bejeweled or meteos? Maybe I should just look for puzzle quest, if they even have them available, that is.[/QUOTE]

No it's not like Bejeweled or Meteos.

It's more similar to sudoku, but it's not quite the same.

Very addictive game. I was also addicted to PQ for a good while, but I finished that one a month ago now and just started on Picross a few days ago so it's hard to compare the level. One is fresh and one is used up for me.

My biggest complaint is that you can only have one user account so it's pretty tough for two serious players to share a single copy.

Did a google and this is the first site that came up with a playable version: http://www.thetimmys.com/flash/picross/
 
[quote name='Rocko']This is cheap and everyone seems to love it, but I tried a demo of Picross online and I guess I'm too dull to play. I can do Sudoku no problem, but I just cannot seem to grasp this. I suck. :lol:[/quote]

That was the way it was for me when I tried to learn online - I found the tutorial/easier puzzles within Picross DS to be much easier to grasp.
 
Hmm I wonder if online play is going to wear thin after a bit. I've played 30 or so bouts and I'm already starting to recognize repeated puzzles. I imagine the people I see who've played 1000+ games know some of them by heart just from the numbers on the side.
 
Picked this up, played with it a bit. Pretty fun. Like a soothing minesweeper.

I'll get my FC later (after work, hopefully).
 
[quote name='daroga']When are the classic puzzles going to be made available for us to download?[/QUOTE]

That's what I'd love to know. Japan has multiple packs and Europe has at least 2 already. :bomb:

[quote name='Strell']Picked this up, played with it a bit. Pretty fun. Like a soothing minesweeper.

I'll get my FC later (after work, hopefully).[/QUOTE]

Ha! I knew enticing you with Nintendo themed puzzles would compel you to make the purchase. :twisted:

------------------------------------------------------

For people that don't have a clue how this game works, this page seems to have a decent explanation: http://www.thonky.com/cazgridz/tutorial1.htm
 
Got my Picross from Amazon today, woohoo!

Is it always obvious how to start a puzzle? On some of them I had to just flat out guess to get it started...am I doing something wrong?
 
[quote name='briandadude']Got my Picross from Amazon today, woohoo!

Is it always obvious how to start a puzzle? On some of them I had to just flat out guess to get it started...am I doing something wrong?[/QUOTE]

Picross DS is my first introduction to the game, but I'm getting a little better at the logic for it. I think after a while you start to notice little things to help you understand how to do the puzzles.

For example, let's say you have a board 10x10, and one of the rows says it filles in 8. You can assume that the chain can only be in one of three places: all the way to the left, centered, or all the way to the right. From that, you can assume that no matter where the chain is, there's always six squares that will have to be filled in, as shown below:

XXXXXXXX00
0XXXXXXXX0
00XXXXXXXX

See the overlap? No matter where the chain is, you can be sure those 6 get filled.

Then it's just a matter of building off that. A strategy I like to use is choosing the X and drawing the variations for a row/column, and then filling in the overlap. I'll draw the variations on 2-3 different rows, even when I'm only working on one row.

Another example. 10x10 board, you have 2 3 2. So:

XX0XXX0XX0
0XX0XXX0XX

There's at least four squares you can safely fill in.

Word of caution: If you do this (and since I do this a lot, I usually make this mistake), be sure you go back and erase the lines you drew X's on that you weren't trying to deduce.

I.e., if you're working on the top line, but you draw the variations on it and the two lines under it, get rid off the variations on those second two lines.

Otherwise what will happen is you'll be working on the puzzle and you'll see those X's and you won't remember drawing them, and you'll think they are there for a reason, when in reality you were using them to deduce something else altogether.

Anyway, it's a good strategy I've used so far.

Also, word of warning: Don't play this game in the car. It really screws you up. :p
 
Ahh! You're right!

Thanks a ton Strell, you're the man!

I just got the hang of Planet Puzzle League and getting chains to happen and now I have to learn all the Picross goodness.
 
Sure. :)

Supposedly you should be able to always win based on pure logic alone without guessing. 'Course sometimes I'll slip and accidentally hit a square I shouldn't, and it says it should be filled in.

I guess you can call that guessing. :)

Forgot to mention this last post, but the 15x15 puzzles can be a bit much on that tiny screen. I think they handled it as best they possibly could. I hope with the DS2 that we get larger screens so you have the option of seeing everything at once.

I'm way too much of a needs-to-see-everything-all-at-once sort of guy.
 
Brian another good rule of thumb for starting puzzles is to pick the lines with the most acountable numbers.

Like 2 5 3 1 4 3 may not look like a good place to start, but count it all up and include the spaces in between the numbers as well. Thats 23 slots accounted for in that one string of numbers.

Also try to fill in the 4 sides as much as you can at first since that will gaurantee you a set amount of spaces to fill in automatically.


You've probably already figured these hints out, but just in case, I thought I'd throw them up for you. The rest of the fun is figuring out what can fit in the empty spaces, given the numbers you have left and the space you have to fill, then working from there.
 
[quote name='Strell']Forgot to mention this last post, but the 15x15 puzzles can be a bit much on that tiny screen. I think they handled it as best they possibly could. I hope with the DS2 that we get larger screens so you have the option of seeing everything at once.

I'm way too much of a needs-to-see-everything-all-at-once sort of guy.[/QUOTE]

If you switch from the stylus controls you see the entire puzzle at once for 15x15 and 20x20 puzzles. I've started switching (especially for the 20x20s) just to get the better overall picture and to avoid miss touches caused by the scrolling board.
 
Aye wubb, I figured that out last night. Works must better.

Still makes me think Nintendo needs to give us a bigger screen with the next handheld.
 
As fun as the stylus is, the d-pad and buttons are much more precise and efficient. Every once in awhile the stylus won't respond for a second, and then it'll hit some random block in the middle of the puzzle, usually penalizing me.

And yeah, it's much nicer not having to scroll around the board.
 
i haven't seen anyone post about this yet - but my preferred method is using the stylus, but keeping the button locked on scroll. then whenever i want to fill in a square i just hold down "X" and fill in whichever squares i want (makes long lines easy by just dragging the stylus) and hold down "B" when i want to x any squares. let go of either button and it goes back to scroll mode. i'll usually use the top screen to do my counting, as you can tap on that as much as you'd like without causing any errors.

just wanted to throw this out there as i kinda stumbled across this method, and had seen too many reviews knock the controls as being "difficult"
 
[quote name='Strell']Also, word of warning: Don't play this game in the car. It really screws you up. :p[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I noticed this as well, although it's not as bad if you go back to d-pad and button controls.

I find myself making educated guesses more when I'm playing the online competition mode. If I see a large number, I'll start near the middle and guess which direction it goes. It's often faster than figuring it out, even if you do get a penalty.
 
Yeah the penalty for the online mode is only what 5 seconds? Makes more sense to take a guess or two if you don't quickly see some definite plays.

I would have liked to see a higher penalty or maybe a configurable penalty (quick mode is the current few second penalty; careful mode is a 30 second penalty; and maybe even a sudden death mode where any error is instant defeat) but I guess they wanted to keep things simple and make all games the same.
 
Damn guys, you're basically taking all the strategy out of it for that guy. That's how the game works: after the first few easy puzzles you have to do those tricks just to play the game.
 
Question:

If the numbers across the top are mirrored, does that mean the picture is symmetrical?

I.e.:

1___1___1
2_1_2_1_2
131313131

I keep telling myself that logically it can be, or at least that there might be instances where it is, but can't quite convince myself it would ALWAYS be symmetrical.
 
[quote name='Strell']Question:

If the numbers across the top are mirrored, does that mean the picture is symmetrical?

I.e.:

1___1___1
2_1_2_1_2
131313131

I keep telling myself that logically it can be, or at least that there might be instances where it is, but can't quite convince myself it would ALWAYS be symmetrical.[/QUOTE]

Most of the time yes they would since most puzzles form a pretty picture and often that means symmetry, but I don't think they would mathematically have to be.

Tybee - The other thread is just for friend code trading and custom puzzle discussion and I think it's better to keep that separate and as low on clutter as possible.
 
[quote name='Jayayess1190']My friend code is 223446-949833.[/quote]

Thanks, but there is another thread devoted to Picross DS FCs and WiFi play. :)
 
aaaarrrrgggh........and I only had 16 puzzles left out of the 300+......now they throw another 20 more at me. not that i'm complaining though, so i hope they keep coming.

for anyone that is curious, Pack 1 has 10 puzzles (1 10X10 N, 6 15X15 N, 3 15X15 F) and Pack 2 has 10 puzzles (2 10X10 N, 4 15X15 N, 4 15X15 F)
 
Do the Classic Packs take up space used for downloading original puzzles? If so, I'll have to delete some more before I download them.
 
I love it when RollingSkull and hootie post one after the other. If you scroll fast enough, it's like a picture flip book animation.
 
As I played through PW:AA I kept waiting to see someone throw coffee at Phoenix. Then I finally figured out (after the last case of course) that it must happen in the second one. Ah, well.
 
[quote name='Backlash']As I played through PW:AA I kept waiting to see someone throw coffee at Phoenix. Then I finally figured out (after the last case of course) that it must happen in the second one. Ah, well.[/quote]

The epic coffee throwing actually takes place in the 3rd game. ;)
 
Well, there ya go. I enjoyed AA, but towards the end it felt too repetitive already and I didn't really enjoy the investigation all that much. Mostly it just felt like you had to guess which scene to visit next over and over again. I did enjoy the court parts and the writing was great, but I doubt I'll ever play the 2nd, 3rd, etc.
 
Grabbed the two Mario packs yesterday!

I think it will take me something around 100 hours to do the 300 included puzzles. The upper level ones seem to take me about 20 minutes each to complete.
 
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