Overview
Addlocks are
a lot like regular crossword puzzles, except that both
the clues and the answers are
numbers rather than words. As with crossword puzzles, the
interesting format makes it both harder and easier to come
up with a correct answer. It's harder because not just
any old answer of the right length will do, since intersecting
answers must match. But it's also easier, since the answer
to an easy clue will help you figure out a more difficult
intersecting one.
1
Across has two spaces, so you need two numbers that will
add up to 6. In theory, there are seven possible answers:
0-6, 1-5, 2-4, 3-3, 4-2, 5-1, and 6-0. But since zero isn't
allowed, you can eliminate the first and last. And since
you can't have two of the same numbers in one answer, you
can eliminate 3-3. That leaves you with 1-5, 2-4, 4-2,
and 5-1.
Sometimes
you'll be given extra clues such as that a given number
other than zero is never allowed. Also, we might
tell
you that all the answers end in an odd number, or even
number. These are important clues that will help you
narrow down the field of possible answers.
Taking
another look at our example, let's say we told you that
8 is never allowed in this puzzle and all answers must
end in an even number. The even-number clue rules out 1-5
and 5-1, leaving 2-4 and 4-2. Now, look at 2 Down (clue: "10").
If the answer for 2 Down began with 2, then the second
number would have to be 8, which is not allowed. So you
know 1 Across must be 2-4, and 2 Down must be 4-6. One
answer leads to another, and you're on your way.
Since
short answers are easier to solve than long ones, it's
usually good to start short and work your way to long
ones from there. If you look at 3 Across, a 3-number
row, you'll
see that the answer to 2 Down gives you the first number
in 3 Across's solution. To see
how easy it is to get the answer with that head start,
take a moment to figure out the other possible numbers
that will add up to the number given in the clue, "19".
The 6 you already have tells you that you need two
more numbers that must add up to 13: 9-4, 8-5, 7-6,
6-7, 5-8,
or 4-9. Since 8 is not allowed and you can't have two
6's in one row, you're left with the first and last
options,
and since the row must end in an even number, you know
only the first can be right. So of all possible three-number
series that could add up to 19, you've singled out
the only possible correct answer.
Beware
of Experimenting with
Random Number Combinations
Mistakes
can be costly because elapsed time
is key to your score. If you enter two wrong numbers in
any one square, that
square will lock until a correct number is placed in another
square in the grid. You can disable this 2-tries lockout
by checking the box located in the puzzle.
Scoring
A
timing clock starts automatically when you enter your first
number into the game-grid. It runs until you have entered
a correct number into each of the spaces in the game-grid.
Your score will show the ratio of total correct responses
to total possible responses. It will also show your total
elapsed time.
Select
Your Own Difficulty Levels
Each addlocks is
given a Brain-Gain Level of 1 (easiest), 2 (medium), or
3 (hardest). Click on one of these links to try games at
the level you like. To make any game more difficult, try
not to look at the Help links. But if you're having difficulty
getting started, HELP #1 contains clues to the correct
numbers and HELP #2 gives the correct answer to
one of the anagrams.
Back
to top of page
