COSC 326
Puzzle Pitch
Logic puzzles with a visual component are all the rage, many of them from Japan.
Some were discussed by Alex Bellos in The Guardian, and also in a book Puzzle Ninja.
Your supervisors at Consolidated Megacorp are keen to jump on the bandwagon and
produce an app (ad-driven of course) based on one or more of them. They’d like each
pair of employees to find a puzzle type and write a brief pitch for why it should be
included.
Task
Find and choose (or create) a puzzle type and prepare a document (roughly two full
pages of body text in PDF at 11 or 12 point font – probably slightly longer including
diagrams) proposing it for inclusion in the app. The proposal should contain:
• Enough information about the puzzle to understand how it works.
• The appearance of an initial and completed puzzle.
• Discussion of how new puzzles can be generated and solutions verified.
• Why you think this type of puzzle would be appealing in the app.
• Where the puzzle comes from and consideration of any licensing issues with using puzzles of this type.
Formatting and presentation are important – you are trying to impress your manager’s
manager so that you’ll be chosen as the lead developers on the project!
You may not use a standard puzzle type (any puzzle regularly printed in the newspaper). It would be a bit lazy, but not wrong, to choose one of the puzzle types discussed
in the article referenced above. Another place to start looking for interesting puzzle
types could be The Art of Puzzles. If you’re not sure whether a puzzle is standard or
not, please ask in advance.
Relates to Objectives
1.2, 1.4, 2.6, 2.8, 2.10, 4.6, 4.8.
(3 points, Pair)
