List of Puzzle Elements: Difference between revisions

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* '''<code>[[Word Puzzle]]</code>'''
* '''<code>[[Word Puzzle]]</code>'''
** <code>[[Crossword]]</code> - See [[W:Crossword#Major_variants|Crossword variants]] for major variants including: <code>[[Cryptic Crossword]]</code>, <code>[[Diagramless Crossword]]</code>, <code>[[Fill-in Crossword]]</code> (<span style="background-color:Bisque">or "Criss-Cross"</span>), <code>[[Crossnuumber]]</code>, <code>[[Acrostics]]</code>, but also would include <code>[[Marching Bands]]</code>, <code>[[Rows Garden]]</code> and <code>[[Some Assembly Required]]</code> as common puzzle hunt occurrences, and <span style="background-color:Bisque"><code><span style="background-color:Bisque">[[Variety Crossword]]</span></code> could be a possible catch-all for all remaining gridded word puzzles</span>
** <code>[[Crossword]]</code> - See [[W:Crossword#Major_variants|Crossword variants]] for major variants including: <code>[[Cryptic Crossword]]</code>, <code>[[Diagramless Crossword]]</code>, <code>[[Fill-in Crossword]]</code> (<span style="background-color:Bisque">or "Criss-Cross"</span>), <code>[[Crossnuumber]]</code>, <code>[[Acrostics]]</code>, but also would include <code>[[Marching Bands]]</code>, <code>[[Rows Garden]]</code> and <code>[[Some Assembly Required]]</code> as common puzzle hunt occurrences, and <span style="background-color:Bisque"><code><span style="background-color:Bisque">[[Variety Crossword]]</span></code> could be a possible catch-all for all remaining gridded word puzzles</span>
** <code>[[Word Play]]</code> - Puzzle variations that are presented in a <code>[[Clue Centric]]</code> presentation, that involve some sort of word or letter pairing / manipulation / extraction step. May include sub-categorise such as <code>[[Cryptic Word Play]]</code>, <code>[[Connecting Sides]]</code> (left and right hand sets of clues that explicitly pair up), <code>[[Before And After]]</code> (or <code>[[Partitioned Clues]]</code> that partition into distinct sets), and <code>[[Word Ladder]]</code>.
** <code>[[Word Play]]</code> - Puzzle variations that are presented in a <code>[[Clue Centric]]</code> presentation, that involve some sort of word or letter pairing / manipulation / extraction step. May include sub-categorise such as <code>[[Cryptic Word Play]]</code>, <code> and <code>[[Word Ladder]]</code>.
** <code>[[Jumbles]]</code> - All word play variants that involve unscrambling letters or words. Would include <code>[[Cryptogram]]</code>, <code>[[Dropquote]]</code>, <code>[[Word Banks]]</code>, <code>[[Trigram Rearrangement]]</code> (<span style="background-color:Bisque">or perhaps <code><span style="background-color:Bisque">[[Rearrangements]]</span></code> to be more generic and include anagrams, sentence reconstructions, etc)</span>, <code>[[Interwoven Strings]]</code>
** <code>[[Jumbles]]</code> - All word play variants that involve unscrambling letters or words. Would include <code>[[Cryptogram]]</code>, <code>[[Dropquote]]</code>, <code>[[Word Banks]]</code>, <code>[[Trigram Rearrangement]]</code> (<span style="background-color:Bisque">or perhaps <code><span style="background-color:Bisque">[[Rearrangements]]</span></code> to be more generic and include anagrams, sentence reconstructions, etc)</span>, <code>[[Interwoven Strings]]</code>
** <code>[[Word Search]]</code> - Includes regular word searches as well as <code>[[Boggle Word Search]]</code>
** <code>[[Word Search]]</code> - Includes regular word searches as well as <code>[[Boggle Word Search]]</code>
** Some other common word based puzzles that seem to need categorisation include <code><span style="background-color:Bisque">[[Printer's Devilry]]</span></code>, <insert more here>)</span>
** Note that <code><span style="background-color:Bisque">[[Printer's Devilry]]</span></code> is probably more related to a Solve Path <code>[[Transformations]]</code> element.


* '''<code>[[Logic Puzzle]]</code>'''
* '''<code>[[Logic Puzzle]]</code>'''
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'''Solve Path Elements''' attempt to categorise the process and intermediate stages through which the puzzle's solve path proceeds through
'''Solve Path Elements''' attempt to categorise the process and intermediate stages through which the puzzle's solve path proceeds through


* <code>[[Identification]]</code> - Identification of provided elements as an initial step. Can include <code>[[Image Identification]]</code>, <code>[[Audio Identification]]</code> and <code>[[Video Identification]]</code> (though this may be redundant given the Media and Presentation elements)
TBC
* <code>[[Pairing]]</code> - Sets of clues that specifically pair up. Alternate ways of categorising this could be [[Connecting Sides]]</code> (left and right hand sets of clues that explicitly pair), <code>[[Before And After]]</code> (words form sets based on specific transformations) or <code>[[Partitioned Clues]]</code> (partitions into distinct sets, no necessarily pairs).
* <code>[[Transformations]]</code> - Puzzle elements undergo some form of transformation. Again, there is a large number of potential transformations that may occur (see [https://enigma.puzzlers.org/guide/flat NPL's List of flat]) and it may be prudent not to categorise further, but some common subcategories may include <code>[[Beheadment]]</code>, <code>[[Transdeletion]]</code>, <code>[[Transaddition]]</code>, <code>[[Anagram]]</code>, <code>[[Padlock]]</code> (or <code>[[Sandwiched Term]]</code>), <code>[[Reversal]]</code>, <code>[[Caesar Shift]]</code>, <code>[[Consonancy]]</code>, <code>[[Transplants]]</code>, etc)
⚫
* <code>[[Reordering]]</code> - Some element is embedded into the puzzle elements that allows for a reordering prior to extraction (i.e. Alphabetical particularly with 26 unique letters, chronological, consecutively numerical, physical locations, etc)
<More?>


=== Extraction Elements ===
=== Extraction Elements ===
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** <code>[[Special Letters]]</code> - Use of double letters, or strings of matching length with exactly 1 letter in common, or letters appearing in special substring patterns
** <code>[[Special Letters]]</code> - Use of double letters, or strings of matching length with exactly 1 letter in common, or letters appearing in special substring patterns
** <code>[[Marked Elements]]</code> - Colored or enumerated letters, Marked or overstuffed grid spaces, Marked entries, etc
** <code>[[Marked Elements]]</code> - Colored or enumerated letters, Marked or overstuffed grid spaces, Marked entries, etc
** <code>[[Numerical Indexing]]</code> - Nth letters are extracted from component answers, where the value of N is either supplied, or somehow derived
** <code>[[Indexing]]</code> - Nth letters are extracted from component answers, where the value of N is either supplied, or somehow derived
** <code>[[Positional]]</code> - Appearance of answer within an ordered arrangement of answers. May include <code>[[Initials]]</code>, <code>[[Last Letters]]</code>, <code>[[Central Letters]]</code>, <code>[[Diagonalization]]</code>
** <code>[[Positional]]</code> - Appearance of answer within an ordered arrangement of answers. May include <code>[[Initials]]</code>, <code>[[Last Letters]]</code>, <code>[[Central Letters]]</code>, <code>[[Diagonalization]]</code>
⚫
* <code>[[Reordering Extraction]]</code> - Some element is embedded into the puzzle elements that allows for a reordering spec prior to extraction (i.e. Alphabetical particularly with 26 unique letters, chronological, consecutively numerical, physical locations, etc)
* <code>[[Unclued Extraction]]</code> - Answer is related to an item that is identifiable missing from the puzzle's otherwise completed set
* <code>[[Unclued Extraction]]</code> - Answer is related to an item that is identifiable missing from the puzzle's otherwise completed set
* <code>[[Instructional Extraction]]</code> - Instructions are provided (either explicitly, or via an intermediate answer phrase) that directs the extraction of the final answer. This includes <code>[[Reward Extraction]]</code> where the answer is provided as a "reward" upon the completion of a task.
* <code>[[Instructional Extraction]]</code> - Instructions are provided (either explicitly, or via an intermediate answer phrase) that directs the extraction of the final answer. This includes <code>[[Reward Extraction]]</code> where the answer is provided as a "reward" upon the completion of a task.

Revision as of 08:09, 6 March 2022

A Puzzle Element is an essential building block or characteristic of a puzzle. This list is intended to be an early first draft of an ongoing community project to catalogue and organise puzzle elements into a hierarchical and useful taxonomy, and should eventually catalog every page that is a member of Category:Puzzle Element.

Contributors are strongly encouraged to make edits to this page and to start discussion topics in the accompanying Talk page. The following is a list of suggested editing conventions:

  • <code>[[Name]]</code> for each proposed Puzzle Elements (these can link to blank pages while this taxonomy is evolving)
  • italics for new additions
  • strikethough for deletions
  • Supported, Neutral, and Opposed suggestions - Used as discussion prompts for things like name suggestions or Talk section discussions).


Presentation Elements

Presentation Elements refers to the surface form of a puzzle (how it is presented to the solver). These elements should all be characteristics that a lay-person or non-puzzler can identify and describe, without hunt experience or puzzling knowledge. Because they are surface level characteristics, structure elements should never require any spoiler warnings.

  • Accessibility - Accessibility Friendly & Content Warning tags
  • Media type - Elements that deviate from a "pen-and-paper" media, or printable / static web page:
    • Audio - Audio file or collection of such files
    • Video - Video clip or collection of such clips
    • Physical - Physical object that requires manipulation or examination
    • Interaction - Interaction event that requires physical and live presence. Could be subdivided further into Event, Runaround, Scavenger Hunt, etc
    • Interactive - Game applet, interactive fiction, mods or levels for external video games, ClueKeeper app, augmented reality, etc. Could be subdivided further particularly for Interactive Fiction
    • Code - Executable code that requires compilation or interpretation [Better name?]
    • File Archives - Downloadable archives (.ZIP, etc) [Better name?]
    • Others - Spreadsheet?
  • Presentation - Top level, and most immediately apparent appearance of the puzzle
  • Instructions - Nature of instruction provided with the puzzle
    • Explicit Instructions - Instructions are provided explicitly as part of the puzzle
    • Example Instructions - Examples are provided as part of the puzzle, but deduction of rules is intended to be a part of the puzzle
    • Flavortext - Flavortext is provided, which may provide some cryptic allusions to the nature of the puzzle
    • Asked And Answered - Special category of puzzle where a narrative element is posed within the puzzle and answer provides a resolution to that question
  • Completion - Submission mechanism that deviates from a regular answer checker
    • Sub-answer Checking - Mechanism for submitting answers to sub-puzzle for intermediate confirmation
    • Task Completion - Completion of puzzle is contingent on finalising a particular task

Content Elements

Content Elements refers to elements, techniques that are encountered during the solving of a puzzle. Due to their size, these have been separated into three Subgroups:

Puzzle Type

Puzzle Type is the main categorisation of a puzzle and the categorisation that is most likely to help solvers find other similar puzzles

Solve Path Elements

Solve Path Elements attempt to categorise the process and intermediate stages through which the puzzle's solve path proceeds through

<More?>

Extraction Elements

Extraction Elements refers to the techniques that are common to hunt puzzles which allow the "extraction" of a final answer from a puzzles that are not necessarily designed to result in a word or phrase


Flavor Elements

Flavor Elements elements refer to either the topic (the subject matter of a puzzle) or the theme (the presentation of a puzzle) but either way provides identification of elements that may attract solvers with special interests, knowledge, or areas of expertise.

This listing is a deliberately selective list, extracted from the much more exhaustive listing in the original Google Doc link here. The intention is for a more "bottom-up" approach that can be expanded up to the desired level of detail.

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