Friday, April 6, 2012

Sudoku: questions



Continuing e-mail correspondence with Finger Arts
The purpose of this e-mail, as all my e-mails have been, is to better understand Sudoku2. I want to know if I will ever be a high scorer. Either I don't have the brain power, or dexterity required, or I don't understand the way scoring is done.
These comments are based on the fact that the highest score that I have achieved, without cheating is 82540 in 8.58 minutes.
The second highest score is 82276 in 10.38 minutes. These two facts alone could be the basis of the lack of knowledge as to how the scoring of the game is done. Your explanation of scoring does not explain this kind of difference.
After a number of questions about the game, you finally revealed that there are bonus points added under certain conditions. I have found no way to apply this knowledge, because I haven't been able to figure out how and when it happens, so that I can manipulate the score.
I had figured out how the penalties are done by watching a broken game reset the multiplier significantly. Apparently a penalty is in place for the next game, because of the broken game. I have not been able to verify this.
Because you claim to have no knowledge, that you would share about the time it takes for someone to finish a high (100,000) scored game, or any game. I have no way to know if my average game that takes 10.59 minutes, and average score of 79113 is pretty good, or is the reason that I will never score a high game. With knowing the time it takes to score 100,000, I will never figure out, what I am doing wrong.
If everyone that plays the game enters candidates, it requires a certain amount of time to do that. Dexterity is required. If numbers are found that can be placed, during this time, points are scored. But at some point you must enter all the candidates, and you are running the clock during all this. There is a large amount of time flying by where you are not scoring any points, thus reducing the multiplier and receiving lower points when you finally can start solving the puzzle. Regardless of how fast a person can enter candidates, it could never happen in 2 minutes… or 3 minutes…. or 4 minutes. It just isn't possible. Each candidate placement requires a taping on the screen in two places. There is a minimum time required.
My fasted time to place all the candidates is 6.14 minutes, but it resulted in a low scoring game. Average time placing candidates is in the high 7 minutes. In one game I had scored 38737 points in 8.09 minutes at the time all the candidates had been entered, but only resulted in an end score of 81187 in 10.18 minutes. Now the difference in time between candidates and the final solution of the game is 2.09 minutes. In this 2.09 minutes the majority of the points were scored. I suppose that whoever is playing the game must go thru the same steps. Setting candidates, solving the game.
In relationship to my comment on cheating, let me explain. I did this two times.
I took a picture of a beginning screen, and in a program I found, I entered the numbers from the screen, and the program solved the puzzle for me. I then entered the solved puzzle numbers into the game.
The first game was solved in 2.41 minutes for a score of 83747, with the multiplier ending at x151. In entering the numbers, I filled in all the blank numbers on line 1, followed by 2… 3 so on. I was not concerned which numbers had the highest value. This score is recorded in open feint. And Is recorded in my screen as my highest score and time.
I thought that it would score higher if when I was entering the numbers, I would fill in all the 9's first, followed by all the 8's and so forth. The results were astounding, I finished in 8.57 minutes and scored 74588 with the multiplier at x140. The reason it took so long was that when I took the picture of the starting screen, I didn't stop the game immediately and it takes longer to enter the higher number on each line first.
I have scored above 80000 many times, and because of these games being a representation of my skill, I will use their scores as an example of the problems of my understanding scoring.
The relationship between score and time, as you will see, and my ability to understand why it differs so widely could only be explained by some unknown scoring factors, like the bonus you described, or other factors that are not explained.
Because I maintain a list of scores and times of games played, I can give you some examples of scores that I can't explain. Of games played that resulted in scores above 80,000, the times have ranged from 8.58 minutes to 12.26 minutes.
Of games that have been played in under 10 minutes, they have resulted in scores 82540 to 76858.
It will probably never happen, but I would like, perhaps another version of Sudoku2, to play that contained no hidden scoring features. That way when I finished one game I could compare it with the last game and know why the score was higher or lower. I could identify my weak points. And after I had worked to make them less weak, I could finally know, if I was a dunce, pretty good at playing the game .
Some questions, please, if you could answer:
1. Is there any way to find out some times that other Sudoku2 players are scoring? It would be logical to assume that you play, or some else in your office. Could they share? I would suppose that the person that designed the program and who would know all of the hidden features, scoring, would play the game fairly well. Meaning, high scores.
2. My definition of another version of Sudoku2, Is it probable?
3. Is my problem, not in the time of the game, but perhaps, a strategy that is not related to the rules you use to define scoring?
4. Perhaps there is someone else that has as many question I have. If so is there a way that you could set up, to share e-mail addresses?

Sudoku, Finger Arts Questions


The following is part of an ongoing  conversations with Finger Arts.

It has to do with them giving me some idea of the time's of the very high scores of games.

Can anyone help me?

Sudoku Scoring
You say that when you match a number, that points are determined by the number matched times the multiplier.  So If you are starting a game on the expert level the multiplier is x156. If you immediately match a nine you receive 1404 points.
This scenario assumes the game starts with no numbers on the board .
So,  if you were to place all 9 of the 9's before the multiplier reduced itself you would score 12636 points.  1404 x 9.
Clean board, you complete a column or line or a box with 1 thru 9 while the multiplier is at 156, you would score 7020 points. if you complete all 9 columns or lines with their 1 thru 9, your total score would 63180.   9 x 7020.
If it were possible that each of the 81 spaces could hold a 9 and you filled them using the 156 multiplier, your total score would be 113724. Each space worth 1404 x 81. 
The above numbers would be the highest possible numbers to score in an impossible best case scenario.  But they are lower than almost all actual scores. Particularly the 137872 score.
This scoring scenario is not possible.  Some numbers are on the board when the game starts, The clock is running and the multiplier is decreasing, no one solves where each number goes immediately.  You might find a few numbers to place before you start looking for candidates, but the clock is running.  If you're playing on an IPAD, even the most adept finger movement takes some time.  So in your scoring explanation is there a hidden reference to bonus points?  That is more than the value of the number times the multiplier.  If there are bonus points are the also points that reduced? A Penalty?
Your explanation of scoring with my questions:
We added points to each number
(does that mean that if I solved a 9, you added additional points to the 9 and then multiplied)
and a multiplier which decreases with time. So when you match a number you receive points multiplied by the multiplier. So, for instances if you solve all 9's first, you'll receive more points than solving all 1's first.
(does this mean that assuming the multiplier is decreasing,  that by solving the highest numbers first, that your score will be higher because the decreasing multiplier will become smaller as you get to the lower numbers? Or there is a bonus added because you did it in a certain order?)
The same applies to each block. When you solve all numbers 1 - 9 in a block, then you'll receive more points than solving arbitrarily various numbers in various blocks.
(Does this mean that you get bonus points for completing a block? Like when the column or line rolls over? Does that rolling over give you a bonus? )