Every cell in the 6x6 grid contains one of four letters, namely, A, B, C or D. No letter can be horizontally or vertically adjacent to itself. The tables above and to the left of the grid indicate how many times each letter appears in that column or row.

Can you complete the grid?

(In reply to Just wondering... by George)

Dear George,

As with all my problems, the only tools I use are pen and paper. (I wouldn't know where to start with a computer program, or even Excel.)

All my grid puzzles eg Logidoku, Red, White and Blue etc. are created in the same way, with "reverse engineering". First of all, I make the final grid; then I start again with an empty grid adding one or two clues and seeing what parts of the solution these produce. As I add more "starters", I usually find that I am left with some cells with alternatives. At this point, I add the final starters/clues to ensure a unique solution.

Regarding ABCD, having seen and liked a similar (9x6) problem in a British magazine, (Tough Puzzles)I decided to try and create one of my own.

Before I made it, I thought that it would be a good idea to omit some letters from rows/columns as this would probably make some of the letters "fall into place" for the solver. It did! So, my first ever ABCD puzzle "worked". (I think luck was on my side that evening.)

Thank you for your interest, George. If you would like any more information, please let me know.

Best wishes,

Josie

Posted by Josie Faulkner on 2006-11-29 03:07:59