Anglers

Rules

Draw a line from each number (representing anglers) to a fish, so that each fish is caught by exactly one angler. The lines run horizontally and vertically, and the length of each line must be equal to the number from which it starts.

(Rules from WPC 2019 IB, example from WPC 2011 IB)

Rule Variations

• In most puzzles, every cell is used exactly once. Sometimes, the rules explicitly state this.
• In some puzzles, clues are located inside of the grid. This version is less popular but predates the outside clue version.

History of the puzzle

Version with outside clues appeared in WPC 1999/Part 5. The author of the puzzle was László Mérő (Hungary). This is commonly said to be the first appearance of the puzzle.

However, the version with inside clues appeared in WPC 1998/Part 1 under the name "Out Fishing". It is possible that this version was invented much earlier in Puzzler magazine.

Variants

Ships and Fishermen

See Battleships#Ships and Fishermen.

Appearances in the past WPCs

• WPC 2019/Round 3 (Permaculture hybrid with Battleships) by Silke Berendes
• WPC 2019/World Cup Round 1 by Roland Voigt
• WPC 2018/Round 6 (Ships and Fishermen) by Jiří Hrdina
• WPC 2017/Round 16 by Prasanna Seshadri
• WPC 2016/Round 9 by Matúš Demiger
• WPC 2016/Round 14 (part of a Permaculture hybrid) by Matúš Demiger
• WPC 2011/Part 5
• WPC 2011/Part 7
• WPC 2011/Part 11
• WPC 2010/Part 13 (Unlucky Angler)