Futoshiki
Rules[edit]
Place a number from 1 to X (integers only) into each cell so that each number appears exactly once in each row and column. (X is the number of cells in each row.) Some inequality relations are given between adjacent cells; they must apply to the numbers in those cells.
(Rules and example from PGP IB)
History of the puzzle[edit]
First appeared on Nikoli vol. 92 (2000) under the name Dainarizumu (ダイナリズム < Dainari (greater than) + izumu (-ism)). Rules were suggested by Asaokitan (あさおきたん). It later evolved into Mainarizumu, present on pzv.jp and puzz.link. [1]
The name Futoshiki means "inequality" in Japanese and probably was given when it was published by The Guardian in 2006.
A similar puzzle (without Latin square constraint) called "Relationen" (Relations) has appeared in German Nationals 1995.
Appearances in the past WPCs[edit]
- WPC 2019/Round 7 by Ulrich Voigt
- WPC 2018/Round 9 by Jiří Hrdina
- WPC 2018/Individual Playoffs by Jiří Hrdina
- WPC 2017/Round 16 by Rohan Rao