From - Wed Sep 17 11:30:33 1997
Path: ar4dec01!ar4news.dlh.de!newsfeed.de.ibm.net!ibm.net!newsfeed.Austria.EU.net!newscore.univie.ac.at!newsfeed.nacamar.de!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news-pull.sprintlink.net!news-in-east.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!129.21.3.100!isc-newsserver.isc.rit.edu!not-for-mail
From: TidbiT <jhl8362@osfmail.isc.rit.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Games Magazine
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 1997 08:18:06 -0400
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology
Lines: 37
Message-ID: <341E78FE.4777@osfmail.isc.rit.edu>
References: <5v7em8$gut@newsops.execpc.com> <873977032.12084@dejanews.com> <5vcppc$1c3@newsops.execpc.com> <874276075.761779@smyrno.sol.net>
Reply-To: jhl8362@osfmail.isc.rit.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: d109-l006.rh.rit.edu
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01Gold (Win95; I)

Douglas Zander wrote:
> 
> Greg, Please give the month and year as well as the issue number of the
> magazine.  I'll look back in my old issues for this one.  I'll also look
> if they have the answer in a subsequent issue.  Did you check later issues?
> If I don't find it I'll figure it out soon enough. <grin>
>
I remember this puzzle!  I never could do it either!  I do however
remember what the answer looked like.
If I can recall, the answer looked somrthing like this.....

  ___________________________________
 /                                   \
|     _______________________________/
|    /
|    \_______________________________
|                                    \
 \_______________________________     |
                                 \    |
  _____________________________   |   |
 /                             \  |   |
|     _________________________/  |   |
|    /                            |   |
|    \___________________________ /   |
|                                     |
 \___________________________________/   



Note:  one line like this "-" denotes a pair of tracks.  For example,
blown up the one line ( - ) would actually look like more like an
equalls sign ( = ).  Understand?

I'm not sure why exactly I remember the answer (considering I never
solved it) but I think I remembered because it looked like an 'S'.

Anyway, hope it helps.
From - Wed Sep 24 21:10:31 1997
Path: ar4dec01!ar4news.dlh.de!newsfeed.de.ibm.net!ibm.net!newsfeed.Austria.EU.net!newscore.univie.ac.at!newsfeed.ecrc.net!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!169.207.30.81!newsfeeds.sol.net!newsops.execpc.com!posts.execpc.com!greg-s-computer
From: gstaples@execpc.com (Greg Staples)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: Games Magazine
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 97 00:47:30 GMT
Organization: Exec-PC BBS Internet - Milwaukee, WI
Lines: 97
Message-ID: <5vv7o8$bnu@newsops.execpc.com>
References: <5v7em8$gut@newsops.execpc.com> <873977032.12084@dejanews.com> <5vcppc$1c3@newsops.execpc.com> <874276075.761779@smyrno.sol.net> <341E78FE.4777@osfmail.isc.rit.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: parabola.mdm.mke.execpc.com
X-Newsreader: News Xpress 2.0 Beta #1

In article <341E78FE.4777@osfmail.isc.rit.edu>, jhl8362@osfmail.isc.rit.edu wrote:

>I remember this puzzle!  I never could do it either!  I do however
>remember what the answer looked like.
>If I can recall, the answer looked somrthing like this.....
>
>  ___________________________________
> /                                   \
>|     _______________________________/
>|    /
>|    \_______________________________
>|                                    \
> \_______________________________     |
>                                 \    |
>  _____________________________   |   |
> /                             \  |   |
>|     _________________________/  |   |
>|    /                            |   |
>|    \___________________________ /   |
>|                                     |
> \___________________________________/   
>
>
>
>Note:  one line like this "-" denotes a pair of tracks.  For example,
>blown up the one line ( - ) would actually look like more like an
>equalls sign ( = ).  Understand?
>
>I'm not sure why exactly I remember the answer (considering I never
>solved it) but I think I remembered because it looked like an 'S'.
>
>Anyway, hope it helps.

I'm embarassed to admit that this did help. Actually, hearing that it really 
could be solved forced me relook at the whole problem. Incredibly, after 
owning this puzzle for years, I looked very carefully at the back of one of 
the pieces and found a perforation. It was really two pieces!. Feeling like an 
idiot, I expected to solve the puzzle quickly, but two days later, I checked 
the back of another larger piece and found another perforation. In my defense, 
it was a very faint line hidden by a piece of graphics. It still took my an 
hour to slove the damn thing, but you were right; did resemble an S.

I apologize to anyone wasting time trying to solve the puzzle using the Ascii 
pieces I posted.

Here are the corrected pieces:

Here are the pieces.

= straight section
| straight section
\ corner connecting horizontal and vertical sections
/ ditto


wrong
/====\  should be two pieces /===     ==\  
\        |                                  \               |  
         |                                                  |
         /                                                 /

|
\=====  *ok

== *ok

=== *ok

==== *ok

===== *ok

|
\==/ *ok

/=== *ok
\

/==
|
|    *ok
\


wrong
/======\  should be two pieces /====   ==\
|            /                                  |               /

/
\===== *ok


13! pieces in all. Fits in an 8 by 8 grid.

Again, sorry.

Greg