19 March 2014

Sokoban lessons - Squares and small diamonds

The square (8 or 9 boxes) is one of the most nice figures, and one of my favorites. Monry, Kenyam, GRIGoRusha, François Marques, Thomas Reinke, and especially Kevin B. Reilly, is the authors who more have dealt with this figure.

In this post I made a selection of the most interesting and beautiful squares. I also include a selection of "small diamonds" (= square rotated 45°). Condition: the puzzles may have other goals, but independent of the figure, and a maximum of three goals.


You can download all puzzles (except commercial) here:
 





Author: unknown (Thinking Rabbit)
Title: 倉庫番2 ("Sokoban 2"; Thinking Rabbit, 1984) #37
Note: published later in Soko-Ban (Spectrum HoloByte, 1988) #44, Sokoban (Game Boy, 1989) #09-07, and Sokoban Perfect (1989) #174
Date: February 1984
Difficulty: 4.5
Best moves/pushes: 483/191

The second "square" of Sokoban (the first is the previous level Sokoban 2 #35 = Original #43).





Author: Masaki Nakajo
Title: Sokoban Revenge #199 八点鐘 (Eight o'clock)
Date: 1991
Difficulty: 5
Best moves/pushes: 383/141

Excellent storage problem. See another version similar: Ultimate Sokoban (PlayStation, Itochu Corp., 1996), Stage 2 Chapter 2 Level 3.





Author: unknown (Thinking Rabbit)
Title: Ultimate Sokoban (PlayStation, Itochu Corp.), Stage 3 Chapter 3 Level 4
Date: September 1996
Difficulty: 4.5
Best moves/pushes: 360/121

Another beautiful level of unknown author.





Author: Jean-Pierre Kent + monry
Title: JPK Levels #11 a
Date: November 1998. Remodel: c. February 1999
Difficulty: 5.5
Best moves/pushes: 444/130

Rotary level, with
central storage and rooms around, arranged by monry (added a wall and move a box).




Author: monry
Title: monry-light #83 一体問題シリーズ (One problem series)
Date: 1998.12.4
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 192/47

A original storage problem.





Author: monry
Title: monry-light #92 どっち? (Which way?)
Date: 1998.12.13
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 320/89

Another excellent and fun storage problem. Pay attention to the rooms on the left.





Author: monry
Title: monry-light #114
Date: 1999.3.22
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 477/92

Remodel of previous monry-light #102. It is the last puzzle in the monry-light series, and perhaps the best of the "squares" of monry, with a difficult storage. Note in the upper-right corner the "mechanism" with a double room and a captive box, that allows the passage from N-S and S-N, changing conveniently the position of the captive box (up/down in the double room).

Monry has a lot of squares. See especially monry-light #6 (good), #11, #26, #34, #38, #43, #53, #102, #104, #106 (the beginning is very weak, but the second part is very good); and FirstStep 801, 803.





Author: Kazuo Fukushima
Title: #2
Date: 1999.7.30
Difficulty: 5
Best moves/pushes: 101/29

A magical small diamond. Hint: If you move any box of the central "four" in the diamond, the level has no solution :)





Author: Hirohiko Nakamiya
Title: Nakamiya #8
Note: also published in Monster Sokoban 8-3
Date: July 2000
Website: miya.s16.xrea.com/selection/bannin/
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 288/67

Beautiful and difficult square. See also Nakamiya #1 (Monster Sokoban 8-4), I think more harder.





Author: Kenyam (Kenya Maruyama)
Title: Kenyam Set A #12 back and forth
Comment:
Tried to make it more difficult, but failed... Anyway, this is yet a relatively difficult one among my SetA works.
Date: c. 2000
Website: www.geocities.co.jp/Playtown-Domino/7999/soko/skrmc_a.htm
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 325/82

Storage area in the center and rooms around. Surprisingly difficult, despite the fact that the storage area has four entrances.

See also #17, #21 and #39, all three compact and very difficult.





Author: Kevin B. Reilly + Jordi Doménech
Title: kevin465 a
Set: The beautiful world of remodels 3 #20
Comment: reduction and redraw map, added 3 boxes
Date: c. May 2000. Remodel: 2010.8.27
Difficulty: 5.5
Best moves/pushes: 527/137

Another nice storage problem.





Author: Howard Abed
Title: SokoCreation #62
Date: c. September 2000
Difficulty: 6 (H.A.)
Best moves/pushes: 95/24

Totally classic: a square within a cross-shaped structure.

See also other versions, more difficult: Sokoban Revenge #135 (Hidemitsu Kobayashi, 9 boxes), #211 (Yoshio Sakae, 9 boxes), and #299 (Hiroshi Inoue, 9 boxes, hard); monry, monry-light #35 (+1 wall), Arpad Fekete #2 (9 boxes), niwa, Houdini II - old (9 boxes and "start with end position", hard), Přemysl Zíka, Secundus gradus ad Olympo #20 (+1 wall).





Author: ZiKo (Zbigniew Kornaś)
Title: Stage #021
Comment:
Final rearranged: 29.9.2000
G4B Month Level (11/2000)
Special thanks to Hirohiko Nakamiya for revieving this level!
Difficulty: 8
Best moves/pushes: 255/71

Hard. A square inside a ring structure. The biggest problem is how to remove the two boxes below.





Author: Sven Egevad
Title: SE 456
Comment: assemble medium
Date: c. 2001
Website: www.egevad.nu/sven/
Difficulty: 5
Best moves/pushes: 164/53

Logic.





Author: GRIGoRusha (Evgeny Grigoriev)
Title: Grigr2001 #66 The doors
Date: November-December 2001
Website: grigr.narod.ru/sokoban.htm
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 363/118

Hard rotary level, with central storage and rooms around.





Author: Marcus Palstra + Jordi Doménech
Title: #1 Look before you leap! b1
Set: The beautiful world of remodels 1 #54 (arr.)
Date: 9.12.2001. Remodel: April 2010 (and rearranged now for this post)
Website:
sokoban-jd.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-favorite-authors-marcus-palstra_10.html
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 866/214

This puzzle could be entitled "Square pilgrimage": one by one, the boxes walk through all the rooms of the level, to build the square.





Author: GRIGoRusha (Evgeny Grigoriev)
Title: Grigr2002 #103 Colobok
Date: March-November 2002
Website: grigr.narod.ru/sokoban.htm
Difficulty: 8.5
Best moves/pushes: 315/83

Exceptional compact! It should assemble and disassemble the square, and at the same time move the boxes at the bottom.





Author: GRIGoRusha (Evgeny Grigoriev)
Title: Grigr2002 #126 Blue Eye
Date: March-November 2002
Website: grigr.narod.ru/sokoban.htm
Difficulty: 7.5
Best moves/pushes: 350/109

Amazing! You will need 279/87 moves to place the first box. Very similar to the previous fun level #117 ("Dreams"), but I think this level #126 is a bit more difficult.

See also Grigr2002 #34, GrigrSpecial #8 (hard), GrigrSun #6 "Opened Heart" (extremely hard,
I confess that I have not been able to solve it).




Author: François Marques
Title: Le concours du moi - Bonus levels #9 Around the square
Comment:
Ce tableau est un inédit.
Il a été créé spécialement pour les participants au concours du mois d'août 2002 organisé sur le site de sokoban online.
Date: 2002.8.4
Website: sokoban.online.fr/
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 566/208

Funny and disconcerting rotary level. It seems easy, but it is not. See also compact levels, all difficult: 100 boxes #9; Kokoban #10, #17 and #25. However, my favorite is a big square of 12 boxes: Kokoban #38 "The jail".





Author: Ghislain Martin
Title: SokoStation #175 Nœud marin
Date: 2003.12.31
Website: www.sokoban.fr/
Difficulty: 4
Best moves/pushes: 76/24

"Marine knot". Logic.





Author: Sven Egevad
Title: SE 1005
Comment: many-in-goal hard
Date: c. 2004
Website: www.egevad.nu/sven/
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 120/29

Hard diamond, but fun and nice to solve.





Author: Thomas Reinke
Title: Calx #19 arr.
Date: July 2005
Difficulty: 8
Best moves/pushes: 197/48

Hard! Square within a mini cruciform structure. The difficulty is guaranteed.
I've taken the liberty of changing the position of two boxes.




Author: Thomas Reinke
Title: Patera #8
Date: July 2005
Difficulty: 5
Best moves/pushes: 135/24

Funny small diamond at the crossroads of
three rings. Another version with four more boxes: Quagmire #43.




Author: Marko Dzekic
Title: Marko Dzekic #1
Date: November 2007
Difficulty: 4.5
Best moves/pushes: 378/160

Simple and easy, but disconcerting storage.





Author: Přemysl Zíka
Title: First levels #142
Date: c. 2009-2011
Website: www.zusbreznice.cz/rozvrhy-zika-premysl-sokoban.cz
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 677/180

Fantastic rotary puzzle.





Author: David W. Skinner
Title: Sasquatch X #19
Date: July 2010
Difficulty: 4.5
Best moves/pushes: 75/18

Small diamond within a Brigid's cross.





Author: Jordi Doménech
Title: Miniatures - Part Two #24 ZiKo style hard
Date: December 2010
Website:
www.abelmartin.com/rj/sokoban.html
sokoban-jd.blogspot.com/

Difficulty: 8.5
Best moves/pushes: 492/141

Hard! Recommended only for experienced players :P





Author: Thomas Reinke
Title: Quagmire 2 #5 Stockade
Date: November 2011
Difficulty: 8
Best moves/pushes: 218/75

Excellent and hard square! In fact, it's a cross-shaped structure, with two arms forming half ring... A lot of changes of wall with the boxes!





Author: Thomas Reinke
Title: Quagmire 2 #31 Stockade II
Date: November 2011
Difficulty: 7.5
Best moves/pushes: 181/44

Move it! Another amazing square at the intersection of two rings.





Author: Thomas Reinke
Title: Quagmire 2 #34 Cubic Zirconium
Date: November 2011
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 253/75

Excellent! A nice and original storage problem. See also from Thomas Reinke, TBox #36 and #48; TBox2 #4 (easy but nice), #7, #15 (good); Anomaly #2; Quagmire 2 #24 and #32.





Author: Eric F. Tchong + Jordi Doménech
Title: Magic Sokoban 5 #64
Comment: based on Dushi 4 #3 Svengali
Date: April 2012. Remodel: September 2013
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 539/156

Another nice and not so easy storage problem.





Author: Přemysl Zíka
Title: First levels #267
Date: June 2012
Website: www.zusbreznice.cz/rozvrhy-zika-premysl-sokoban.cz
Difficulty: 5.5
Best moves/pushes: 151/42

Excellent! Mini rotary puzzle within a pinwheel-shaped structure, with a ninth box of hindrance. Beautiful and fun to solve.





Author: Kevin B. Reilly + Jordi Doménech
Title: Magic Sokoban 3 #72 Homage to Greece
Comment: based on kevin894
Date: c. April 2001. Remodel: 2012.6.17
Difficulty: 5.5
Best moves/pushes: 135/39

Logic.





Author: Alberto Garcia + Jordi Doménech
Title: Alberto Garcia remixed #73
Comment: based on Fantasy #41
Date: January 2013
Website:
www.abelmartin.com/rj/sokoban.html
sokoban-jd.blogspot.com/

Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 1334/344





Author: Alberto Garcia + Jordi Doménech
Title: Alberto Garcia remixed #85
Comment: based on Birthday #138
Date: January 2013
Website:
www.abelmartin.com/rj/sokoban.html
sokoban-jd.blogspot.com/

Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 977/226



New additions

Note: These puzzles are not included in the downloadable file


   ##############
  ##      #     #
  #  $$$  # #   ##
  # $   $ # #    #
  # $ # $ # #..# #
  # $$$$$ # #..# #
  # $ # $ # #  # #
  # $   $.#    # #
  #  #@# .#      #
#########.## #####
#       # ... #
#         ... #
######### ... #
        #######


Author: A1master + anian + Jordi Domènech
Title: 1,000,001 candlelights #59 Four dots - b
Set: The beautiful world of remodels 6 #4
Comment:
add a wall - anian
based on version "a", delete all the top, add some walls and redraw map - J.D.
Date: 2014.10.31
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 943/390




In addition to the levels above-mentioned, see also:

- Serg Belyaev
    svb062

- Mario Bonenfant
    mb-16

- Jordi Doménech
    Miniatures - Part One #41, #48, #59; Part Two #12, #15
    Magic Sokoban #38; Magic Sokoban 2 #74, #75; Magic Sokoban 3 #25, #43, #52, #86, #90; Magic Sokoban 4 #47; Magic Sokoban 5 #57
    The beautiful world of remodels 4 #32, #36

- François Marques
    Kokoban #22 The robot

- Ghislain Martin
    SokoStation #65, #355

- Ghislain Martin + Jordi Doménech
    SokoStation variations #53

- Hirohiko Nakamiya + hir
    nakamiya #4 break (B)

- Kevin B. Reilly
    Kevin has a lot of squares. The ones I liked more are: kevin391, 465, 488, 949, 1055, 1160, 1172, 1237, 1281, 1347, 1390, 1416, 1428, 1440, 1447, 1524, 1555, 1573, 1597, 1603, 1607, 1619, 1684 (hard), 1713, 1714, 1816, 1820, 1829, 1852 (curious), 1888, 1930, 1968, 1970, 2005, 2008, 2023, 2042

- Thomas Reinke
    Quagmire 3 #17, #43, #55, #93, #95, #97

- Shaggath
    Mulholland D #54

- David W. Skinner
    Microban II #108, #114; Sasquatch II #34, V #13, IX #26

- Thinking Rabbit
    Original #43
    Sokoban 2 (GameBoy, 1990) 11-10
    Sokoban Perfect #139 (Koji Kono), #197 (Yoshio Sakae), #268 (Yoshio Sakae)
    Sokoban Revenge #38 (Hidemitsu Kobayashi), #54 (Yoshiki Kondo + Yoshio Sakae)

- niwa
    Escapology #6, #9
    Square Dance #4 (easy but nice), #10

- Hiroshi Yamamoto #4 回流



01 March 2014

Sokoban lessons - Storage: Two rows

The golden age of storage puzzles is that of Thinking Rabbit. In the collections of Thinking Rabbit, virtually we found all the possible problems of storage. Thus, it is not surprising that of the 21 puzzles chosen here, 7 are of Thinking Rabbit. And, in my opinion, between the creators who collaborated with Thinking Rabbit, two stand out: Hidemitsu Kobayashi and Yoshio Sakae.

"Two rows" (or columns) is a special case of storage, which has a particular interest. In this post I publish some of the puzzles "two rows" that I like most. With these characteristics:

- At least 10 goals (5+5 goals). I reserve the "eights" (4+4) for a specific post.
- The storage area must be surrounded by walls. Maximum number of entrances that connect the storage area with the rest of the puzzle = 30 %. The
entrances must be non adjacent (I have done some exception to the latter condition).
- There may be other areas of storage in the puzzle, but the theme "two rows" has to be the main.

You can download all puzzles (except commercial) here:
 




Author: unknown (Thinking Rabbit) + York Shen
Title: Sokoban Perfect #284 a (arr.)
Comment: added 1 box
First release of the original level: 倉庫番2 (Sokoban 2; Thinking Rabbit, 1984) #43, and then Soko-Ban (Spectrum HoloByte, 1988) #29
Date: February 1984. Remodel: c. 2003
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 681/213


This is the first level "two rows" of Sokoban and also the first in which they are used unequivocally rooms with sliding boxes. There are 29 remodels of this puzzle (see all versions here), but I choose this version of York Shen, with a box more, which greatly increases the difficulty. I've slightly arranged the map (upper-left corner). The arrangement is also valid for the original level :)

About the rooms with sliding boxes
The difficulty of this level is that it is possible to circulate from North to South, but not from the South to the North: the sliding boxes in the rooms at the four corners (marked in red, see image below), obstruct the passage of S-N. To move from South to North there is no other way to go through the storage area... :(   Thus, to solve this level, we must first remove the 2 sliding boxes (marked in red) on one side of the level (in this case, we will remove the 2 boxes on the left side). Conclusion: in the levels with rooms and sliding boxes, first need to study very well the circulation pathways. 





 



Author: unknown (Thinking Rabbit) + York Shen
Title: Sokoban Perfect #234 a
Comment: added 2 boxes
First release of the original level: 倉庫番2 (Sokoban 2; Thinking Rabbit, 1984) #44
Date:
February 1984. Remodel: c. 2003
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 4049/1082


"Two rows" in right angle. The unknown author of this excellent level, might be the same as Sokoban Perfect #284 (= Original #29, see above the previous puzzle), because both were published consecutively in Sokoban 2 (1984), levels #43 and #44 respectively. The version of York Shen (+2 boxes) is of similar difficulty to the original. 




Author: Hidemitsu Kobayashi + York Shen
Title: Sokoban Perfect #192 a
Comment: added 1 box
Date: 1989. Remodel: c. 2003
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 2073/620

York Shen added a box, which significantly increases the difficulty. See also of Hidemitsu Kobayashi: Sokoban Perfect #253 (below), and Sokoban Revenge #264.




Author: Akira Yoshima + Jordi Doménech + stopheart
Title: Sokoban Perfect #217 b
Comment:
stoned many floors - J.D.
added 4 boxes, some changes - stopheart
Date: 1989. Remodel: 2011.8.25, and 2011.9.1
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 1459/363

The version of stopheart, with 4 more boxes, is rather more difficult than the original. Stopheart has made some changes in the structure, especially at the top, where he has built a double room with a captive box. This funny "mechanism" allows the passage in both directions, N-S and S-N, conveniently changing the position of the box (up/down in the double room). See also this mechanism in the level of Vipul Patel, below (Sokodeal #55).




Author: Hidemitsu Kobayashi
Title: Sokoban Perfect #253
Date: 1989
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 1648/673


This level has two major difficulties: 1) take out the first box of the right area... 2) but the biggest difficulty is how to place the boxes in the cargo area (left). Warning: small trap in the storage area (I bet you have to repeat this level...). There is no remodels of this level, and the reason is simple: is not possible to add a single box or wall. 




Author: Masaki Ishino + York Shen
Title: Sokoban Perfect #306 b-2
Date: 1989. Remodel: c. 2003
Difficulty: 7.5
Best moves/pushes: 8266/1900


It is the last level of Sokoban Perfect and one of the most difficult and arduous to solve in this collection. The version of York Shen change of place 9 goals, which obliges to use storage area for storing some boxes on an interim basis, and forced to move the boxes by two rows of the storage area (exits out a box at the bottom, comes inside another box above).




Author: Yoshio Sakae
Title: Sokoban Revenge #145
Date: 1991
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 577/160

Masterly! It's my favorite level. See other puzzles "two rows" of Yoshio Sakae:
Sokoban Perfect #88 (simple and nice), Sokoban Revenge #140, #147, and #152 (remodel of Sokoban Perfect #196).





Author: monry
Title: monry-light #41 2列のくせに易しい
Date: 1998.10.29
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 260/59

Genial! Another of my favorite puzzles from always.





Author: monry
Title: monry-light #96 ありきたりの2列(超)
Date: 1998.12.17
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 856/198

Puzzle simple looking, but you have to put elbows on the table to find the solution.




Author: Jean-Pierre Kent
Title: JPK Levels #45
Date: November 1988
Website: sokoban-jd.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-favorite-authors-jean-pierre-kent.html
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 1747/750 (
yutaka yamada)

Nice level, with storage area occupying the entire central area, and loading areas at the top and bottom.





Author: Jean-Pierre Kent
Title: JPK Levels #47
Date: November 1988
Website: sokoban-jd.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-favorite-authors-jean-pierre-kent.html
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 1181/386 (Sokobano)

"Two rows" angled and circulation around. Reminds Sokoban Perfect #234
(see above).



Author: Jean-Pierre Kent + York Shen
Title: JPK Levels #68 b
Comment: moved 2 goals
Date: November 1998. Remodel: c. 2003
Website: sokoban-jd.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-favorite-authors-jean-pierre-kent.html
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 2389/850

Spectacular "two rows" in "S". I publish the version of York Shen, more difficult.





Author: Jean-Pierre Kent
Title: JPK Levels #74
Date: November 1988
Website: sokoban-jd.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-favorite-authors-jean-pierre-kent.html
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 801/276

It's not easy...
The entire puzzle is a veritable maze of rooms chained. You'll have to think a little to find a way to solve it ;)   See also of Jean-Pierre Kent, level 59, remodel of Sokoban Revenge #152.




Author: ZiKo (Zbigniew Kornaś)
Title: Stage #014
Date: 2.5.2000
Difficulty: 7.5
Best moves/pushes: 994/286

Hard! A classic and beatiful storage problem in two rows.





Author: David Holland
Title: dh1 #8 Salamandar v3
Date: October 2000
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 796/226

Excellent! The solution is not obvious.





Author: Shaggath
Title: Mulholland D #23 arr.
Date: September 2007
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 363/99

Fantastic! This is the puzzle that all storage specialists would like build.





Author: Vipul Patel
Title: Sokodeal #55 arr.
Date: September 2008
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 3102/696

Spectacular and fun. I've taken the liberty to arrange the map, eliminating the ugly double inner walls. Another interesting levels: Sokodeal #1 (with remodels of zhenying, difficult, and minglw), #18 (funny), #25, #43 and #44.





Author: Vipul Patel
Title: Sokophobia #9
Date: December 2008
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 2672/579

Fantastic level! Before moving any box, you should think very carefully how to load the
storage area.




Author: Aleksey Krupenko
Title: Sonic - Room 6
Date: March 2012
Difficulty: 5.5
Best moves/pushes: 437/93

Tricky!





Author: Aleksey Krupenko
Title: Sonic - Room 23
Date: 2012.5.16
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 1119/470

The biggest difficulty is how to place the boxes in the cargo area (left). Other interesting levels "two rows" of Aleksey Krupenko: #11, #14 (nice storage problem), #36 (excellent, although the difficulty is just place the first box...), #38 (easy but nice), #47, #53.





Author: Sven Egevad
Title: SE 1907
Comment: assemble hard
Date: November 2013
Website: www.egevad.nu/sven/
Difficulty: 5.5
Best moves/pushes: 956/281

Witty and funny.




In addition to the levels above-mentioned, see also:

- Péter Asztalos
    AKK Informatika #16

- Jordi Doménech
    Miniatures - Part Two #13 
    SokoStation variations #10 
    The beautiful world of remodels 3 #7

- Hir (Masato Hiramatsu) 
    #9 Ten to sen, #14 Nagai fumikiri
    Arranged levels #5

- Marcus Hof
    Revenge 22 #2

- David Holland 
    dh1 #4, #5 Pattern-oster

- Kenyam #3

- monry #25

- monry + hir
    monry-light #14 (d)

- Kevin B. Reilly 237, 372, 420, 481, 642

- Thomas Reinke + gyjgw
    TBox5 #1 a

- Keijo Sopuli
    KEAS Collection #11 Keas

- Eric F. Tchong 
    Atlas 1 #11, 2 #70, 7 #63-65, 8 #15
    Chuchubi 5 #14 

- Thinking Rabbit 
    Sokoban Perfect #88 (Yoshio Sakae), #183 (Yasuhiro Morita), #245, #295 (unknown + Masaki Ishino), #302
    Sokoban Revenge #153 (unknown + Seiichi Katsurada)