15 December 2014

Sokoban lessons - Sokoban pilgrimage

The last level of Sokoban Revenge (#306), by Yoshio Sakae, is entitled 倉庫番の巡礼, "Sokoban pilgrimage" (see puzzle below). This is a structure of several columns of 2 floors of width, and occupied by boxes, arranged alternately. The difficulty of this puzzle is that to place a box is necessary move alternately all the other boxes.

This post is dedicated to this typology of puzzles. These are the conditions:

- Two or more rows (or columns) adjacent, connected each other by one or more non-adjacent passages. The rows/columns can also be connected forming various structures: quadrilateral, "cross", "snail", "windmill"...
- The rows (or columns) have a maximum width 2 floors, and are occupied almost entirely by boxes, usually distributed alternately. The goals can be placed in storage areas, but are usually distributed alternately in the rows/columns, on the opposite walls to boxes.

With a few exceptions, I do not include small puzzles (up to 6 boxes), because many have already been published in other "Sokoban lessons".


You can download all puzzles (except commercial) here:




Author: Thinking Rabbit
Title: Original #23
Date: 1988
First version: Sokoban 2 (1984) #13; later added in Sokoban Perfect (1989) #154. New version in Sokoban Revenge (1991) #72 (Takahiro Suzushima).
Difficulty: 5
Best moves/pushes: 1055/454


This is the first puzzle that presents an embryonic structure of "Sokoban pilgrimage". Three central columns and storage area on one end; in the two areas on the right is possible to change the direction of the boxes.


Note that the 9 red boxes have to change to the opposite wall. To do this, we need to move these boxes to the two areas on the right, where it is possible to change the direction of boxes, and then bring them up to the storage area.

Basically, the biggest problem with this type of puzzles is to find these areas where it is possible to change the boxes to the opposite wall. Frequently, locate these areas is not so evident as in this puzzle.





Author: Yoshio Sakae
Title: Sokoban Revenge #208 パバーヌ (Pavane)
Date: 1991. First publication: Sokoban Deluxe (1990) #5-B
Difficulty: 4.5
Best moves/pushes: 251/84


Double rotation of the boxes: the boxes on the left rotate clockwise, and the boxes to the right in the reverse direction. Hence perhaps the name of "Pavane", the slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century. This nice theme has also been treated, among others, by Hirohiko Nakamiya, Joy levels #1; David W. Skinner, Sasquatch IV #9, and Microban III #8; Přemysl Zíka, Primus gradus ad Olympo #52...




Author: Yoshio Sakae
Title: Sokoban Revenge #145 ゲンコツ (Fist)
Date: 1991
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 577/160


Fantastic puzzle of storage, already published (see "Storage: Two rows"), but it is imperative to repeat here.




Author: Yoshio Sakae
Title: Sokoban Revenge #146 扉の向こう側 (The other side of the door)
Date: 1991
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 600/160


Another exceptional puzzle, previously published in "Big lines". This puzzle, along with the above, I think that they can be considered two of the best puzzles of Yoshio Sakae.




Author: Yoshio Sakae
Title: Sokoban Revenge #206 カルナバル (Carnival)
Date: 1991
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 2258/682


Excellent rotatory puzzle, within a snail-shaped structure.




Author: Yoshio Sakae
Title: Sokoban Revenge #306 倉庫番の巡礼 (Sokoban pilgrimage)
Date: 1991
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 11011/5929 (Johannes Steinmüller)


Along with the Nakamiya and 20603 (see below), this is one of the most classic puzzles in this style.

Note that all boxes have to change to the opposite wall. The area for the change of direction of the boxes is the small "tooth" of the top end right.

See a reduced version (perhaps also of Yoshio Sakae) in Ultimate Sokoban (1996) Stage 2 #4-6. See also this mini version of Skinner:



Author: David W. Skinner
Title: Microban #153
Date: April 2000
Difficulty: 4.5
Best moves/pushes: 790/346






Author: Alberto Borella + Jordi Domènech
Title: Magic Sokoban 4 #76
Comment: Alberto Borella #6 extended
Date: c. February 2000. Remodel: 2010.6.20
Difficulty: 5
Best moves/pushes: 610/347 (skippy)


Simple and nice rotatory puzzle.




Author: David W. Skinner
Title: Sasquatch III #4
Date: June 2000
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 818/159


Excellent rotatory puzzle. I have taken the freedom of arrange the broken interior angles, in solid angles.




Author: Hirohiko Nakamiya
Title: Nakamiya #10
Date: c. July 2000
Website: miya.s16.xrea.com/selection/bannin/
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 9927/3462 (Sokobano)


Exceptional rotatory puzzle, within a windmill-shaped structure. It is one of the puzzles more classic in the "pilgrimage style", along with 20603 (see below). How to change the boxes to the opposite wall? You can practice with these two reduced versions, the first of the own Nakamiya:


Author: Hirohiko Nakamiya
Title: Monster Sokoban 7-3
Date: c. October 2002
Website: miya.s16.xrea.com/selection/bannin/
Difficulty: 4.5
Best moves/pushes: 641/192



Author: Hirohiko Nakamiya + A1master
Title: Nakamiya #10 (mini version)
Set: 1,000,001 candlelights #69
Date: October 2014
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 3086/1004





Author: 20603 (Yongzhong Zou)
Title: 万里长征 (Long March) <1010>
Date: c. 2001
Difficulty: 8
Best moves/pushes: 36213/13465


Laborious and difficult "Sokoban pilgrimage", which combines rows with two columns. I recommend trying to first solve the reduced version, also of 20603:



Author: 20603 (Yongzhong Zou)
Title: 万里长征 (Long March) - short version
Date: c. 2001
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 2167/670






Author: Howard Abed
Title: SokoBig-70 #70
Comment: full size of Revenge 306
Date: c. November 2001
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 25661/12128 (Georgi Georgiev)


Remodel of Sokoban Revenge #306, of Yoshio Sakae (see above). The goals are distributed alternately in the columns, on the opposite walls to boxes.




Author: François Marques
Title: La ronde
Set: Le concours du mois - Bonus levels #21
Comment:
Ce tableau est un inédit. Il a été créé spécialement pour les participants au concours du mois de mai 2003 organisé sur le site de sokoban online.
Date: 2003.5.2
Website: sokoban.online.fr/
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 984/292

Simple rotary puzzle.





Author: Sven Egevad
Title: SE 987
Comment: line-up medium
Date: 2004
Website: www.egevad.nu/sven/
Difficulty: 5
Best moves/pushes: 178/84

Curious puzzle, already published in "Big lines". It is not as easy as it seems...





Author: Sven Egevad
Title: SE 1301
Comment: twist hard
Date: 2005
Website: www.egevad.nu/sven/
Difficulty: 5.5
Best moves/pushes: 241/51


Sven Egevad has several levels inspired by the "mini" version of "Long march" (see SE 1297 and following), but I prefer these two small puzzles (see also below SE 1417).




Author: Sven Egevad
Title: SE 1417
Comment: twist-walk hard
Date: 2006
Website: www.egevad.nu/sven/
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 414/116 





Author: Jean-Pierre Martel
Title: Disciple #35 Vertical warehouse
Date: May 2008
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 973/329 (Jib)

In fact, it's a puzzle of storage, but it is not easy to see how to load the columns. Very tight.





Author: Vipul Patel
Title: MasterVIP #40 Big march variation 5
Date: June 2008
Difficulty: 7.5
Best moves/pushes: 87035/41088 (MikeArcher)


It's raining? Then, this is the perfect puzzle. I don't know how many hours it takes to solve this maxi-pilgrimage, but probably more than 3 hours... In MasterVIP there are 8 variations of "Long march", quite similar: I choose this "variation 5", since it is perhaps the most entertaining. The non-optimized result is about 200,000 moves...




Author: Péter Asztalos + Jordi Domènech
Title: Magic Sokoban 5 #60
Comment: AKK Informatika #12 arranged
Date: 2008. Remodel: September 2013
Website: m-forum.hu/sokoban.php
Difficulty: 4.5
Best moves/pushes: 247/109

Rooms exchange: the boxes of the right go on to the left, and the boxes of the left go on to the right...





Author: Ghislain Martin + Jordi Domènech
Title: SokoStation #306 DONKEY KONG
Comment: add 2 boxes
Date: 2009.8.6. Remodel: 2014.11.29
Website: www.sokoban.fr/
Difficulty: 4
Best moves/pushes: 292/124

Simple and beautiful. I add 2 boxes, especial version for this post :)





Author: David W. Skinner
Title: Sasquatch X #23
Date: July 2010
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 253/76 (xbluejimx)


Windmill-shaped structure. It is necessary to "invent" the free spaces to change the boxes to the opposite walls...




Author: David W. Skinner
Title: Sasquatch XI #14
Date: September 2010
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 1044/368 (Findus)

Fun rotatory puzzle.





Author: XiBei TianLang
Title: 通道 (Passage)
Date: December 2010
Difficulty: 7
Best moves/pushes: 454/99


Curious and fun puzzle, with three "switches" on the top. Although it has a single row, I include it also in this selection.




Author: laizhufu
Title: T形台—"T" (T-shaped stage - "T") c
Date: 2011.9.23
URL: bbs.mf8-china.com/viewthread.php?tid=72975&extra=page%3D1&page=32
Difficulty: 7.5
Best moves/pushes: 3672/860 


Fantastic rotatory puzzle. It is part of the series "Letters", posted by laizhufu and other authors in the Chinese forum MF8 along 2011.




Author: Přemysl Zíka
Title: First levels #235
Date: April 2012
Website: www.zusbreznice.cz/rozvrhy-zika-premysl-sokoban.cz
Difficulty: 6
Best moves/pushes: 1012/344

Simple and fun rotatory puzzle.





Author: Přemysl Zíka
Title: First levels #246
Date: May 2012
Website: www.zusbreznice.cz/rozvrhy-zika-premysl-sokoban.cz
Difficulty: 8
Best moves/pushes: 818/191 


Incredible! In my opinion, is one of the best puzzles of this set... You have to do a lot of maneuvers in the top row to place the first box...




Author: David Buchweitz + Jordi Domènech
Title: The beautiful world of remodels 5 #40
Comment: based on Chrysalis Collection 8 #13, stoned 2 floors
Date: November 2013. Remodel: 2013.11.13
Website: letslogic.com/
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 271/60 (Tiaoa) 


You'll have to put your elbows on the table to find out how to solve this small mess, with a box of hindrance.




Author: David Buchweitz + Jordi Domènech
Title:  Chrysalis Collection 9 #8 a
Date: 2014.11.3
Website: letslogic.com/
Difficulty: 6.5
Best moves/pushes: 1555/352 


Interesting "Sokoban pilgrimage" within a windmill-shaped structure. See below the remodels of anian + TianLang and Přemysl Zíka, quite more difficult.




Author: David Buchweitz + Jordi Domènech + anian + TianLang
Title: Chrysalis Collection 9 #8 a4
Date: 2014.11.6
Difficulty: 7.5
Best moves/pushes: 15099/3056 (ymlr)





Author: David Buchweitz + Jordi Domènech + anian + Přemysl Zíka
Title: Chrysalis Collection 9 #8 a5
Date: 2014.11.9
Difficulty: 7.5 (P.Z.)
Best moves/pushes: 4693/796 



Happy holidays!



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


- A1master
1,000,001 candlelights #60

- Mike Archer
90.000 moves only #1

- Alberto Borella #7, 8

- David Buchweitz
Chrysalis Collection 7 #12 (see also remodels by Jordi Domènech and stopheart)

- David Dahlem
DD-2 #37, 75, 88-91

- Jordi Domènech
Original remixed #23
Magic Sokoban 5 #96, 105
The beautiful worl of remodels 4 #15
Chrysalis variations #26
Microban variations III #2, 21

- Sven Egevad
SE 6, 229, 1297, 1298, 1300, 1418, 1620, 1743, 1758

- gyjgw
jgw012

- David Holland
dh1 #5 Pattern-oster

- Gerald Holler + Hir
gh 8 (B)

- Ghislain Martin
SokoStation #308

- monry
monry-light #87

- Hirohiko Nakamiya
Joy levels #1, 3

- Panda
Panda 92 #71


- Seppolino
Symmetrixx #7

- Erim Sever
erim177

- Shaggath
Mulholland D #17

- David W. Skinner
Microban II #12
Microban III #8, 37
Sasquatch IV #9

- Eric F. Tchong
Atlas 4 #12

- Thinking Rabbit
Sokoban Perfect #88 (Yoshio Sakae),
Sokoban Revenge #55 (Yoshio Sakae), 147 (Yoshio Sakae), 237 (Hidemitsu Kobayashi)
Sokoban Nanmon Shinan #90 (Kan'ichi Nomiya)
Sokoban Selection #28

- TIAOA
SBMendonca 02 S36, S38, S44

- unknown + Marek Letrab + Eric Leung + GRIGoRusha + gyjgw
calc 3

- Yut
Symmetric levels #2 (see also remodels by Hir)

-
Přemysl Zíka
First levels #233, 251

Primus gradus ad Olympo #52, 77
Secundus gradus ad Olympo #34, 39, 46

01 December 2014

A1master


The first collection of A1master "1,000,001 candlelights" (100 levels) is a hotchpotch. There are mixed original puzzles of the author, along with versions of other authors; very easy puzzles, almost for kids (#12, 13, 46...), along with other highly difficult and technical... This hodgepodge produces a certain sensation of disorder. However, there are some puzzles surprisingly very good. My impression is that A1master has learned in a few months what others we have taken years to learn.

You can download all collections of A1master in Let's Logic, here:




Next I publish five of the puzzles that I have liked more. They are of small size and medium difficulty. It is a delight to solve these puzzles!...  I hope that A1master build many more. Enjoy!



     #####
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     # $ #
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#  #    #  #  #
# .$**###*.$* #
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    #######


Author: A1master
Title: Apple-tree
Set: 1,000,001 candlelights #5



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


Author: A1master
Title: Who comes from the right side?
Set: 1,000,001 candlelights #18



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


Author: Yoshio Sakae + A1master
Title: Don't think about Thinking Rabbit (SOS)
Set: 1,000,001 candlelights #39
Comment: based on Sokoban Perfect #176




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


Author: A1master
Title: FiveSevenZ
Set: 1,000,001 candlelights #49



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


Author: A1master
Title: unsolved-28889
Set: 1,000,001 candlelights #67