This is just me testing post by email again.
The end of Planetarium
So, yesterday I gained access to the full solutions to Planetarium. Man, was I ever disappointed. I had somehow managed to figure out at the eleventh hour how to use all the minor puzzle solutions to solve the major puzzle, but it didn’t make sense. Now I know why. I managed to get only two thirds of the minor puzzles correct. Because of the nature of the solution, if any of the three answers (one number, one word and one either-or) are wrong, then what you do on that part is wrong. I managed to get all three correct on only three of the twelve steps.
Of the twelve numerical puzzles, I got 10 right, 1 wrong and 1 I didn’t know and just guessed. The one I got wrong was because I read the problem wrong and assumed something that was pretty stupid to assume.
Of the twelve word puzzles, I got seven right, two wrong, and had to leave three blank. The two I got wrong I wasn’t really too sure of anyway, and, of the three I left blank, I was oh so very close to getting one of them. Due to the nature of these, though, if you got the solution to the riddle, it just “works,” and you know it’s right.
The real kicker was with the either-or puzzles. I managed to only get seven of them right. Yes, that’s right, I only managed to do slightly better than if I had been flipping coins. These suckers were hard. Of the five I got wrong, three of them were marked on my little spreadsheet I was keeping as “I am 100% sure this is right.” Then when I saw the solution, I slapped my forehead and realized I had been duped. These suckers require some of the most oddball and non-linear thinking of any of the puzzles.
By pure luck, I managed to almost understand what the major puzzle’s solution was, but it wasn’t enough. Oh well, three months of off-and-on mental torment is now over.