I can't figure out how to play this game

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tabicat
Posts: 39
Joined: 01 December 2016, 23:17
Location: Austin, TX

I can't figure out how to play this game

Post by tabicat »

Maybe I'm stupid, but I cannot figure out how to play this game. The instructions just don't make sense to me.


Green: the laser exits through another square
Yellow: the laser exits through the same square
Grey: the laser is absorbed by a black hole

I don't understand this. "the laser exits through the same square" This reads like bad English. What is the "same square"? Does it mean "the laser exits through *this* square"?
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cheval_raye
Posts: 32
Joined: 19 March 2020, 17:48

Re: I can't figure out how to play this game

Post by cheval_raye »

Each numbered square on the side of the board emits a laser, so yellow means that the laser emitted from this square has to reach a mirror that will reflect it orthogonally so that it can do the same path in the opposite direction and exits the board through the same square it entered it.
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tabicat
Posts: 39
Joined: 01 December 2016, 23:17
Location: Austin, TX

Re: I can't figure out how to play this game

Post by tabicat »

That's very helpful, thanks. However, I don't understand how I can get a laser to reflect back to its origin using only angled mirrors.

Also, what do the numbers means? And why does a number change when I click on it?
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cheval_raye
Posts: 32
Joined: 19 March 2020, 17:48

Re: I can't figure out how to play this game

Post by cheval_raye »

Diagonal mirrors reflect horizontal lasers vertically and vice versa.

There also exists parallel mirrors, which look like a = sign or ||, and they let lasers parallel to the bars pass through, and reflect orthogonal lasers to the side they come from.

There are also square mirrors which reflect all lasers to the side they come from.

Lasers reflected by a square or parallel mirror will eventually go back to the square that emits them.

The number is the amount of times a laser enters a square in the grid. A square is counted as many times as the same laser enters it. If you click on a side square, it shows the current amount of times its laser enters a square in the grid and the path it goes through, so you can easily compare with the target number.
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tabicat
Posts: 39
Joined: 01 December 2016, 23:17
Location: Austin, TX

Re: I can't figure out how to play this game

Post by tabicat »

Ok, I had to play with the board to really understand what you were saying.

I think I get it now. Too bad the game isn't actually fun.
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Tof63
Posts: 133
Joined: 24 March 2020, 20:25

Re: I can't figure out how to play this game

Post by Tof63 »

Ouch ... my English is bad and my game is not fun.
This is going to make my day!

[Insert "right in the feels" meme here]

I can't do anything to improve the fun of the game, but if anyone wants to help me improve the rule, I'll gladly receive all your corrections. Not everyone was "lucky" enough to be born in an English speaking country.
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goldensmith
Posts: 33
Joined: 17 December 2021, 05:40

Re: I can't figure out how to play this game

Post by goldensmith »

I think what confused me at first could be clarified with these statements:

Every numbered square on the outside of the board has exactly one laser beam connected to it.

Please note that each laser beam can be considered to "enter" the board from one of the numbered squares and then "exit" the board at the other end of its path onto another numbered square. Consider a laser that enters the board at numbered square "A" and exits at numbered square "B." We could also describe that same laser as traveling in the opposite direction: entering the board at square "B" and exiting the board at square "A."

Green: The laser that enters the board from this square will exit through another square.
Yellow: The laser that enters the board from this square will exit through this same square.
Grey: The laser that enters the board from this square is absorbed by a black hole and does not exit the board.
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goldensmith
Posts: 33
Joined: 17 December 2021, 05:40

Re: I can't figure out how to play this game

Post by goldensmith »

I'm thinking the phrase "passes through" might be more clear than "enters"
cheval_raye wrote: 01 October 2022, 22:02
The number is the amount of times a laser "enters" a square in the grid.
The number is the amount of times a laser "passes through" a square in the grid.
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