The Doppit Almanac · No. 14

Rankit, a daily Futoshiki-style puzzle

1 to N in each line, beaks point bigger

What it is

Rankit sets Futoshiki in the almanac's own type at No. 14. Collectors shelve the same puzzle as More or Less. Every row and every column must hold the heights 1 to N once each, and between certain squares sits a small beak, the house cut of the inequality sign.

Futoshiki is Japanese for inequality, and the beak honours the name: it opens toward the bigger number, and that is all it will ever say. There is no arithmetic in the game, only order, which is why a modest board can still put up a fight.

How it plays

The pecking order is short.

• Each row and each column holds every height 1 to N exactly once.
• A beak between two squares opens toward the bigger number.
• A beak turns gold once its pair sits the right way round; squares that clash get an outline.
• Heights sown at the start stay put.
• Notes pencils a candidate into an empty square while you decide.

The difficulties

Three ranking lists go up daily. Easy is four wide with a few numbers already down, decided in thirty seconds to a minute. Medium is four wide with none of them and argues its case for one to three minutes. Hard is five wide and deliberates for a proper three to six. Expert is seven wide, and counting alone will not finish it: every board needs at least ten passes where you try each height in a square and throw out the ones that break. A new board is drawn up every day, free of charge. The daily list runs easy to hard. Expert is for practice.

Nearby in the almanac: Skyit, Summit and Sandit