Okay, so I saw this “Point of No Return” puzzle on the New York Times website and I thought, “Why not give it a shot?” I’ve been trying to do more brain-teaser type stuff, so this was a good way to work the old noggin’.
First, I opened up the NYT Games page. It took me a second to find it, honestly. There are so many games there! It is little overhelming. But I finally spotted “Point of No Return” and clicked on it.
The rules were pretty simple, The game presented me with a grid, some filled squares, and some empty ones. It’s all about logic.
My First Attempt (It Wasn’t Pretty)
I just jumped right in, no real plan. Started filling in squares I thought were right. Big mistake! I quickly realized I’d backed myself into a corner. I had messed and could not go back. I’ve no any choice
- I hit the “restart” button. It was a humbling moment. I had to change my mindset.
- I started looking for the obvious moves. Like, if a row or column only had one possible spot left, I’d fill that in first.
- I paid close attention to the lines connecting the dots. Those were key to figuring out which squares needed to be filled.
Getting Better, Slowly but Surely
After a few more restarts (yeah, it took a few tries!), I started to get the hang of it. It was like my brain started to see the patterns. It’s kinda satisfying when you finally “get” it, you know?
I learned to work my way from the edges of the grid inwards. That seemed to help a lot. Also, I started thinking a few steps ahead. Like, “If I fill in this square, what does that mean for that square?” That kind of thing.
Finally Finishing!
Finally, I did it! It’s good to make some progress! I completed the puzzle. It took me a while, not gonna lie, but I got there. It felt good, like a little mental victory.
I am gonna try it again, I want to try to improve my time next time. It’s good to have this kind of stuff, keep the old mind fresh!
