Hatrack River Forum: Petals Around the Rose (A game)

This is topic Petals Around the Rose (A game) in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Zarex (Member # 8504) on :

This is a game that has been driving me insane for the past three days.

If you can figure it out, well and good for you. But please don't post spoilers. I posted this so I could share my agony with my friends on Hatrack.

Petals Around the Roses

My only consolation is that supposedly the smarter you are, the longer it takes.

Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :

Took me about a minute to figure out. My second theory on how to answer proved to be correct.

--Enigmatic

Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :

quote:
My only consolation is that supposedly the smarter you are, the longer it takes.

Oy. I must be really dumb.

Posted by Evie3217 (Member # 5426) on :

Wow....this is really frustrating. *Brandishes fist at Zarex*

Posted by Coccinelle (Member # 5832) on :

woo hoo! first theory was right [Smile]

Posted by lukelmiller (Member # 137) on :

A little more than a minute, but I did get it. Now, this isn't really a hint, so I hope you don't mind - but if you read the instructions it says that the game can be played with five dice on a table. So that tells you something about some patterns that aren't relevant (as in, with five dice on a table there's no order of dice, no first or last.)

Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :

How many times have we had this thread now?

Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :

Second theory. Took about 3 seconds.

Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :

If we've had it before, I haven't seen it.

But my first theory was right.

Posted by aiua (Member # 7825) on :

Gotch'y'all beat. 3 theories- 1 minute.

Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :

It took me an hour to figure the damn thing out the first time I encountered it. Too smart, that's me.

Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :

This is the third time this thread has been posted, to the best of my recollection. The first time around, a fair number of people -- especially our engineers and math majors -- had serious trouble "solving" it; this new batch of Hatrackers must be smarter. [Smile]

Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :

Or lying.

Posted by aiua (Member # 7825) on :

Um..or stupid?

Posted by Little_Doctor (Member # 6635) on :

Two theories- about 30 seconds.

Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :

Or we all forgot that we'd seen it before, but solved it faster because we had?

Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :

Well, I remembered how to do it. [Smile]

First time it took me hours and in the end I cheated.

I am really bad at these things - I always come up with the most convoluted mathematical theories and patterns.

I think last time I was convinced it was all in Base 6.

Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :

Hooray! Oh, that didn't take very long at all. [Smile]

Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :

It took me a couple days first time I saw it ... but I did get it. There is hope

Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :

Meh. The whole "the smarter you are, the longer it takes" supposition was given by a professor who took a year to figure it out. If the engineers and math majors took longer than others I'd say it means they're overanalyzing it and ignoring the question.

Just my $0.02 though.

--Enigmatic

Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :

Yep, I'm really smart, alright. Grrr.... [Wall Bash]

Edit: okay, I've got it now. Talk about overthinking. It was the "requires basic math" part that threw me. Let's see, that took maybe ... half an hour.

[ December 08, 2005, 12:12 AM: Message edited by: JennaDean ]

Posted by jennabean (Member # 8590) on :

OH how weird I just found that last night. It took me like six tries. Notttt too hard.

Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :

Gah. I can't get it at all.

Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :

Ok, I appear to have gotten it, but it's a theory I tried several times before and didn't work. I'm so confused now.

Posted by Mr.Funny (Member # 4467) on :

I remember this a long while back. When I first encounted it, I pondered it for about 20 minutes and couldn't figure it out. I later came back to it and was able to get it. It frustrated the heck out of me, though.

Posted by human_2.0 (Member # 6006) on :

I would have never figured it out with out the instructions. "How you define the problem" "imagination" "smart people take longer".

So I decided to think like a dumb person (just kidding, just quit thinking tricky things like Soduko requires) and I finally got it in a few minutes.

Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :

[smart-assed insult] What do you mean, 'decided' to think like a dumb person? [/smart-assed insult]

Posted by human_2.0 (Member # 6006) on :

[Big Grin]

I didn't mean to offend anyone really.

I just thought, ok, what does the author mean by "smart people take longer" and I decided he meant that they try and find a N solution (N = logical, whatever). So I wondered what a "dumb" person "with imagination" would think. It wasn't hard after that.

Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :

i couldn't get this AT ALL the last time it was posted, and i'm pretty sure Strider never figure it out either.

I got it in under two minutes this time around.

edit: hmpf, apparently Strider did figure it out. i guess i remembered the answer...i felt so cool! [Frown]

Posted by Zarex (Member # 8504) on :

I still don't get it!!

[Wall Bash]

Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :

I've done this before and it didn't take me very long.

And it's not to do with smart-or-not its to do with your math-type skills. The more mathematical experience you have, the more you're likely to look in the wrong place for the answers. If you approach the problem with a very non-mathematical brain you're more likely to get the answer faster because you don't immediately go to that analytical style of thinking.

Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :

Spent two minutes, couldn't get it, read this thread, got it immediately. I'm not sure where the clue is in the this thread, but it did the trick.

Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :

First theory - confirmed with first 4 rolls.

Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :

Did this in third grade. A teacher just rolled the dice for two or three minutes at the end of each class. Took about four or five class periods to get it.

Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :

Aha! Got it in about five minutes. I didn't time it, so I'm not sure of the exact time. Without giving it away, I suspected something like the answer from the first, but got sidetracked into the math. This is a cool game; I'm sure it would drive my husband crazy for hours. [Evil]

--Mel

Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :

Holy crap, do I feel stupid! I've come back to this durn thing every other day or so since it first appeared, and I only NOW just got it!

[Wall Bash]

Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :

Haven't gotten it right once. I must be a friggin' genius! Stupid game...grumble...

Posted by Zarex (Member # 8504) on :

I just got it!!!!! Hooray!!! I'm a genius, cigars for everyone. Drinks on the house!
[The Wave]

Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :

Took a couple seconds to run past a theory or two in my head, and then the first one I tried worked.

Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :

Ahh my brain is too Sudoku-ed up to do this!

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

Guessed it correctly on the second roll, rolled a few more times to confirm.

Posted by Zarex (Member # 8504) on :

Well for you fast people there's no sense of accomplishment that I got from working on it every spare moment for three days then finally getting it.

Posted by R. Ann Dryden (Member # 8186) on :

If the title was "petals around the rose(s)" I would have gotten it right away. My first guess was actually right, but because I was missing the plurality I got it wrong and went down other paths. It took me awhile to come back to that first theory.

Posted by dantesparadigm (Member # 8756) on :

Ok, I'm very upset with all of you because you've managed to prevent me from doing my homework, but I finally got it, and felt like a retard. I ended up writing out 50 answers and doing statistical analysis. Thanks. Really.

Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :

I second Katharina's statement. I was getting nowhere, then I read the thread, went back and got it first thing.

Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :

Took me about 15 guesses.

But even the successfull theory was a guess. I still don't get it. But I figured it out. But I don't know how. And I can't explain it.

This is usually the type of problem that would take me days to figure out. The hints here all helped.

Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :

okay. got it now.

Posted by Stray (Member # 4056) on :

Finally got it; it took me 10 or 15 minutes even having read this thread first.

Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :

It was called "Petals on the Roses" when I did it twenty years ago.

Posted by calaban (Member # 2516) on :

heh, first guess [Smile]

Posted by Seatarsprayan (Member # 7634) on :

5 seconds thinking time, got it right in my first 6 rolls, so I guess I was right.

I guess that means I'm an idiot.

Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :

I said: "I'm sure it would drive my husband crazy for hours."

He said I have to admit I was wrong about that. I left the window up yesterday so that he would see it when he got home from work. He got it on his first try.

--Mel

Posted by Zarex (Member # 8504) on :

That's life.