The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™ are back with another installment of Masyu Ortograpiu—an orthography-based variant of the popular yet challenging Masyu puzzle form. In fact, Masyu Ortograpiu is apparently so challenging that no one could do it—so, for Masyu Ortograpiu II, we’ve made things several smidgens easier by providing copious hints about the various orthographies used in the puzzle.

First, the rules. Masyu Ortograpiu is played on a grid, with several squares that contain symbols from various writing systems. The goal is to draw a single continuous non-intersecting line that properly passes through all squares containing writing symbols, forming a single closed loop.

The different varieties of written symbols have different requirements for how the line must pass through them:

• Cells with symbols from an alphabet must be traveled straight through, but the loop must make a right angle turn in the cell either just before or just after the cell with the alphabetic symbol. (These correspond to white circles in traditional Masyu.)

• The loop must make a right angle turn in cells with symbols from an abugida, an abjad, or a syllabary, but the loop must travel straight through the next and previous cells in its path. (These correspond to black circles in traditional Masyu.)

• Cells with logographic, pictographic, or ideographic symbols will each behave in one of the previous two ways, to be determined while solving the puzzle.

Solution to the HitoriGuistiku II from last time.

Next, the hints. Above and to the right is a list of all and only the writing systems used in the puzzle, and their classifications for the purposes of the puzzle (you will not score points with the Puzzle Elves™ if you challenge the classifications). Each writing system is used only once in the puzzle.

Penultimately, HitoriGuistiku II was apparently not quite hard enough, as several people, listed below, submitted correct solutions. A plausibly correct solution is presented at left.

Marlene Böhm of Wien, Austria Erik Gedeborg of Södertälje, Sweden Emerson Knapp of Pittsburg, California Jackie Schmitt of Carbondale, Illinois

Each of these fine PuzzleMeisters will receive a SpecGram magnet of their choosing as a reward for their puzzling prowess. Congratulations!

Finally, the Masyu Ortograpiu II puzzle, below—if you dare. If you think you (and your reference library) are up to this most challenging challenge that is Masyu Ortograpiu II, email your solution to SpecGram. At least one random winner chosen from among those who send in correctly completed puzzles by February 15th, 2008 will be awarded a SpecGram magnet.

A solution (quite likely the correct one, but how would you even know?) and the name of the prize winners (not that there will be any!) will appear in the upcoming March 2008 issue.

Good luck—you’ll need it.

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