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The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft Hints
How can I solve the receptionist's puzzle?
1 of 10: This is a pretty easy puzzle once you've worked out the general idea.
2 of 10: The rules are all written clearly on the right of the screen.
3 of 10: The first thing you are going to want to do is click in each square on the rows/columns that display a zero. This will put an X in each of those squares. Since you know there can't be any shapes in those rows or columns, marking them with X's will make the whole thing much simpler since you know where you can and cannot place shapes.
4 of 10: The next thing to consider is that no two shapes will touch each other horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. There will always be a blank space (or an X-marked space) between each of the shapes.
5 of 10: Once you know these things, it's simply a matter of a little experimentation until you find the correct positions for the shapes.
6 of 10: It's like a sudoku puzzle but on a larger, yet simpler scale.
7 of 10: Label the columns A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J from left to right, and the rows 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 from to bottom.
The four-length block goes from F9 to I9.
8 of 10: The two three-length blocks go from C1 to E1 and from E7 to G7.
9 of 10: The three two-length blocks go from E1 to F1, from C5 to C6, and from A9 to A10.
10 of 10: The four single-square blocks go at I1, I7, J9, and C9.
