SIKAKU OPTIONS

Before you give the command to build the Sikaku puzzle, you can set some options which the program will use during the construction process.
  • Sikaku puzzles can be made in sizes ranging from 5x5 up to 20x20. This can be controlled using the Cells Across and Cells Down input fields. If you enter a value outside of the 5 to 20 range, it will be adjusted by the program to ensure that it lies within this range.

  • If you want to make a number of puzzles all having the same dimensions, then type a number into the How many puzzles input field. When you issue the Make command, Magnum Opus will make that number of puzzles. The puzzle names will be a number which starts with the number which you provide for the first puzzle, and increases by one for each new puzzle. The companion Sikaku Java Applet is able to perform a calculation based on the current date, and the start date for the puzzle sequence, to produce the name of the puzzle file to be loaded. This makes the setup of Daily Puzzles a very simple task. Virtually any number of puzzles can be made in a single operation using this feature.

  • If you do choose to make multiple puzzles, then by default, Magnum Opus will change the difficulty of the resulting puzzles over a cycle of seven puzzles. This would be useful for a daily newspaper so that the week could start with a very easy puzzle, with quite difficult puzzles reserved for the weekend. If you don't want this feature, clearing the Vary Difficulty on 7 day cycle checkbox will disable it.