FAQ

What’s this site for?

Main article: Foreword

This is a collection of guides and articles on solving Skyscrapers, including general techniques, deductions for specific scenarios, thoughts on the art of skyscraping, and more!

What are Skyscrapers?

They’re a Sudoku-like variety of puzzles. For a superfast walkthrough on how to see them, visit Primer.

How difficult are Skyscrapers?

In short: easy to get started, but difficulty quickly ramps up.

Skyscrapers can be made very difficult indeed. I would consider them significantly more challenging, and less ‘brute force’-y than Sudoku puzzles.

Of course, how difficult you find Skyscrapers is subjective, since it depends on your experience and problem-solving capabilities. The objective ‘difficulty’ of a particular Skyscrapers varies hugely, and depends on the specifics of the puzzle.

Does size matter?

Absolutely! 7x7 Skyscrapers are significantly more challenging than 4x4 puzzles. That being said, even within a particular size there can be huge variation in difficulty.

Why would you want to solve Skyscrapers?

They’re fun, make you think, and are a lovely intellectual treat for the mind. When you get somewhat proficient in them, speedrunning doable Skyscrapers gets really fun.

Where can I find Skyscrapers puzzles?

I’ve been using brainbashers.com^↗ for years, there’s daily Skyscrapers (and other puzzles!) on there. It’s awesome.

Why are some of these cases so niche?

I find a difference between a novice and an expert in a field is their intimacy with it – an expert has sufficient experience and familiarity which allows them to unlock a much deeper understanding.

In Skyscrapers, when you’ve completed hundreds, even thousands of puzzles, you start to see past the noise and feel the pure logical structure – much of this intuitively, and indeed only in hyper-specific circumstances.

The point of this site is to share many of those specific deductions, which you can only really learn through practice, exploration and experience, but can make or break solutions.

Why are Skyscrapers called “Skyscrapers”?

The numbers supposedly represent the height of skyscrapers, here referring to the tall buildings that tower high into the sky.

I don’t understand all this technical jargon…

Sorry, I don’t mean to gatekeep, it just makes things more consistent!

Most of the terms were made up and unofficially coined by me. See Glossary for a reference of all the terminology used through Skyscraping.

Why do you love Skyscrapers so much?

They tickle the brain. The satisfaction when you solve one is sooo nice. I love solving Skyscrapers almost as much as writing integrals!

I found an error on the site!

Ah, blast! Please drop me an Issue on GitHub and I’ll get to fixing it.