What is the performance analysis?
The performance analysis is a statistical breakdown of the puzzles that have been played.
Performance measures are provided for the different sizes and classes of puzzle. This includes the following information:
Performance measures are provided for the different sizes and classes of puzzle. This includes the following information:
- the number of puzzles played
- the fastest and slowest solve times
- the total time spent playing
- the amount of help used
- the average points scored per puzzle
- the points scored per minute.
How can I see the performance analysis?
Each section of the app has its own dedicated performance analysis. The performance analysis for a particular section can be seen by selecting Performance from an options menu in that section.
The following pages have an options menu in the top-right corner of the page:
The following pages have an options menu in the top-right corner of the page:
- the overview pages of the Challenge Trail and Puzzle Packs
- the page for a paused puzzle
- the page showing the points scored for a solved puzzle
- the page for the Puzzle Generator preview.
Is the performance analysis supposed to be useful?
Not really! The main aim is to provide a tool that is interesting, rather than useful. However, players may in fact find the analysis useful, in a couple of ways:
- Scores can be compared for puzzles where little or no help was used, to puzzles where a lot of help was used. This will highlight, how the use of help has an impact on points scored. Players may choose to change their playing strategy, with the aim of scoring more points by using the help more effectively.
- Players of the Puzzle Generator who want to climb the leaderboard as quickly as possible will find the analysis of the scoring rate (points per minute) particularly useful. This can help to identify the class of puzzle where points can be scored at the fastest rate based on the skill of the player.
What does it mean when it says strategic help was used?
This means that help was used but no penalty was incurred.
The FAQ section on help and scoring explains when the help is penalty-free.
The FAQ section on help and scoring explains when the help is penalty-free.
What do the bars for using the help actually show?
The bars show how much the help was used. When the bar is for a group of puzzles, it shows the average help that was used for the puzzles in the group.
If two help bars have the same length then it means the same amount of help was used, but if one bar is longer then it means that more help was used in that case. For example, if the help was used to show a hint for a MEDIUM 6x6 puzzle and also for a DIFFICULT 7x7 puzzle, the two bars will have the same length because the same amount of help was used. It makes no difference that the puzzles had different sizes or different levels of difficulty.
If a bar for help is shown then it usually means a penalty was incurred for using the help. However, EASY puzzles are an exception to this - there is no penalty for using the help with EASY puzzles. Penalties for using the help are explained in the FAQ section on help and scoring.
If two help bars have the same length then it means the same amount of help was used, but if one bar is longer then it means that more help was used in that case. For example, if the help was used to show a hint for a MEDIUM 6x6 puzzle and also for a DIFFICULT 7x7 puzzle, the two bars will have the same length because the same amount of help was used. It makes no difference that the puzzles had different sizes or different levels of difficulty.
If a bar for help is shown then it usually means a penalty was incurred for using the help. However, EASY puzzles are an exception to this - there is no penalty for using the help with EASY puzzles. Penalties for using the help are explained in the FAQ section on help and scoring.
Why are there no numerical values shown against the help bars?
This is because there is no standard unit for "use of help", so a numerical value would be meaningless. However, the bars can be compared by their lengths and longer bars indicate that more help was used.
Why is the score in the Puzzle Generator performance analysis not the same as my score on the Puzzle Generator leaderboard?
There are a few possible reasons:
- Multiple devices? You can contribute to the leaderboard from multiple devices, but the performance analysis only shows the puzzles that were played on the same device as where the analysis is being viewed.
- Offline use? Points that are earned while playing the puzzle generator offline will be posted to the leaderboard when you go back online later. However, this needs to be done before the daily leaderboard reset happens! The FAQ section on leaderboards has more details about how to make sure that the leaderboard is updated successfully after playing offline.
- Performance analysis was reset or turned off? All Puzzle Generator performance measurements are deleted when a reset is performed or when the performance analysis is turned off. After a reset, or after turning the analysis back on, measurements start again from scratch.
Why can't I turn off the performance analysis for the Challenge Trail or Puzzle Packs?
The performance analysis for the Challenge Trail and Puzzle Packs is built from data that is saved when puzzles are solved, namely:
The data associated with the puzzles that have been played is stored locally on the device and it is reset (deleted) when the puzzles are reset.
- the time taken to solve a puzzle
- the extent to which the help was used
- the points scored.
The data associated with the puzzles that have been played is stored locally on the device and it is reset (deleted) when the puzzles are reset.
So how come I can turn off the performance analysis for the puzzle generator?
The Challenge Trail and the Puzzle Packs use fixed collections of puzzles. In contrast, the puzzle generator creates new puzzles on demand.
Once a newly-generated puzzle has been played, the puzzle is discarded. For this reason, the app section with the puzzle generator maintains some separate running totals for building the performance analysis. This additional data can be reset and/or turned off if the performance analysis is not required.
The performance analysis for the puzzles played in the preview of the puzzle generator is built in the same way as for the full version, even though the preview puzzles are selected from a pool of pre-generated puzzles. More information about the preview can be found in the FAQ section about the puzzle generator.
Once a newly-generated puzzle has been played, the puzzle is discarded. For this reason, the app section with the puzzle generator maintains some separate running totals for building the performance analysis. This additional data can be reset and/or turned off if the performance analysis is not required.
The performance analysis for the puzzles played in the preview of the puzzle generator is built in the same way as for the full version, even though the preview puzzles are selected from a pool of pre-generated puzzles. More information about the preview can be found in the FAQ section about the puzzle generator.