%0 Journal Article
%T Finding All Solutions and Instances of Numberlink and Slitherlink by ZDDs
%A Ryo Yoshinaka
%A Toshiki Saitoh
%A Jun Kawahara
%A Koji Tsuruma
%A Hiroaki Iwashita
%A Shin-ichi Minato
%J Algorithms
%D 2012
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/a5020176
%X Link puzzles involve finding paths or a cycle in a grid that satisfy given local and global properties. This paper proposes algorithms that enumerate solutions and instances of two link puzzles, Slitherlink and Numberlink, by zero-suppressed binary decision diagrams (ZDDs). A ZDD is a compact data structure for a family of sets provided with a rich family of set operations, by which, for example, one can easily extract a subfamily satisfying a desired property. Thanks to the nature of ZDDs, our algorithms offer a tool to assist users to design instances of those link puzzles.
%K link puzzles
%K Slitherlink
%K Numberlink
%K solvers
%K instance generations
%U http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4893/5/2/176