Minimum skills for one lemming

[Minim]

Throughout the past four years of challenges we have been so creative and imaginative with our different range of challenges that it's been hard to come up with any sort of new challenge. Whilst all these other challenges focus on saving the required or maximum percentage, how about a new idea where we focus on saving one lemming? It should be a quick and easy challenge altogether, so let's see if this sort of idea is an interesting enough idea for everyone. In this case, we'll use the minimum skills challenge, one of the most popular challenges introduced in 2009, when the forum started.

The rules are simple. You treat every skill as equal, and when a lemming comes home, the challenge is over!

We've got a full set of results, and it certainly made a difference compared to the normal requirement (To be exact, about three eighths less). There were plenty of single figures shown on the table which in my opinion makes it look quite neat. Thanks to everyone who contributed!

Note: The asterisk show results without using the nuke. I've posted nuke results under the table.


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|Rating | 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Total |Diff.|
|-------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----|
|Fun    | 1  1  3  2  3  2  2  1  1  1  2  2  1  2  8  6  1  5  4  3  2  4  4  1  2  3  1  8  8  2*  86  | -34 |
|Tricky | 2  1  3  6  7  4  9 10  5* 4  4  3  4  9  3  6* 2  1  1  3  7  2  2  2  4  1  4  3  4  2  119  | -65 |
|Taxing | 8  3  6  4 10  1  6  7  1  7  9  7  4 19  9  1  4  3  5  6  4  1 10  3  4  1  9  4  3  1  161  | -81 |
|Mayhem |18  6  1  3 10  8  3  5 11  9  1  5  3 15  4  1  6  3  9  2  3 10 10  3  4 11  1  7 15  8  195  | -124|
|-------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----|
|Tame   | 2* 1  2  1  2  1  1  2  1  1  2  2  3  3  2  2  1* 2  3  2                                 35  | -4  |
|Crazy  | 2  1  2  3  5  5  2  7  4  4  1  5  2  5  1  4  7  4  4  7                                 75  | -45 |
|Wild   | 2* 7  7  5  8  3  1  3  0  5  3  4  7  5  2  5  3  8  8  3                                 89  | -55 |
|Wicked | 1 14  3  2  1  3* 4  3  7  9  8  7 10  2  8  1  3  4  6  3                                 99  | -54 |
|Havoc  | 9  9  3  3  4  1  7  5  5  1 12  3  6  1  7  2  5  9  4  2                                 98  | -92 |
|-------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----|
|Xmas 91| 7  8                                                                                       15  | -2  |
|Xmas 92| 1* 1  9 11                                                                                 22  | -11 |
|Frost  | 5  1  2  1  2  2  7  1  1  3  2  6  0  5  3  2                                             43  | -21 |
|Hail   | 2  4 23  4  5  0  7  7  8  1  3  6  3  6  2  2                                             83  | -59 |
|Flurry | 1  1  1  2  1  2  1  6  2  8  2  2  1  3  1  6                                             40  | -14 |
|Blitz  | 3  8  1  2  7  1  4  1  6  1  8  1  8  2* 6  3                                             62  | -49 |
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Original Lemmings Total: 561 skills (304 less than normal)
Oh No More Lemmings Total: 396 skills (249 less than normal)
Xmas Lemmings Total: 265 skills (155 less than normal)
Overall: 1222 skills (708 less than normal)

*Possible with nuke:
Fun 30: 1 (-1)
Tricky 9: 4 (-1)
Tricky 16: 4 (-2)
Tame 1: 1 (-1)
Tame 17: 0 (-1)
Wild 1: 1 (-1)
Wicked 6: 2 (-1)
Blitz 14: 1 (-1)
Xmas 92 level 1: 0 (-1)

[Clam]

Nice idea! This could be just the thing to revive the challenge board.

Here's Tame 17 with no skills - just release rate and nuke. I even saved more than required

[ccexplore]

Minor improvement of Fun 29 to 8 skills.

[Clam]

More nuclear-powered improvements

• Fun 30 to 1 skill
• Tame 19 to 3 skills

[Clam]

Since this challenge seems to rely quite heavily on nuke, I suggest we do what geoo is doing in the L2 challenge and keep separate scores for nuke and non-nuke solutions. That way everyone can contribute without having to be a master nuker, and also we can see how many skills the nuke is worth

Each of my nuke routes so far saved one skill.


Starting on Tricky now (and adopting another great suggestion by posting a copy/pastable table section):

|Tricky | 2  1  3  6  7  4  9 10  5* 4  4  3  4

* Tricky 9 can be done with 4 skills + nuke, replay attached.

[Minim]

Ah, thanks for this. I've started on Tricky as well, but went a lot further and got all the results. Here are some of the changes in comparison to the regular requirement. The rest are normal.

14: 9 skills. One precise long bash to get underground, had a fiddle with the release rate to get someone out before they all drop, and two long builds.
18 & 19: 1 skill. Floater & Climber respectively
20: 3 skills. Bash, climb & float
23 & 30: 2 skills. Climb & Float
24: 2 builders
25: 4 skills. Self explanatory
26: 1 basher
27: 5 skills. 1 digger, 1 climber to climb over the rocks, and 3 builders to reach the exit.
28: 3 skills. 2 to build to the hidden exit, and bash in.
29: 4 skills. A few mines to get beneath the first two traps, and a digger and basher for the third.

Impressive work on the Tricky 9 nuke solution. Very advanced. BTW on that level does that mean that its possible with 5 skills without the nuke? I've recently done it with 6 skills, but I don't think mine was as good as yours.

And I think you raised a good point about the nuke use. I'll bring this up on the OP and reorganise the table.

[Clam]

Yes, you can do Tricky 9 with 5 by entirely normal means

For Tricky 27 you only need 2 builders and 4 skills total - your lemming is a climber so you only have to build into the steel.

[ccexplore]

Taxing 4 5 skills via sliding.

What are the chances of nuking for Tricky 16 and maybe Fun 5?

[Minim]

Probably not possible, but I might have a look into that later.

Done some Taxing levels, and came up with some interesting results. Every record breaking the original one so far (And well done on Taxing 4).

1: 8 skills. Same as Fun 15
2: 4 skills. Done by digging down the left, increasing the rate, bashing the rock, getting some lemmings past the trap and two builders for the exit.
3: 6 builders
5: 9 skills. Very pleased with myself to get through this frustrating level. Reply attached
6: 1 basher timed correctly
7: 6 skills. Same as Tricky 4
8: 7 skills. 3 bashers, a precisely timed bomber to break the grid under the fourth ball, and three builders to the exit.
9: 1 digger
10: 7 skills. 4 builders to reach the edge of the third pit, a digger then 2 more builders to the exit.
11: 10 skills. 2 diggers and 8 builders
12: 7 skills.

Edit: I also did the first half of crazy. 1 and 3 is impossible to beat.
2: 1 digger down the left side
4: 3 builders
5: 5 builders
6: 1 climber, 1 digger and 3 builders over each gap
7: 2 skills. Climber and floater
8: 7 skills. Requires precision and thought in those builders and bashers.
9: 4 bashers. Upped the release rate to get someone past the trap.
10: 4 skills. 1 floater, builder, climber and basher

BTW, big slap to the face on Fun 29. Didn't realise that the backwards miner would gain that much height for the plank to be climbable.

[Clam]

What are the chances of nuking for Tricky 16 and maybe Fun 5?

I thought about Tricky 16, pretty sure you can save bombers there but the question is how many. Fun 5 I'm less sure of, you only need one basher through the net so to save a skill you'd have to nuke through the whole thing.

edit: Attached Tricky 16 with 5 skills + nuke. 4 seems quite plausible.

[ccexplore]

Taxing 2 can be improved to 3 skills as one builder is sufficient to reach the exit.
On Taxing 5 unfortunately you miscounted, the total in your replay comes to 10 not 9.  [Hint: the text version of replay makes it easier to count the total.]
Taxing 11 can be improved to 9 skills--one miner at the start will turn one lemming around.

[Pooty]

I've had a stab at the first 5 Mayhem levels.

Mayhem 1: 18 skills (Modified Clam Spammer's 90% solution. Saved 3 skills. Replay attached).
Mayhem 2: 8 skills (4 builders to platform, 3 builders to flame gun, 1 climber)
Mayhem 3: 1 skill (The timing of the builder is tighter than on Fun 24, but it still works)
Mayhem 4: 4 skills (normal solution)
Mayhem 5: 10 skills (1 digger at the start, followed by normal means to the exit (4 blockers, 5 builders). Release rate needs to be adjusted so that one lemming can get ahead of the pack. Replay attached.)

Edit: Taxing 4 has been improved to 4 skills. Replay attached.

[Minim]

Very well done on Taxing 4! Certainly looked more obvious than it should with the slider trick. On Mayhem 4 Clam Spammer did set a record with even the original requirement. He did it with 3 skills (which was posted back here, but never made a replay for it).

Anyway, I've finished off Crazy. Here are the improvements:

13: 2 skills. Floater & Climber
14: 5 skills. Blocker, Climber, and three builders from the top platform to the exit.
15: 2 skills. Builder to turn the lemming round and a glitch involving a digger through the edge of the steel.
16: 4 skills. Looks like three is out of reach on this level.
17: 7 skills. Quite disappointed really, as six would've been possible if there was more time.
18: 5 skills. Done by upping the release rate to get one past the vacuum trap, then mine, two builds and a bash.
19: 4 skills. Digger, builder, bomber and basher
20: 8 skills. 6 builders and 2 bashers.

The rest are normal. I also did Wild 1 with three skills. Edit: Improved to two, using the direct drop trick!

[Clam]

Very well done on Taxing 4! Certainly looked more obvious than it should with the slider trick. On Mayhem 4 Clam Spammer did set a record with even the original requirement. He did it with 3 skills (which was posted back here, but never made a replay for it).

Here's a replay if you want it. I guess at the time I considered it too easy to warrant one.

[ccexplore]

Mayhem 2 7 skills.  I also looked at sliding a la Pooty's Taxing 4, but doesn't appear to improve on the 7.