Questions tagged [hints]

A slight or indirect indication or suggestion. It helps to solve a puzzle and is usually hidden under spoiler.

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3 votes
1 answer
78 views

Are outdated hints allowed?

The "Hint 5" on this problem is going to be outdated in three days already outdated. Should I edit the hint when it gets outdated? Are similar hints that highly depends on time allowed?
1 vote
2 answers
102 views

How many hints should I typically add to my puzzle?

I posted a riddle over a week ago, and 3 hints at an interval of 24 hours each. There aren't any answers to it and a week has passed. I know puzzles on this website can go unanswered for months, even ...
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4 votes
2 answers
178 views

Is my timing of giving hints good?

Starting with this question, I shall give hints on specific timing. After 24 hours since posting the question, I give a subtle hint. After other 12 hours, I give a moderate hint. After other 6 hours, ...
  • 3,591
0 votes
0 answers
48 views

Should I add a hint to my question? [duplicate]

I have a puzzle that is months old: Find the hidden message! The solution can basically be broken down to three steps, the first was already done by Joe-You-Know, the third should be pretty easy. But ...
5 votes
3 answers
158 views

When can I ask for a hint?

I am pretty new here thus sorry if my question is a bit stupid. This is related but I am asking for kind of the "opposite". I mean, one can struggle to solve a puzzle and ask for an hint. But if it ...
  • 11.4k
27 votes
6 answers
613 views

When should I add hints to my puzzle?

Hints can be a valuable part of a good puzzle, but there are many examples on site where improper use of so-called 'hints' really degrades quality of the individual puzzle or the site as a whole. ...
  • 18k
11 votes
1 answer
364 views

Are misleading hints allowed?

Stemming from a comment I left on an answer to this question: You say the hint was a red herring. So are hints that aren't hints allowed? I guess they would be, just curious if it was ever brought ...
  • 303
4 votes
1 answer
177 views

How can I form good hints for (sequence) puzzles?

I have seen quite a number of sequence puzzles on here, and most of them simply provide a sequence and ask for the next entry in the sequence or the rule for the sequence. Most of these do not provide ...
9 votes
2 answers
455 views

Should we flag a riddle as *too broad* without looking at the hints

Let's start from the start. I think that there are two types of hard riddles. One: whose answer is very hard to guess. These riddles are interesting (in my opinion) and always leaves us something to ...
  • 6,254
2 votes
1 answer
150 views

Community Wiki answer for hints?

So - I recently put out a bounty on this question, after having silently worked on it on my own a handful of times over the last month or so. I only just yesterday realized that there had been more "...
9 votes
3 answers
241 views

Are (CSS-hidden) hints typically supposed to have required information?

I always try puzzles without hints, here or anywhere else. However, I noticed in a question the answer was found by someone who basically needed the hints. I'm not trying to pick on this puzzle in ...
  • 1,535
1 vote
2 answers
228 views

Can puzzles come without hints?

Can you post a puzzle without any hints so that the people find the answer without any help but using their logic only?
6 votes
2 answers
228 views

What is the appropriate time between hints?

I'm quite new to Puzzling Stack Exchange but am slowly starting to make more difficult questions. I'm thinking of giving hints but obviously we shouldn't give too many hints too fast. So is there a ...
  • 1,177
6 votes
1 answer
174 views

"Seeding" the Comments with Hints

I don't have any specific questions in my head, but I've seen this done. In the comments section, OP casually drops discreet hints into the discussion, almost unnoticeable. Hints that are not required ...
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