Advent of Code Day 18 — Boiling Boulders
We’re about to start on Christmas Week, that week when Advent of Code’s most iconic puzzles are released. But today, we’re dealing with the aftermath of an exploding volcano.
Come for the games, stay for the drama.
We’re about to start on Christmas Week, that week when Advent of Code’s most iconic puzzles are released. But today, we’re dealing with the aftermath of an exploding volcano.
They say “Pyroclastic Flow”, but it’s really Tetris. Rock Tetris. With 100,000,000 pieces. Massive.
The title says it all. It’s a “shortest path” puzzle, you’re meant to use Dijkstra’s algorithm, and the puzzle has no curve balls to toss at you.
This is the kind of puzzle I hate. Puzzles where even the best approach seems to take forever and it’s hard to wrap my head around the solution.
I thought, for my vacation, I’d have time to really dive deep into these puzzles. Instead, I’ve been buried deep in sand — much like the hapless victim in today’s puzzle.