An Exact 93-Move Solution to a Nonlocal Crystal-Exchange Puzzle

arXiv:2610.29493 · cs.AI, math.CO · Submitted 2026-10-21 · Read on arXiv

cs.AI, math.CO

Submitted: 2026-10-21

Updated: 2026-10-21

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

The gist: We determine the minimum number of directional commands needed to solve alevel of Order of the Sinking Star, modeled as a crystal-exchangepuzzle on an 11*11 board.

Abstract

We determine the minimum number of directional commands needed to solve alevel of Order of the Sinking Star, modeled as a crystal-exchangepuzzle on an 11*11 board. A command swapsthe player with the nearest crystal in the selected row or column, regardlessof distance; only an empty ray permits an ordinary unit walk. Two gates admitthe player to the exit exactly while all sixteen crystals occupy their targetcells. We give an explicit 93-command solution and exclude every shortersolution by an exact, cost-bounded breadth-first search. The search representsa position by its seventeen occupied cells and one active cell. Its admissibleheuristic partitions command costs between a compressed core abstraction andresidual motion, strengthened by a necessary activation detour and a cornervisit condition. The completed computation retained 605,349,215 occupied setsand 1,863,925,136 states. We prove the reductions and pruning conditions,describe the exact storage scheme, and provide source code, execution logs,and a reproduction driver. The result is a computer-assisted proof for thespecified instance, with an explicit implementation trust boundary.

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