<![CDATA[Marches & Gnats]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oaLe!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdd702695-8d6a-497f-8fa4-44b464b645bd_786x786.pngMarches & Gnatshttps://marchesgnats.substack.comSubstackThu, 14 May 2026 08:10:02 GMT<![CDATA[New Quest — Toads and Frogs (PvP)]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-toads-and-frogs-pvphttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-toads-and-frogs-pvpWed, 29 Apr 2026 10:27:09 GMTMihkel, Johann, and Liina test whether the machine can do more than calculate — whether it can compete. In Toads and Frogs, every move advances the board, answers the opponent, and leaves no path back. The Logic Mill enters its first contest of strategy, where truth alone is no longer enough.

You don’t just solve a puzzle — you write a strategy that plays against other players’ strategies.

https://mng.quest/quest/42/toads-and-frogs-pvp

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Look and Say]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-look-and-sayhttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-look-and-saySat, 18 Apr 2026 15:20:51 GMTJohann brings Mihkel a strange dream of doors, corridors, and keys. To explain the Logic Mill, Mihkel shows how it can read only the shape of symbols: group what is alike, count it, and say it back.

On the input tape, you’ll get a sequence of decimal digits. Your task is to write its next look-and-say term.

https://mng.quest/quest/41/look-and-say

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Escape Maze]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-escape-mazehttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-escape-mazeFri, 03 Apr 2026 13:21:14 GMTJohann dreams of a maze of locked doors and scattered keys, where escape yields not to force but to the right path. Though Mihkel is nowhere seen, his unseen guidance seems to lead Johann through the darkness toward the one way out.

On the input tape, you’ll get a one-dimensional maze. Your task is to determine whether the escape is reachable from the start position.

https://mng.quest/quest/40/escape-maze

]]><![CDATA[New Quest (Merge Unary Arrays) + Winter in the Marches]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-merge-unary-arrays-winterhttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-merge-unary-arrays-winterSat, 21 Mar 2026 16:00:20 GMTTwo bundles of folk verses arrive from different parishes, each already carefully arranged by Liina’s patient hand. Mihkel must help bring them together so they stand side by side without one voice overwhelming the other. What emerges is not conquest, but a quiet union: separate truths proceeding together in a single order.

On the input tape, you’ll get two sorted arrays of unary numbers. Your task is to merge them into one sorted array, preserving ascending order.

https://mng.quest/quest/39/merge-unary-arrays

Alongside this new quest, I have also written a brief note on the winter months in the Marches:

]]><![CDATA[Winter in the Marches]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/winter-in-the-marcheshttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/winter-in-the-marchesSat, 21 Mar 2026 15:46:59 GMTThough spring has already begun to loosen winter’s grip, these notes look back on the months just passed—three still stretches of December to February, when snow lay over Dorpat’s roofs and the chimneys breathed into the pale air. During this season, 11 new quests found their place along Mihkel’s path, each adding another small mystery to the long road through the Marches.

43 new players entered the world as well, bringing fresh attention and resolve to the journey. Together, they set the Logic Mill in motion through another 6900 submitted solutions, enough to keep its wheels turning even through the deepest cold.

Outside the puzzles themselves, the Marches have changed in another way: bots now wander these roads beside human players, attempting the quests in their own mechanical fashion. It has been a strange and fitting sight, as if the Logic Mill had begun at last to study itself.

Life beyond Dorpat has been busy, and because of that, I have had to leave behind the old weekly rhythm of publication. New quests now arrive every two weeks, at a pace more modest but steadier for the season.

As the thaw begins and the first signs of spring return, my thanks go to everyone who spent these winter months with Mihkel. More riddles are waiting beyond the snowmelt.

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Chess Check]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-chess-checkhttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-chess-checkSat, 07 Mar 2026 14:52:00 GMTA winter evening in Dorpat draws restless students to a chessboard near the tiled stove. A bold declaration of checkmate collapses when a knight’s crooked path reveals a hidden threat. Professor Reichenstein insists that chess obeys strict rules, not intuition. Mihkel decides to test the question with his Logic Mill.

On the input tape, you’ll get the positions of a black king and a white piece. Your task is to determine whether the black king is in check.

https://mng.quest/quest/38/chess-check

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Greatest Common Divisor]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-greatest-common-divisorhttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-greatest-common-divisorFri, 20 Feb 2026 15:10:57 GMTKarl has eighteen broadsheets from one parish and twelve from another. Liina wants them bundled into equal packets, the largest possible, with nothing left over. The answer is not built—it is uncovered, already hidden inside both numbers.

On the input tape, you’ll get two unary numbers separated by a comma. Your task is to find the greatest common divisor.

https://mng.quest/quest/37/greatest-common-divisor

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Abelian Sandpile]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-abelian-sandpilehttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-abelian-sandpileSat, 07 Feb 2026 10:47:10 GMTA wooden box of sand becomes a lesson in inevitability. Johann claims the piles must fall as they will, beyond prediction. Mihkel is asked to prove that order emerges from simple rules. Simulate a one-dimensional sandpile until every heap is stable.

On the input tape, you’ll get sandpile heights in unary format. Your task is to simulate a 1D Abelian sandpile until it becomes stable.

https://mng.quest/quest/36/abelian-sandpile

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Unary Deduplication]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-unary-deduplicationhttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-unary-deduplicationSat, 31 Jan 2026 17:59:23 GMTLiina asks not just for an answer, but for the method behind it, turning a simple task into a lesson in careful thinking.

On the input tape, you’ll get numbers in the unary format separated by commas. Your task is to remove all duplicates.

https://mng.quest/quest/35/unary-deduplication

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Logic Gates]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-logic-gateshttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-logic-gatesFri, 23 Jan 2026 17:06:39 GMTA quiet workshop reveals how the Logic Mill reduces all thought to yes and no. Mihkel explains that the machine does not decide, it only applies rules without doubt or mercy. Liina sees that meaning vanishes, leaving only consistency and result.

On the input tape you’ll get an expression with different logic gates and boolean values. Your task is to evaluate the expression and output the result.

https://mng.quest/quest/34/logic-gates

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Valid Parentheses]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-valid-parentheseshttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-valid-parenthesesSat, 17 Jan 2026 13:23:26 GMTA manuscript can be correct in every detail and still collapse if its structure is broken. Liina struggles with nested explanations that never quite return to where they began.

On the input tape you’ll get a string consisting of different types of parentheses. Your task is to check if the parentheses are validly nested and closed.

https://mng.quest/quest/33/valid-parentheses

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Self-Counting]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-self-countinghttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-self-countingThu, 08 Jan 2026 09:43:57 GMTA skeptical professor challenges Mihkel to count not results, but the rules behind them. For the first time, the Logic Mill is turned inward, forced to examine its own instructions.

On the input tape you’ll get your submitted transition rules. Your task is to output the number of transition rules in unary representation.

https://mng.quest/quest/32/self-counting

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Unary to decimal]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-unary-to-decimalhttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-unary-to-decimalSun, 28 Dec 2025 12:17:11 GMTUnary marks carved in wood meet the elegance and danger of decimal numbers. A winter walk along the Dorpat riverbank reveals that even the simplest counting carries philosophical weight. Mihkel is asked to convert honest, one-stroke-per-thing tallies into abstract decimal form.

On the input tape you’ll get a number in unary format. Your task is to output it as a decimal number.

https://mng.quest/quest/31/unary-to-decimal

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Palindrome]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-palindromehttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-palindromeMon, 22 Dec 2025 10:12:08 GMTA wooden charm carved with a word that reads the same forwards and backwards. Johann claims such words cannot be twisted by spirits or superstition. Mihkel sets aside folklore and asks the Logic Mill a simpler question. Does the word remain unchanged when reversed?

On the input tape you’ll get a word. Your task is to check if it’s a palindrome.

https://mng.quest/quest/30/palindrome

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Advent of Logic Mill]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-advent-of-logic-millhttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-advent-of-logic-millSat, 13 Dec 2025 18:11:44 GMTAdvent of Code 2025 is over. It inspired Marches & Gnats, and this new winter quest is a small piece of fanfiction exploring some of AoC’s unanswered questions.

On the input tape, you’ll get a toy’s description and its production rules. Your task is to determine which final raw materials the toy consists of.

https://mng.quest/quest/29/advent-of-logic-mill

]]><![CDATA[Autumn in the Marches]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/autumn-in-the-marcheshttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/autumn-in-the-marchesMon, 01 Dec 2025 12:35:50 GMTThough winter has already taken its first breath, these notes look back on the months just passed—three quiet stretches of September to November, when the forests around Dorpat turned copper and the nights grew long. During this season, 13 new quests found their place along Mihkel’s path, each adding another thread to the tapestry of the Marches.

12 new players stepped into the world as well, bringing new curiosity to the journey. Together they sent the Logic Mill spinning through another 10 052 solutions—fine work that kept its gears warm as the frost crept in.

Outside the puzzles themselves, the world has grown sturdier: a small donation page now stands by the roadside, offering support through PayPal, Patreon, and crypto.

Following the thoughtful feedback many of you shared, I will place greater emphasis on puzzles whose Logic Mill instructions can be reasoned about by hand.

As winter settles over Dorpat, my thanks go to everyone who has walked these autumn roads with Mihkel. New riddles wait beyond the frost.

Today also marks the beginning of Advent of Code. For the next two weeks, I’ll set aside my work in the Marches to take part in those nightly trials. A private leaderboard awaits anyone who wishes to join the friendly chase. You can join it using this link, where you need to enter the code 2947999-afe31aa5

]]><![CDATA[New quest — Fibonacci Sequence]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-fibonacci-sequencehttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-fibonacci-sequenceThu, 27 Nov 2025 10:33:15 GMTNature’s spirals lead Mihkel to a quiet discovery in the autumn forests south of Dorpat. A pine cone’s symmetry reveals the Fibonacci sequence hidden in its bracts. Mihkel brings the insight back to his Logic Mill, determined to recreate nature’s pattern.

On the input tape, you’ll get a number n in unary format. Your task is to compute the nth number in the Fibonacci sequence.

https://mng.quest/quest/28/fibonacci-sequence

]]><![CDATA[New quest (Unary Divisibility) + Donations]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-unary-divisibility-donationshttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-unary-divisibility-donationsFri, 21 Nov 2025 11:57:16 GMTQuest 23: Unary Divisibility

Evening mist settles over Dorpat as Johann arrives at Mihkel’s workshop in quiet distress. He needs to know whether his bundle of candles can be divided evenly among 23 guests. Mihkel turns to the Logic Mill to test the numbers.

On the input tape, you’ll get two numbers in the unary format. Your task is to check if the first number is divisible by the second number.

https://mng.quest/quest/27/unary-divisibility

Support Marches & Gnats

If you enjoy playing Marches & Gnats, you can now support the project!

I work on it in my spare time and try to publish a new quest every week. Even small contributions help me keep improving the game and building new quests.

Donors who give $1+ receive a supporter badge near their name on the leaderboard pages.

You can donate via Patreon, PayPal, crypto, and other methods. More info on https://mng.quest/donate

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — Letter Frequency Sort]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-letter-frequency-sorthttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-letter-frequency-sortSat, 15 Nov 2025 17:20:26 GMTEarly summer fills the Dorpat printing house with ink and lilac air. Liina asks Mihkel to measure which letters her pages use most. The printers use the result to understand their dwindling type stock.

On the input tape, you’ll get a string consisting of a-z letters. Your task is to output each distinct letter exactly once, sorted by how often it appears in the input.

https://mng.quest/quest/26/letter-frequency-sort

]]><![CDATA[New Quest — French Number Spelling]]>https://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-french-number-spellinghttps://marchesgnats.substack.com/p/new-quest-french-number-spellingFri, 07 Nov 2025 16:09:01 GMTIn early summer Dorpat, Monsieur Delaroche unveiled the elegance of French numerals. To others they seemed chaotic; to Mihkel, a secret logic. By candlelight, he taught the Logic Mill to turn vingt-et-un into 21.

On the input tape, you’ll get a number written out in French words. Your task is to convert it into its numeric (decimal) form.

https://mng.quest/quest/25/french-number-spelling

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