[Advent of Code 2021] Day 4 | Giant Squid

Advent of Code 2021
Advent of Code 2021

Part 1

You're already almost 1.5km (almost a mile) below the surface of the ocean, already so deep that you can't see any sunlight. What you can see, however, is a giant squid that has attached itself to the outside of your submarine.

Maybe it wants to play bingo?

Bingo is played on a set of boards each consisting of a 5x5 grid of numbers. Numbers are chosen at random, and the chosen number is marked on all boards on which it appears. (Numbers may not appear on all boards.) If all numbers in any row or any column of a board are marked, that board wins. (Diagonals don't count.)

The submarine has a bingo subsystem to help passengers (currently, you and the giant squid) pass the time. It automatically generates a random order in which to draw numbers and a random set of boards (your puzzle input). For example:

7,4,9,5,11,17,23,2,0,14,21,24,10,16,13,6,15,25,12,22,18,20,8,19,3,26,1

22 13 17 11  0
 8  2 23  4 24
21  9 14 16  7
 6 10  3 18  5
 1 12 20 15 19

 3 15  0  2 22
 9 18 13 17  5
19  8  7 25 23
20 11 10 24  4
14 21 16 12  6

14 21 17 24  4
10 16 15  9 19
18  8 23 26 20
22 11 13  6  5
 2  0 12  3  7

After the first five numbers are drawn (7, 4, 9, 5, and 11), there are no winners, but the boards are marked as follows (shown here adjacent to each other to save space):

22 13 17 11  0         3 15  0  2 22        14 21 17 24  4
 8  2 23  4 24         9 18 13 17  5        10 16 15  9 19
21  9 14 16  7        19  8  7 25 23        18  8 23 26 20
 6 10  3 18  5        20 11 10 24  4        22 11 13  6  5
 1 12 20 15 19        14 21 16 12  6         2  0 12  3  7

After the next six numbers are drawn (17, 23, 2, 0, 14, and 21), there are still no winners:

22 13 17 11  0         3 15  0  2 22        14 21 17 24  4
 8  2 23  4 24         9 18 13 17  5        10 16 15  9 19
21  9 14 16  7        19  8  7 25 23        18  8 23 26 20
 6 10  3 18  5        20 11 10 24  4        22 11 13  6  5
 1 12 20 15 19        14 21 16 12  6         2  0 12  3  7

Finally, 24 is drawn:

22 13 17 11  0         3 15  0  2 22        14 21 17 24  4
 8  2 23  4 24         9 18 13 17  5        10 16 15  9 19
21  9 14 16  7        19  8  7 25 23        18  8 23 26 20
 6 10  3 18  5        20 11 10 24  4        22 11 13  6  5
 1 12 20 15 19        14 21 16 12  6         2  0 12  3  7

At this point, the third board wins because it has at least one complete row or column of marked numbers (in this case, the entire top row is marked: _14 21 17 24 4_).

The score of the winning board can now be calculated. Start by finding the sum of all unmarked numbers on that board; in this case, the sum is 188. Then, multiply that sum by the number that was just called when the board won, 24, to get the final score, 188 * 24 = _4512_.

To guarantee victory against the giant squid, figure out which board will win first. What will your final score be if you choose that board?


Proposed solution: track the columns and rows by sheet – after each called number, check every sheet and remove it from the rows and columns until a whole row or column is empty

Time complexity: O(n)

Space complexity: O(n)

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import sys

N = 5

if len(sys.argv) != 2:
    print("Usage: {} <input file>".format(sys.argv[0]))
    sys.exit(1)

class BingoSheet:
    def __init__(self, sheet):
        self.rows = sheet
        self.columns = [[] for i in range(N)]
        for row in sheet:
            for column, value in enumerate(row):
                self.columns[column].append(value)

    def mark_number(self, num):
        for row in self.rows:
            if num in row:
                row.remove(num)
                if len(row) == 0:
                    return True
                break
        for column in self.columns:
            if num in column:
                column.remove(num)
                if len(column) == 0:
                    return True
                break
        return False

    def board_sum(self):
        return sum([n for n in [sum(row) for row in self.rows]])

file_input = open(sys.argv[1], "r").read().strip().split("\n")
draw_nums = [int(x) for x in file_input[0].split(",")]

sheets = []
for i in range(2, len(file_input), 6):
    sheet = []
    for row in file_input[i:i+5]:
        nums = [int(num) for num in row.split()]
        sheet.append(nums)
    sheets.append(BingoSheet(sheet))

for num in draw_nums:
    for sheet in sheets:
        if sheet.mark_number(num):
            print("Final Score: " + str(num * sheet.board_sum()))
            sys.exit(0)
OOP FTW

This is pretty straightforward. The constructor takes in a sheet which should be a list of lists [rows] and then we can construct a copy in the form of columns. The mark_number function removes a called number from the rows/columns and returns whether it resulted in a win. board_sum does what it implies, calculates the sum of the board.

❯ python3 solution4.py input4
Final Score: 63552
BINGO

Part 2

On the other hand, it might be wise to try a different strategy: let the giant squid win.

You aren't sure how many bingo boards a giant squid could play at once, so rather than waste time counting its arms, the safe thing to do is to figure out which board will win last and choose that one. That way, no matter which boards it picks, it will win for sure.

In the above example, the second board is the last to win, which happens after 13 is eventually called and its middle column is completely marked. If you were to keep playing until this point, the second board would have a sum of unmarked numbers equal to 148 for a final score of 148 * 13 = _1924_.

Figure out which board will win last. Once it wins, what would its final score be?


Proposed solution: same idea but continue marking numbers until the all sheet have won and calculate the sum of the final board

Time complexity: O(n)

Space complexity: O(n)

first = False
for num in draw_nums:
    for sheet in list(sheets):
        if sheet.mark_number(num):
            if not first:
                print("First Board Final Score: " + str(num * sheet.board_sum()))
                first = True
            sheets.remove(sheet)
        if len(sheets) == 0:
            print("Last Board Final Score: " + str(num * sheet.board_sum()))
            sys.exit(0)
Bingo master vs. squid

Made some slight modifications to the main loop and...

❯ python3 solution4.py input4
First Board Final Score: 63552
Last Board Final Score: 9020