The goal of the puzzle is to place the five given countries (USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Japan) into the correct slots based on clues.
1. The first clue appear on quiz start:
Since Washington, D.C. is in the US, United States is in the cell Sep Week 4.
2. The next clue reveals two information:
It reveals that Japan is at cells Jun Week 5 and Jul Week 1, but also gives the exact number of times this country is to be placed into the puzzle (3).
3. While one of the two clues revealed can’t be used immediately, the other reveals the next step:
Jun Week 5 gives useful info about possible locations of Canada in this grid, and Jul Week 1 hint indicates that Lawrence is in the United States (home city is New York) twice, 23 weeks apart. Since May Week 1 is already used (Mexico), the only combo that’s possible is to have United States placed at May Week 2 and Sep Week 5.
4. Neither of the revealed clues now is giving the next location directly:
However, there’s a lot of new info that can be combined into next steps. May Week 2 clue forbids placing Mexico in June cells and Week 5 cells, while Sep Week 5 clue forbids placing United States in the July column. Also, it also prevents placing the same country at the beginning and the end of every month, which especially useful for months where either first or the last location is already known.
Based on all of the available clues, let’s take a look at the Jul Week 5 cell. Mexico is forbidden in Week 5 row, and United States can’t be in July column. Canada also can’t be in July column, since it has to follow United States. Japan is also unavailable in Week 5, since it’s starting location of this month. This means that Australia must be in Jul Week 5.
5. The next clue telling us more about some Canada locations:
Toronto and Vancouver, both cities in Canada, are visited in Week 2 of some months, but not in July (Canada must follow USA and USA can’t be in Jul). Since United States can’t be in Sep Week 1, as this country is the last in this month, Canada has to be in both Jun Week 2 and Aug Week 2. Both have to be preceded by United States, which can be placed into Jun Week 1 and Aug Week 1 cells.
6. Neither of the United States location is offering any further clues, but the two Canada cells do:
Unfortunately, neither clue is giving away a new answer directly. The new knowledge includes the fact that the band visited Canada at least once in every month except one, which we already recognized as July. Also, the total number of visits to Canada and Australia is 6. From that, we know that the band was in Australia either once (and Canada five times), or twice (leaving Canada at the minimum of once for each possible month).
Since Canada has to be visited in September, let’s take a look at what are the possibilities – it has to follow United States, but United States begins the month of August (hence, it can’t end August) and ends September (hence, can’t start September). This means that Canada can’t possibly be in either of the first two September weeks, leaving us with only one option: Canada is in Sep Week 3. And, subsequently, United States is in Sep Week 2.
7. Of the two new cells revealed, only one is providing us with a clue, but it’s a crucial one:
Since every country is visited on consecutive weeks at least once (except Canada), Australia is visited twice. This also means that Canada is visited four times. We had previously learned that Japan appears three times and Mexico five times.
Here’s the full overview:
Japan – 3
Australia – 2
Canada – 4
Mexico – 5
United States – 25 – (3+2+4+5) = 11
The only possible location in the grid for the other Australia visit is Jul Week 4 cell.
8. Australia is now completed.
Further, let’s take a look at the Aug Week 5 cells and it’s remaining options. Mexico can’t be in Week 5, Canada’s one remaining slot is in May column, while United States can’t end the month of August, since it’s starting it. Australia is done, leaving us with just Japan as a viable option for Aug Week 5.
9. This is the third and final Japan in the puzzle:
This means that all the remaining answers are either Mexico, United States, or Canada (one answer in the May column). Canada and United States are not options for neither of the remaining July cells, nor Sep Week 1 cell. Mexico is in all three.
10. Of the three new answers, only the Sep Week 1 cell is offering us help:
Lawrence visited exactly three countries every month. This helps us solve a good chunk of the remaining cells. Since there are already three countries in August, Mexico can’t go there, nor in June. The only remaining Mexico is in May, as well as Canada. Fill all other cells with United States.
11. The final clue appears in Aug Week 4 cell:
It helps us determine the answers of the remaining May cells. May Week 4 is USA, Mexico can’t go to Week 5, so it’s in May Week 3, leaving Canada in May Week 5. Puzzle solved!
The solution:
