how about a guessing game?

[Redfork2000]

2, 2, 2

3, 3, 3

3, 6, 3

 

[Sara Sidereal]

Redfork2000
yes
yes
no

 

[Redfork2000]

Oh my. Hm...

7, 21, 21

64, 64, 8

7, 7, 7

 

[Sara Sidereal]

Redfork2000
yes
yes
yes

 

[Redfork2000]

Oh, I see.

3, 12, 6

9, 36, 3

5, 100, 20

 

[Sara Sidereal]

Redfork2000
no
no
no

 

[Redfork2000]

I kind of have an idea of what the rule could be, but I don't want to guess because if I get it wrong I won't be able to try again.

4, 24, 24

5, 50, 50

99, 99, 9

 

[Sara Sidereal]

Redfork2000
yes
yes
yes

 

[Redfork2000]

90, 10, 90

25, 125, 125

8, 24, 8

 

[Sara Sidereal]

Redfork2000
no
yes
no

 

[Redfork2000]

I'm almost sure I've got it, but the possibility of being wrong and not being able to try again is stopping me from giving it a try.

-2, 24, -24

2, 24, 24

2, -24, -24

 

[Sara Sidereal]

yes
yes
no

tell ya what, as long as nobody else is posting anyway, i'll give ya a freebie

 

[Redfork2000]

Oh, really? Great, in that case I think I might actually give it a try.

Oh dear, I thought I had it, but it seems my previous test proved otherwise. Might as well keep trying.

6, 24, 12

8, 16, 16

42, 42, 7

 

[Sara Sidereal]

no
yes
yes

 

[Redfork2000]

Trying my hardest to figure this out.

12, 36, 12

36, 36, 36

36, 36, 12

 

[Sara Sidereal]

no
yes
yes

 

[Redfork2000]

Ok, let's see if I can use my free guess now. Honestly this is as close as I've gotten to it so far. I know there's probably something very simple that I'm overlooking, but if possible, at least let me know if I'm looking in the right direction.

B is larger or equal than A or C, both of which are factors of B, and at least one of them must have the same absolute value as B.

 

[Sara Sidereal]

One part of your statement is on the right track. The rule can be stated in about half as many words.

 

[Redfork2000]

Hm... ok.

I've used up the free guess, and I'm running out of ideas for what the rule could be, as all the triplets I've tested just bring me back to the same three patterns I've noticed every time:

- That B is always larger or equal to A and C (hence why I tested the negative numbers)

- That A and C are always factors of B (true for all the triplets that follow the rule so far)

- That at least one of either A or C must have the same absolute value as B (hence again why I tried the negative numbers, since some times a triplet would work even when the numbers with the same absolute value were from opposite signs).

Outside of that I haven't been able to notice anything else that could help me get to the rule. I'm probably overlooking something very obvious, but for the time being this is as far as I got. By this point all the triplet sets I'm testing have only confirmed all three conditions to be true, and I'm starting to run out of ideas of what else could be there that I'm not seeing. Without any hints to point me in the right direction, I think I might have to wait to see if any other users have some ideas to solve this puzzle.

 

[Sara Sidereal]

- True.

- True.

- False.

 

[Redfork2000]

Hm... interesting. Well, at least that will lead me in the right direction. Hm... Am I missing any pieces of information, or do I have everything, just not expressed correctly?

 

[Sara Sidereal]

You know B is always at least equal to A and C, and that A and C are factors of B. Sometimes your test fails when B is strictly larger than (in other words, not equal to) A and C, but not always. Most of your tests have involved either A or B being equal to C (or its opposite). Your tests always fail when B is negative.

Also: just noticed most of your tests have A being a factor of C or vice versa.

Leon The Needled Riolu
I am not without mercy. You have been resurrected if you still wish to play.

 

[Leon The Needled Riolu]

Hm.

How about 2 4 4?
And 4 8 12?

 

[Sara Sidereal]

yes
no

 

[Leon The Needled Riolu]

4 4 8?