We’re almost there, just two more days to go. Yesterday’s puzzle was a difficult one. In fact, it is my first one I didn’t finish on the day I started it. Even worse, I have yet to get my second star. I guess my modular arithmetic needs some brushing up… So I was glad to see an easier puzzle today. And it was another IntCode one, the 11th time this year already.

After having repaired our ship, we now have to rebuild the network from scratch. There are 50 computers that are all running the IntCode program. They send each other packets using the output and input instructions. That sounds familiar, right? We’ve already connected 5 amps together. But the twist here is that any computer can send to any other computer, and more importantly, the in- and outputs are non-blocking. So how does my IntCode implementation hold up?

I won’t lie. I’m usually not the most competitive person out there. But when December nears, I’m getting a bit restless. And when I run into fellow players from previous year, the conversation quickly turns to the coming season of Advent of Code. “Will you be joining again this year?”, “Have you started preparing yet?”, “Which language will you use?” or “Going for the top position again this year?” are just some of the questions asked.