possible solution steps

1. one vertical text area/ div to reflect the history
2. one text box fro the object, pulldown for the commands and another text box for args
3. one div for the puzzle


the puzzle is as follows
generate an NXN array of divs each with a unique i,j id.

genearte 2n divs for the row and col identifier tabs..
and n more divs for the block identifier tabs

clicking on any div will add its id to the object text box
except when super seded. ie if you select a cell and a row containing that cell, the cell handle is removed and the row handle is added.

more later..

requirements for my NXN puzzle

1. this is a simple sudoku to start with.. here are the requirements..

1. allows user to pick N
2. display cells in a partitioned grid.
3. allow choice of difficulty of puzzle
4. allow pencil marks,
when a probable is crossed out, it should disappear from that cell.
5. the cells themselves are only for display, the actual method to affect the contents of a cell is to type a command in a text box,

to give an idea here is the layout i have in mind.
top left, the sudoku puzzle grid
in a wide text box right under it, [ infact three , one for the objects , one for the command, one for the arguments ]. the user enters text,
objects can be selected with teh mouse[ example, specific cells]
commands set or unset cells with values, add or remove pencil marks etc..

this would give a very interesting set of programs to solve a given puzzle.
the competetion is to turn in the best program for a given puzzle. different metrics for the program could be used , least number of instructions for example.

example : foreach(s[1,1], s[1,3], s[1,5]) r1.remove_pencil_marks_complement( 1,3,6)
would remove the pencil marks from all the cells in r1 except those specified in the objects section.

im sure over time the language and the interface can improve.

so now on to designing soem cool apps that do this:) ; oh and by the way if you want to implement this , go right ahead.. you can discuss with me at sriram dote durbha ate gmail
cheers
ram