I haven’t been parsing the input string character by character and instead have been parsing into native data structures. It makes the code more verbose but it’s how I want to do it. Unfortunately it does mean most of the time coming up with a solution is structuring the data so I’m hoping I come up with a faster way after a few days.

existence lock red fork hate opposite hammer steam bit expert almost safe trousers crack together grey under ring stone chance bent regret range touch how seed store finger first new a competition conscious quiet lock sweet warm pleasure swim left heat brake toe carriage snake note frequent exchange hope comfort

office crush private glove special normal agreement ill fork leaf still rub box gold work long army gun dress high private harbour brake produce hospital to who to leg foolish clock wash because disease wood test soup table healthy horse summer care wire bottle driving blade bath do enough sign

get shirt woman sex among operation out voice smash far stretch division learning leather society property hook heat cloud event help sharp wound danger wise person bright offer star limit early grey bent thunder selection or broken complex wax possible slope power rest fiction warm like neck from elastic warm

care animal sun fiction whistle ball rain flag angry minute give secretary water strong private stem board hair even stop still shake political silver name war dog blood change change under glass tooth top story expansion house future card note map observation full bottle back music door existence medical judge

offer false let manager reason owner protest any motion book sad heat sort pen after verse blue protest coal street attention authority tail air map unit island for a wave screw shoe insurance sleep old control slope over green balance new full regular wind writing male high guide tongue the

only friend ever value same pot stocking salt shake size silk self coat if development harmony loss seat pump jewel thin dirty short rat digestion ink poison manager floor winter insect such fact representative muscle dress ink lift powder reward mouth tray need like news birth talk servant till hope

under true stick sign guide brake expert connection fish reading man put star able power though payment poor seed collar sister true river send base crime bed sneeze finger when society left summer division paste office scissors wheel bent fat attack again different fish button instrument weather this almost wash

ever solid office writing grass any north cover bell daughter salt square face knot event again letter living secretary land pleasure bee other burn short chance political new cheese writing paper strong fear list nail meal regular soft cow key brick purpose leather arm last fear instrument wheel who paint

2D grids and parsing data from them in all manner of interesting ways is a real AoC staple.

I’m still hoping to be met with a problem at some point which can be solved by handling it as a type of funge program.

goat poor quick band smash match death cry such cake sister office design spade very danger spring flag ice for stone street such weight range vessel rain fixed wood much learning right west delicate opposite low throat regret porter back circle some angle bucket wind tree please comb dead angry

fertile before yesterday stage regret protest kick necessary male some almost daughter surprise so nose history healthy amount pen special building natural care language past insect market umbrella size night hard rough pump with chief or run chin behaviour living effect glass deep no poor ice comb tight acid where

invention horse question error self humour wound stage gold flight mark heart kick flight common feeble grass east cut print about black roll cow advertisement earth branch change store young very baby sticky owner stitch slow bit for horse scale snake representative up eye prison year army now bread sad

come bucket quick all parcel strange friend drop balance balance for than skirt take present leather present page north by mixed danger important market spring then fold station trick separate argument end great yellow glove prose while medical jelly salt open slope oil orange verse law umbrella on change sort

So far I’ve usually had success with just going for regex, but the second challenge today bacfired quite spectacullary. I’m still postponing having to rewrite my solution, because unfortunately it’s not really possible to have 2D regex (as far as I know, would be awesome).

I guess just going with some kind of flood algorithm will be the way to go, but that’s effort