My IQ will be so high if someone can solve this for me

Question

_{This puzzle is part of the Monthly Topic Challenge #2: IQ Puzzle Parody}

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I'm stumped with the IQ test question below. Can anyone give me a hand so I can prove how smart I am? Which of the three options is correct?

Answer 1

First,

the lines and central dots are pigpen cipher, spelling out MASYUPUZ[Z/L/E]. So this is a Masyu logic puzzle.

But we can't get very far:

Trying to solve this as a Masyu doesn't give too much. So we'll need to use the three options.

Let's look at option B first.


First we deduce the red segment above, then the yellow, then the two cyan segments -- and now we can't satisfy the white circle on the edge. Contradiction!

Of the remaining two options,

C is just A with an extra circle - so I'll go ahead assuming it's A for now. Either C will break, or the puzzle won't be unique without adding C's extra circle.


First, some basic deductions get us this far... ...then, the two circles in R7 can't be horizontal...


...then, the segment with the pink square above can't be drawn, because it would create a loop in the entire lower-right area of the grid...

...then, the rightmost end in R2 can't go down, or the bottom endpoint would have no way to escape. Also, the white circle in R5C3 can't be vertical.

And finally,

the remaining white pearl can't be horizontal or we'd be forced to complete the loop.

(And, as expected, the extra white circle from option C would make the puzzle impossible.)

So the correct answer is option A, giving a Masyu puzzle with the solution above!