I too solved it in 1-2 minutes just by looking at the patterns and deducing from the combinations, especially the ones with four of a kind. The loops never occurred to me until I read the "real" solution.

IMO the "fuck_you" of the currently most popular comment is what most people who are skimming HN during their morning coffee are bound to think, but most programmers and anyone used to deducing patterns would probably be able to figure the puzzle out in a relatively short amount of time. Not an hour. Sheesh!