[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by omk3

Ok, here's my try:

Spoiler:

Each time we add 10 to each digit. If we get same numbers side by side, we keep only one of them, updating the tens digit to the number of same numbers (I'm not at all happy with how I phrased it, but it works)

So
1
11
11 11 (adding 10 to each digit of the above number. We get 2 11s, so we make them 21)
12 11
11 12 11 11, which again makes 11 12 21
11 11 11 12 12 11, which makes 31 (3 11s) 22 (2 12s) 11
13 11 12 12 11 11, which makes 13 11 22 21
which brings us to the next number, which should be:
11 13 11 11 12 12 12 11, thus 11 13 21 32 11.

You have the right answer. You even have a method that will generate the right answer, and will carry on generating the correct answer for subsequent rows.

But you have indeed expressed the method very clumsily. The way you've written out your answers might help you spot the simple way to describe the method of working out the next line, especially if you try out my clue above.

But quibbles aside — you have the right answer. Congratulations!