I have also stuck with python on aprox 70 test :-(

"How I crossed the desert the smart way."

So It is not the smart way.

The answer is literally in description itself:

Not all paths can be made simpler. The path ["NORTH", "WEST", "SOUTH", "EAST"] is not reducible. "NORTH" and "WEST", "WEST" and "SOUTH", "SOUTH" and "EAST" are not directly opposite of each other and can't become such. Hence the result path is itself : ["NORTH", "WEST", "SOUTH", "EAST"].

Not an issue. Read the description properly.

Second test case:
u=["NORTH", "WEST", "SOUTH", "EAST"]
test.assert_equals(dirReduc(u), ["NORTH", "WEST", "SOUTH", "EAST"])

should be

u=["NORTH", "WEST", "SOUTH", "EAST"]
test.assert_equals(dirReduc(u), [])

Its depresing :-)

Fixed.

There is mismach of names beetween code and test cases.
"maxSequence"!="max_sequence"