Tapa (Borders) by Serkan Yürekli
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the composite Yajilin mode where left click marks cells, right click marks dots in cells or X’s on edges, left click+drag draws lines.)
Theme: Symmetry and Border Pattern
Author/Opus: This is the 33rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.
Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, if two cells are separated by a thick border, this means that exactly one of those cells is shaded and the other is unshaded.
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 3:45, Expert = 7:30
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other Tapa variations and this link for classic Tapa. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tapa puzzles to get started on.
That should probably say something like “shaded cells” rather than “horizontal loop segments” for the key.
Very nice puzzle, with clever use of the borders to drive the logic.
Thanks Jack. As with the latter comment I did a bad job of copying some sections from an earlier Tapa variations post here. The entry rules are corrected now.
This puzzle was a mess for me to solve. I normally draw borders like these to indicate at most 1 of the 2 cells can be shaded, so in my mind I completely skipped out on “exactly” more than once.
Or see “here”? Where?
Heh. I typed that before posting, then went to look for some good Google links, found none, but forgot to erase it. Fixed now.
Tapa (Borders) started on Palmer’s site to my knowledge but all the links I can give to there like this do not actually show an example. There is probably an LMI test example if I dig deep enough and here one is from TVC 12. Note the addition of another rule when no line exists between cells that unites those cells (both shaded or both unshaded) which is not needed for the puzzle above.
02:12. Whoa, and I thought this is barely a Master time (until I highlighted the target times).
I find plenty of tricks, although I think the interaction between clues and the borders can be made better; I feel like either I’m focusing to clues or to borders, rarely both at the same time. But still a nicely constructed puzzle.
15:21.Nice Tapa Puzzle