PDF

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: Clue Symmetry (Matching Sums) and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 64th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules.

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 = 1:30, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Tapa. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tapa to get started on.

All the variety puzzles from the first week of 2015 can be found in this PDF.

This next week will be a little harder than usual, with a lot of interesting Tapa puzzles and variations. Puzzles will be by Prasanna Seshadri, Serkan Yürekli, Tapio Saarinen, and Murat Can Tonta.

The bonus puzzle for our high-level supporters will be a Tapa (Borders) by Serkan Yürekli.

The advertised “stats” update for 2014 will be coming later, but I did want to follow up on several requests from readers for the new year.

– I’ve already posted about our site navigation changes for 2015 but I wanted to mention again the new sidebar/”posts by category” and “posts by author” bits and make sure solvers are finding this to be an improvement.

– We received many requests for a way to distinguish the PDF files in a week as they sometimes get mixed after printing; we’re now adding the posting date to the top of all PDFs in 2015 which should help track things better.

– The biggest open ticket to address is a way to track the puzzles you’ve solved. Here I have to rely on our web developer at the moment so I can’t promise you any timeline, but I hear the request loud and clear. We’ll work through the challenges of merging the solving data with a representative calendar of our site posts and have something available as soon as possible.

– We’ll be adding some new puzzlemasters this year, but I won’t tell you who or when yet. That will be a surprise.

– Also on the horizon for early this year are some improvements to our estore, including more titles there (that only our patrons have seen), and a new header for the blog.

Now that we are doing so many things with daily puzzles and monthly ebooks and other collections, it is time to bring on some more freelancers to help with the site and with our books. There are projects that simply cannot move fast enough because I don’t have the time to complete them myself. Our most pressing need is for an artist that can create covers for our book collections. We’re looking for clean, professional art that showcases how special our puzzles are, with our The Art of Sudoku cover being a prime example. If you think you might be the person to help us with that, please contact us.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between ship placement and shading modes. In ship placement mode, right click gives sea, left click gives circle/square, left click and drag for rounded ships.)

Theme: 2014 to 2015

Author/Opus: This is the 214th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Use the indicated fleet. (Variable shading of numbers is for artistic purposes only)

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears (enter just the last digit for any two-digit number). If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 8:45, Expert = 17:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Battleships. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Battleships to get started on. More Battleships puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles collection.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools).

Theme: Single Vision

Author/Opus: This is the 159th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Pentopia rules: Place some of the given pentominoes in the grid so that no pentominoes are in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner. Pentominoes cannot repeat in the grid; rotations and reflections of a pentomino are considered the same shape. The arrow clues indicate all the directions (up, down, left, and right) where the nearest pentominoes are located when looking from that square. (Arrow clues cannot contain pentomino shapes.) Also, see this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded pentomino segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma. The example has the solution “21,23”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 5:45, Expert = 11:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for more Pentopia puzzles and this link for other puzzles involving Pentominoes.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)

Theme: 2014 to 2015

Author/Opus: This is the 213th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Variant of Skyscrapers rules. Each clue represents the sum of the heights of the visible buildings in that direction. For example, if a row is 12534, the clue from the left would be an 8 (1+2+5) and from the right would be a 9 (4+5).

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 4:45, Expert = 9:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 158th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Slitherlink. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Slitherlink puzzles to get started on.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: 2014 to 2015

Author/Opus: This is the 157th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Variation of Cave rules. Each clue represents the product of the # of row cells visible (including the cell itself) with the # of column cells visible (including the cell itself).

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the cave segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:15, Expert = 4:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Cave variations and this link for other classic Caves. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Cave Puzzles to get started on.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)

Theme: Multiples of 7

Author/Opus: This is the 63rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Answer String: Enter the 5th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 8th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

I will eventually have a longer write-up with some stats from 2014 and other updates here (probably next weekend). Until then, I hope you enjoyed our look back at our Best Puzzles of 2014 and are excited for the start of new puzzles again tomorrow. This coming week will have a variety mix, including several with a familiar theme for this time of year:

Monday: Sudoku by Prasanna Seshadri
Tuesday: Cave (Product) by Grant Fikes
Wednesday: Slitherlink by Grant Fikes
Thursdays: Skyscrapers (Sum) by Thomas Snyder
Friday: Pentopia by Grant Fikes
Saturday: Battleships by Thomas Snyder

The bonus puzzle for our high-level supporters will also be a Pentominous by Grant Fikes.