Golem Grad by Serkan Yürekli
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Theme: Odds
Author/Opus: This is the 75th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.
Rules: Variation of Nurikabe. Shade some empty cells black so that the grid is divided into white areas, each containing at most one number. A white area with a number must have the same area in cells as that number. White areas may only touch diagonally. All shaded cells must be connected with each other, but no 2×2 group of cells can be entirely shaded. Also, all shaded cells must be divisible into snakes with the heads and tails given in the grid. Snakes cannot cross each other.
Also, see this example:
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma. This example has the key “7,32,31”.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other variations of Nurikabe and this link for more classic Nurikabe. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nurikabes to get started on.
I really liked how this one played out in the end.
I found this one easier than yesterday’s, but that’s probably because, as usual with the first time solving Golem Grad after a break, I spent multiple tries on yesterday’s puzzle breaking myself of the nurikabe habit of assuming a white square must connect to a number.