Last week’s LITS/Nanro variant mix can be found in this PDF.
As we mentioned at the start of the month, we are aiming to publish puzzles 3 out of every 4 weeks this year; after three straight weeks with puzzles, we will be off next week. We’ll be back on 2/8 with a variety mix. We’ll also finally restart our site rewards. If you would like to become a supporter of the site, and get rewards including bonus puzzles, solution walkthroughs, and even e-books, please click here for more info.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use the tab key to alternate between shading and number entry modes)
Theme: Spiral (Note: The regions grow from one cell in size to eleven and back down to one.)
Author/Opus: This is the 105th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.
Rules: Variation of Nanro. The small clue numbers indicate how many cells in that region are used (but do not necessarily indicate which cells are filled as standard Nanro clues do).
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the segments labeled with numbers 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 = 5:45, Master = 9:00, Expert = 18:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other Nanro variations and this link for classic Nanro. If you are new to this puzzle type, please first try out our easiest Nanro to get started.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: T Junctions
Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor Chris Green.
Rules: Variation of LITS. Some cells or groups of cells are outlined and labeled with a letter. If any of these cells is shaded, then the tetromino shape must match the clued letter.
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 = 8:15, Master = 14:00, Expert = 28:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for more variations of LITS and this link for classic LITS. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest LITS to get started on.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use the tab key to alternate between shading and number entry modes)
Theme: Three’s Frame
Author/Opus: This is the 104th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.
Rules: Variation of Nanro. The small clue numbers indicate how many cells in that region are used (but do not necessarily indicate which cells are filled as standard Nanro clues do).
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the segments labeled with numbers 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 = 3:30, Master = 6:45, Expert = 13:30
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other Nanro variations and this link for classic Nanro. If you are new to this puzzle type, please first try out our easiest Nanro to get started.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: One or Another
Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Chris Green.
Rules: Variation of LITS. Some cells or groups of cells are outlined and labeled with a letter. If any of these cells is shaded, then the tetromino shape must match the clued letter.
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 = 2:00, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for more variations of LITS and this link for classic LITS. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest LITS to get started on.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use the tab key to alternate between shading and number entry modes)
Theme: Stuck in the Middle with Two
Author/Opus: This is the 103rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.
Rules: Variation of Nanro. The small clue numbers indicate how many cells in that region are used (but do not necessarily indicate which cells are filled as standard Nanro clues do).
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the segments labeled with numbers 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 = 3:15, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other Nanro variations and this link for classic Nanro. If you are new to this puzzle type, please first try out our easiest Nanro to get started.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: LITS
Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Chris Green.
Rules: Variation of LITS. Some cells or groups of cells are outlined and labeled with a letter. If any of these cells is shaded, then the tetromino shape must match the clued letter.
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 = 2:00, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for more variations of LITS and this link for classic LITS. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest LITS to get started on.
Last week’s Snake puzzle mix from Serkan Yürekli can be found in this PDF.
Next week will feature two similar variations of shading puzzles, independently created by Chris Green and Prasanna Seshadri. The difficulty may be more variable than usual, but we think you’ll find the LITS and Nanro variations to be very fun.
Finally, starting with our next puzzle release (in two weeks), we will be restarting our site rewards. If you would like to become a supporter of the site, and get rewards including bonus puzzles, solution walkthroughs, and even e-books, click here for more info.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a number entry mode and a composite mode where left click inside cell shades square, left click + drag draws line segment, right click inside cell adds dot, and right click on cell edge adds an x.)
Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic
Author/Opus: This is the 95th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.
Rules: Fill in every circle inside and outside the grid with a prime number. (All prime numbers inside and outside the grid are marked.) Then locate a numbered snake (a 1-cell wide path) that starts with 1 and goes to 45 (1 to 11 in example). The snake cannot touch itself, not even diagonally. Digits outside the grid indicate how many cells in that row or column are occupied by the snake.
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the snake segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma. The answer to the example is “3,11”.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 5:30, Expert = 11:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other Snake puzzles.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a shading mode and a composite mode where left click inside cell shades square, left click + drag draws line segment, right click inside cell adds dot, and right click on cell edge adds an x.)
Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic
Author/Opus: This is the 95th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.
Rules: Draw a snake (a 1 cell-wide path) in the grid whose head and tail are given by circled cells. The snake can touch itself diagonally, but cannot touch itself orthogonally and cannot pass through any blackened cells. The given numbers show the total number of cells are used by the snake in the grid along the indicated directions. (Numbers see to the border of the grid.)
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the snake segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma. The answer to the example is “13,2”.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 9:00, Expert = 18:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other Snake puzzles.