Last week’s Sudoku mix can be found in this PDF.
Next week will not have any regular puzzles, but check back in the middle of the week for a large bonus puzzle that will keep you busy! Can’t wait for the bonus? Become a supporter of the site and you’ll receive every week of puzzles early as well as other rewards. Click here for more info.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Question Marks
Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Rajesh Kumar.
Rules: Standard Arrow Sudoku rules.
Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 8th row from left to right.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:00, Master = 13:30, Expert = 27:00
Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.
Note: Follow this link for more Arrow Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Arrow Sudoku to get started on. More Arrow Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Half Full
Author/Opus: This is the 6th puzzle from guest contributor Swaroop Guggilam.
Rules: Standard Even/Odd Sudoku rules (i.e., cells with a square contain an even digit; cells with a circle contain an odd digit).
Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 8th row from left to right.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:45, Master = 10:30, Expert = 21:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for more Even/Odd Sudoku puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Even/Odd Sudoku to get started on. More Even/Odd Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: ZZZ
Author/Opus: This is the 114th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.
Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules.
Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 8th row from left to right.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:15, Master = 8:00, Expert = 16:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for more Thermo-Sudoku puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Thermo-Sudoku to get started on. More Thermo-Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: GP = Grandmaster Puzzles
Author/Opus: This is the 236th puzzle from Thomas Snyder aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard Consecutive Pairs Sudoku rules. (If a gray circle is given between two adjacent cells, then the two numbers in those cells must be consecutive. Note not all gray circles are given; adjacent cells without a circle may contain either consecutive numbers or nonconsecutive numbers.)
Answer String: Enter the 6th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th row from left to right.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 7:00, Expert = 14:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Consecutive Pairs Sudoku to get started on. More Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku = big entries and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)
Theme: Tootsie Roll
Author/Opus: This is the 235th puzzle from Thomas Snyder aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules. Remember, the smaller number goes above the larger number in all slashed cells. The range of this puzzle is 1-9.
Answer String: Enter the 4th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row from left to right. (Note: for the tight fit cells, enter the top before the bottom as would be normal for the read order.)
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 5:45, Expert = 11:30
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other Tight Fit Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tight Fit Sudoku to get started on. More Tight Fit Sudoku can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in The Art of Sudoku 2.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Symmetry and Logic
Author/Opus: This is the 98th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.
Rules: Standard Isodoku rules, using numbers 1-8.
Answer String: Enter the 5th “row” from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th “row” from left to right.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 4:15, Expert = 8:30
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other Isodoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Isodoku to get started on.
Last week’s “Windows” variety mix from Prasanna Seshadri can be found in this PDF.
For the last 18 months, GMPuzzles contributors have been providing sudoku variations to the magazines Sudoku Spectacular and Will Shortz’s Sudoku. Some of the submissions are too hard (or too unique) for those publications, and I keep those submissions for our web site. We will have another collection of these “extra” sudoku puzzles next week, specifically:
Monday: Isodoku by Serkan Yürekli
Tuesday: Tight Fit Sudoku by Thomas Snyder
Wednesday: Consecutive Pairs Sudoku by Thomas Snyder
Thursday: Thermo-Sudoku by Prasanna Seshadri
Friday: Even/Odd Sudoku by Swaroop Guggilam
Saturday: Arrow Sudoku by Rajesh Kumar
Our supporters will also be receiving a bonus Arrow Sudoku from Prasanna Seshadri, access to puzzle solutions, and a video walkthrough of the Saturday puzzle. If you’d like to receive some of these special rewards, please click here for more info.
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 and Logic
Author/Opus: This is the 113th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.
Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also there are two pairs of windows. One pair is the upper left (blue, solid) and lower right (red, solid). The other is the upper right (blue, dashed) and lower left (red, dashed). The cells in the same position in each window pair must have the exact opposite shading.
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 = 3:00, Master = 5:30, Expert = 11:00
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.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)
Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic
Author/Opus: This is the 112th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.
Rules: Standard Masyu rules. Also there are two windows in the upper left (blue) and lower right (red) of the grid. If the loop passes through a cell in one window by going straight, it must go through the same cell in the other window by turning; the converse is also true. (It is possible for the cells to be unused by the loop in both windows.)
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 5:15, Expert = 10:30
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other Masyu variations and this link for classic Masyu. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Masyu to get started on.