(View image directly for larger form.)

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between lineox mode where left click+drag draws lines and left click in a square marks O and X, and a Letter entry mode.)

Theme: Up to Eleven (for patron Phleb)

Author/Opus: This is the 111th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Place the words into the grid (one letter per cell) so that they do not touch each other, not even diagonally, and so that they can be read in a straight line in a vertical or horizontal direction. Some letters in the words are already given in the grid. Then find a path that passes through every cell of the grid, starting with the first letter of the first word, passing through the words in order from their first letters to their last letters, and ending at the last letter of the last word. Ignore the black cell.

Or see this example:

Answer String: Enter the number of turns the path takes between each of the words in order as a single string of numbers. (Ignore turns in cells with letters.) The answer for this example is “224”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:30, Master = 7:00, Expert = 14:00

Solution: PDF

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: Clue Symmetry and Logic (for patron Veep)

Author/Opus: This is the 125th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Variation of Cave. Number clues give the total count of cells connected diagonally to a numbered cell including the cell itself. Also, there can be no 2×2 area fully inside the cave.

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 = 4:15, Master = 5:45, Expert = 11:30

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.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

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

Theme: Phi (for patron TheSubro)

Author/Opus: This is the 17th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: Standard Yajilin rules.

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 = 4:45, Expert = 9:30

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: DC (for patron Daniel Cohen)

Author/Opus: This is the 247th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Nurikabe rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments (the unnumbered, connected “ocean”) 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 = 2:15, Master = 3:45, Expert = 7:30

Solution: PDF

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

Our second “Patron Week” of the year is coming up with challenges requested by our supporters. The week has a fun mix of classics and variations but be aware that the difficulty is higher than usual.
Monday: Nurikabe by Thomas Snyder
Tuesday: Yajilin by John Bulten
Wednesday: Cave (Diagonal) by Prasanna Seshadri
Thursday: Word Connection by Serkan Yürekli
Friday: Masyu (Regional) by Prasanna Seshadri
Saturday: Easy as Kakuro by Serkan Yürekli

Our supporters will also be receiving a bonus Pentominous by Grant Fikes, access to puzzle solutions, and a video walkthrough of the Friday puzzle. If you’d like to receive some of these special rewards, please click here for more info.

The most recent week of puzzles from Serkan Yürekli and Murat Can Tonta can be found in this PDF.

It is taking longer than expected to edit our next “Patron Week” of puzzles, including a giant Saturday puzzle that will take a long time to solve. So it will be one more week before new puzzles are posted here, but it will be worth the wait.

Our subscribers receive access to bonus puzzles each week. We make these posts so those supporters have a space to comment on these puzzles, mark as FAVES, or log their solving. If you are interested in subscribing, click here for more info.

Theme: Tetromino Border

Author/Opus: This is the 110th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Star Battle rules. There are two stars per row and column, but only one star per region.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a star appears. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

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

(View image directly for larger form.)

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: Powers of Two

Author/Opus: This is the 36th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Variation of Tapa. All the cells in the Tapa must form a single closed loop without any crossings or intersections.
See also this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments (Not the loop 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 = 6:30, Master = 11:00, Expert = 22:00

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.

PDF

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

Theme: Superman (shading is for artistic purposes only)

Author/Opus: This is the 109th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Star Battle rules. There are two stars per row and column, but only one star per region.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a star appears. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a number entry mode.)

Theme: Square Numbers

Author/Opus: This is the 35th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules.

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the area of the polyomino it belongs to. Enter just the last digit for any two-digit number. Start with the 2nd row, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th row.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF

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