Pentominous (Star Battle) by Grant Fikes
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 letter entry mode.)
Theme: Logical
Author/Opus: This is the 219th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.
Rules: Combination of Pentominous and Star Battle. Place stars into some cells so that there are two stars in each row and column; no two stars can touch, even diagonally. Then divide the rest of the grid into 16 regions each containing 5 cells. Regions with the same shape (including rotations/reflections) cannot share an edge. A cell with a letter in it must be part of the pentomino shape normally associated with that letter; an inventory of pentominoes is given below the puzzle.
Answer String: Enter the letter associated with the pentomino occupying each cell or an asterisk (*) if it is a star in the marked rows from left to right, separating the groups with a comma. Use CAPITAL LETTERS! Example: IIIII*LFF*,TTT*PP*VVV
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 8:15, Expert = 16:30
Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.
Note: Follow this link for other Pentominous puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Pentominous to get started on.
Thanks, Grant! I always like a puzzle that’s so sparsely clued that throughout the whole solving process it feels like it’s impossibly underclued. The two puzzle types combined well for the breakin, and then there was a big flow of deductions from there.
Seconding ‘impossibly underclued’.. Looking at a blank grid with 5 givens, it seems unbelievable that all that white space would get uniquely filled, and with an enjoyable logical path. I wonder so much about the construction process for a puzzle like this.
Great puzzle. A really ingenious combination of the two types.