PDF

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

Theme: Octets (for Randy Rogers)

Author/Opus: This is the 226th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Kakuro rules. Also, digits do not repeat within the red bold regions. (The shading is used to help distinguish the regions as well.)

Answer String: Enter the values in each cell in the 2nd row from left to right and then in the 9th column from top to bottom, separating the two entries with a comma. Ignore black cells.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:15, Master = 11:00, Expert = 22:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Kakuro puzzles. More Kakuro puzzles can be found in Kakuro and Variations by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic (for Veep)

Author/Opus: This is the 141st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Slitherlink rules. The loop may now intersect itself at a point (it still may not coincide anywhere). At any dot at which more than 2 segments meet, the segments must all travel straight through the dot. This example may help:

Answer String: For each marked row, enter the length in cells of each connected group inside the loop from left to right. Separate each row’s entry with a comma. Shading the loop so that each fence separates a shaded/unshaded cell can help identify what is inside. For the example, the answer would be “11,12”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:00, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF

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

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: Egocentric (for Chris Green)

Author/Opus: This is the 54th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, if two cells are separated by a thick border, this means that exactly one of those cells is shaded and the other is unshaded.

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 = 3:15, Expert = 6:30

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. More Tapa puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in Tapa and Variations, both by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

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

Theme: No Obvious Lies (for Jamie Hargrove)

Author/Opus: This is the 53rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Shade some cells black so that all unshaded number and arrow clues indicate the exact count of shaded cells in the given direction. Shaded cells cannot share an edge, and all white cells must remain connected as part of a single contiguous group. It is allowed to shade over some of the numbered cells; a shaded over clue may or may not be true.

Also, see this example:

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of shaded cells as a single string. For the example, the answer is “20212”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:15, Expert = 6:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other less common Shading puzzles.

PDF

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: Nothing Special? (for TheSubro)

Author/Opus: This is the 261st puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Connect each pair of identical numbers with a path passing through edge-adjacent cells. No cell may be used on more than one path.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal line segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:00, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles.

The last week of WPC practice puzzles can be found in this PDF. If you haven’t checked out our recently expanded e-book store, now is a great time to do so.

The next week is another “Patrons week”, with puzzles requested by our top patrons.

Monday: Numberlink by Thomas Snyder
Tuesday: Yajisan Kazusan by Murat Can Tonta
Wednesday: Tapa (Borders) by Murat Can Tonta
Thursday: Crosslink by Serkan Yürekli
Friday: Kakuro (Irregular) by Grant Fikes
Saturday: Letter Pairs by Serkan Yürekli

Our supporters will also be receiving a bonus Cave by Prasanna Seshadri, access to puzzle solutions, and a PDF walkthrough of the Saturday puzzle. Our top patrons recently received a Giant Variant Samurai Sudoku by Serkan Yürekli. If you’d like to receive some of these special rewards, please click here for more info.

Special Note: For the last week of the year, we will be introducing a new contributing puzzlemaster. Who will it be?

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: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 144th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Shade some cells in the grid to create a one cell-wide snake. The position of the head and tail of the snake are not known. The snake cannot touch itself, not even diagonally. The remaining unshaded numbers in the grid indicate how many of the surrounding cells 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.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 4:15, Expert = 8:30

Note: Follow this link for other Snake puzzles.

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: Almost Antisymmetric

Author/Opus: This is the 143rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules. Also, if there is a white dot between two adjacent cells, then those cells must contain numbers that differ by one. If there is a black dot between two adjacent cells, then one of the numbers must be twice the other. Either a white or black dot can separate 1 and 2. All possible dots are given (i.e., no unmarked borders can have numbers that differ by 1 or have a quotient of 2).

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 8th row.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:45, Master = 13:30, Expert = 27:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Fillomino and this link for more variations on Fillomino puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in Fill o’ Fillomino by Grant Fikes.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

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

Theme: Sevens

Author/Opus: This is the 142nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Skyscrapers Rules, with two grids at the bottom to solve. The top grid indicates the sum of the digits in the bottom two grids in the corresponding positions.

Answer String: For the rightmost grid, enter the 4th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:00, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Skyscrapers. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

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

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 141st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Place six pentominoes into each of the two top grids so that all twelve pentominoes are in one of the grids. Pentominoes can be rotated and reflected, but cannot touch each other not even diagonally. The numbers outside the grids indicate how many cells are used by pentominoes in that row/column. The shaded cells in the bottom grid must be part of a pentomino in one of the two top grids; the unshaded cells cannot be part of a pentomino in either grid.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded pentomino segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting with the two marked rows in the left grid and then with the two marked rows in the right grid. 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 puzzles involving Pentominoes.