Here are our best Loop/Path puzzles of 2016, a style which gained in overall representation last year and had 56 posts, the most of any genre.

The first best “Loop” puzzle was a classic Masyu from Murat Can Tonta that appeared in early January with a Knight Steps theme.

One of our patrons requested a “Roller Coaster” puzzle, an arithmetic loop variation that debuted in the MIT Mystery Hunt. Serkan’s take on a Roller Coaster — with a 1 to 9 ride of clues — was recognized by our solvers as a top puzzle.

Prasanna Seshadri had a couple of our best Loop puzzles this year including this transparent Yajilin that made the most of the variation’s new rule that clue cells could be shaded in.

Grant Fikes gave us a very clever twist on a Slitherlink puzzle with a cipher inspired by LITS.

But the best loop puzzle of the year was a “giant” loop creation from Prasanna, specifically this birthday puzzle Castle Wall (with Towers). Solvers who persevered to the end of this challenging puzzle had something to celebrate.

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