Since 2021, we have posted some extra difficult Sunday Stumpers, about once a month. These will be quite tough puzzles, but with a logical path to be found (and solution videos to help). This eleventh Sunday Stumper of 2022 is a Parking Lot (Hex) puzzle by Murat Can Tonta. Can you pack in all the automobiles (using the empty center and other open space wherever necessary)? Note that we’ve referred to this style before as “Tren”; while not a common puzzle style, we are updating to the nomenclature “Parking Lot” for this stumper.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in Yajilin mode allowing line drawing and cell shading/unmarking; hitting tab can alternate to separate shading and edge drawing modes).

Theme: Empty Center

Author/Opus: This is the 234th puzzle from contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Locate some automobiles in the grid having size 1×2 or 1×3. Each number in the grid should be part of an automobile, indicating the number of unoccupied cells the automobile can move to by traveling along its longest axis, stopped only by an edge of the grid or another automobile. (Unlike other variations of this puzzle, there are no extra automobiles without numbers here.)

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 21:00, Master = 30:00, Expert = 60:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for more Parking Lot puzzles.