Today we continue our Best of 2022 posts with the “Object Placement” category. Throughout 2022 we had 44 posts in this area and several outstanding puzzles. The five “best of” puzzles are gathered together in this PDF file.

The first puzzle recognized in this category comes from our newest “contributing puzzlemaster”, Takeya Saikachi of Japan. This Battleships puzzle has minimal information in the outside clues but clever thinking will still let you place the full fleet.

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between ship placement and shading modes. In ship placement mode, right click gives sea, left click gives circle/square, left click and drag for rounded ships.)

The second puzzle also comes from Takeya Saikachi, this time with a playful “Squares” theme in a Battleships puzzle with a pentomino fleet.

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between two ship / shape placement modes and a shading mode. In battleship placement mode, right click gives sea, left click gives circle/square, left click and drag for rounded ships.)

Guest contributor Sam Cappleman-Lynes sent along two “best of” puzzles in the object placement category, starting with this Statue Park puzzle with a clean and interesting “Boxes” theme.

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

Sam also got recognition for this Star Battle puzzle that visually looks like a fighter from an iconic Sci-Fi series but embeds some creative logic in the solution as well.

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; in composite Star Battle mode a left click places a star, right click in a cell marks off the cell, and a right click on an edge or corner marks in a dot as a placement note.)

Our best puzzles often take a standard genre and present them in an unusual way, which is the case for the top Object Placement puzzle of 2022. This Statue Park (Half and Half) by Murat Can Tonta asks “Where Are the Circles?” and generated a lot of positive reviews for its avant-garde style.

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