Cave (No 2×2, Even Rows/Columns) by Murat Can Tonta
This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)
Theme: A Huge Gap
Author/Opus: This is the 298th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.
Rules: Standard Cave rules. Also, the shaded cells (outside the cave) cannot form a 2×2 square anywhere in the grid. Additionally, an even number of cells in each row and in each column must be inside the cave.
Difficulty: 1.5 stars
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30
Solution: PDF and solving animation.
Note: Follow this link for classic Caves and this link for Cave variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Cave Puzzles to get started on. More Cave puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.
Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 8 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.