Tapa (Skyscrapers) by Freddie Hand
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: The Silence of the Tapa
Author/Opus: This is the 8th puzzle from guest contributor Freddie Hand.
Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, numbers outside the grid show the number of separate wall segments visible in that direction. A segment of length N in a given direction is taken as a building of height N. Buildings of height N block the view of all buildings behind them of equal or lesser height.
See also this example:
Difficulty: 4.5 stars
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:30, Master = 10:30, Expert = 21:00
Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.
Note: Follow this link for classic Tapa and this link for Tapa variations. 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, in Tapa and Variations, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles, all by Serkan Yürekli.
This was like hitting a brick wall! 😀
Did I get five cells right? I’m not even 100% sure… It will be interesting to see if there is a video coming up for this one.
This was a workout, but fun. It arguably felt more like a “cross the streams” variant than a Tapa variant in terms of how it solved, but then again if Serkan is willing to embrace a puzzle as being a Tapa, I’m in no position to argue.
I love this one. It looked so impossible at the start and yet it has such a unique solving path.
Loved the logic on this one! Made me want to go back and solve it a second time.
This took several hours, even though I spotted the break-in *relatively* quick – but then got completely stuck.
After a long time I eventually realized I’d managed to somehow think the break-in relevant clues were on the opposite side of the grid… and then it went a lot easier after starting over with the proper break-in 🙂
Fantastic puzzle. Brutally tough, but still with a really clean logical solving path. Quite impressive that it uses only outside clues, and in a symmetric layout, too. I’m so glad that I gathered the courage to try this one. Thank you!