Aqre by Eric Fox
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: Symmetric Snakes
Author/Opus: This is the 5th puzzle from guest contributor Eric Fox. Eric invented this style and more Aqre from Eric are on his blog here.
Rules: Standard Aqre rules: Shade some cells so that all shaded cells form one connected group. Regions with numbers must contain the indicated count of shaded cells, and it is allowed to shade over the numbered cells. There may not exist a run of four or more consecutive shaded or unshaded cells horizontally or vertically anywhere in the grid.
Difficulty: 1.5 stars
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:00, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30
Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.
Note: Follow this link for more Aqre puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Aqre to get started on. More Aqre puzzles are in Shading Variety Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.
Really enjoying this genre, though I’m having a hard time seeing the region boundaries after I’ve started shading some stuff. I might try a lighter shade of grey tomorrow, but could be useful setting that up by default.
I like this suggestion, and have updated the Aqre (and last week’s Heyawake) to use this option. You might need to refresh your cache if the short-link has already been stored, but the new puzzles this week will default to (middle) gray.
Three seconds from Master time! I swear I’ll get it one day.