Castle Wall (Antisymmetry) by Ashish Kumar

Castle Wall by Ashish Kumar

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Windmill

Author/Opus: This is the 19th puzzle from guest contributor Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Castle Wall rules, but none of the clue colors are given. For each symmetric pair of clue cells (reflecting through the center of the grid), one cell is white and the other cell is black.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for more Castle Wall puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Castle Wall puzzles to get started on. More Castle Wall puzzles can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles as well as the larger collection Castle Wall, both by Serkan Yürekli.

Castle Wall (Masyu) by Ashish Kumar

Castle Wall by Ashish Kumar

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 18th puzzle from guest contributor Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Classic Castle Wall rules. Also, the loop must go straight through the cells with white circles, with a turn in at least one of the cells immediately before/after each white circle. The loop must make a turn in all the black circles, but must go straight in both cells immediately before/after each black circle.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 2:45, Expert = 5:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for more Castle Wall puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Castle Wall puzzles to get started on. More Castle Wall puzzles can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles as well as the larger collection Castle Wall, both by Serkan Yürekli.

Tapa by Ashish Kumar

Tapa by Ashish Kumar

PDF

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: Jet with 3’s

Author/Opus: This is the 17th puzzle from guest contributor Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa variations and this link for classic Tapa. 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.

Cave by Ashish Kumar

Cave by Ashish Kumar

PDF

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: Snowflake

Author/Opus: This is the 16th puzzle from guest contributor Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Cave rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the cave segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Caves. 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 Roger Barkan’s Colossal Cave Collection, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Battleships (Minesweeper) by Ashish Kumar

Battleships by Ashish Kumar

PDF

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.)

Theme: Hanging Frame

Author/Opus: This is the 15th puzzle from guest contributor Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Variation of standard Battleships rules. Instead of exterior clues, clues inside the grid indicate the number of adjacent squares, including diagonally adjacent squares, containing ship segments. Ships do not sit on cells with numbers.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears (enter just the last digit for any two-digit number). If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 7:45, Expert = 15:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for more variations on Battleships and this link for classic Battleships. More Battleships puzzles can be found in Battleships and Variations, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Battleships (Minesweeper) by Ashish Kumar

Battleships by Ashish Kumar

PDF

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.)

Theme: 4 Box

Author/Opus: This is the 14th puzzle from guest contributor Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Variation of standard Battleships rules. Instead of exterior clues, clues inside the grid indicate the number of adjacent squares, including diagonally adjacent squares, containing ship segments. Ships do not sit on cells with numbers.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears (enter just the last digit for any two-digit number). If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 5:15, Expert = 10:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for more variations on Battleships and this link for classic Battleships. More Battleships puzzles can be found in Battleships and Variations, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

TomTom by Ashish Kumar

TomTom by Ashish Kumar

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

Theme: Three Thirty

Author/Opus: This is the 13th puzzle from guest contributor Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-6.

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right followed by the 6th row from left to right. Separate the entries with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:00, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other TomTom. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest TomTom to get started on. More TomTom puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 12th puzzle from guest contributor Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 4:15, Expert = 8:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Consecutive Pairs Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

Consecutive Pairs Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

PDF

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

Theme: Dots Vs. Numbers

Author/Opus: This is the 11th puzzle from guest contributor Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Consecutive Pairs Sudoku rules. (If a gray circle is given between two adjacent cells, then the two numbers in those cells must be consecutive. Note not all gray circles are given; adjacent cells without a circle may contain either consecutive numbers or nonconsecutive numbers.)

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 9th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:30, Master = 12:30, Expert = 25:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Consecutive Pairs Sudoku to get started on. More Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2.

XV Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

XV Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 10th puzzle from guest contributor Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules. Also, whenever the numbers in two adjacent cells sum to exactly 10 or 5, an X or V is placed on the edge between cells reflecting the Roman numerals for 10 or 5. All adjacent cells not marked with an X or V cannot add up to 10 or 5.

Answer String: Enter the 6th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 9th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:30, Master = 15:00, Expert = 30:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other variations of Sudoku and this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on.