We hope you enjoyed our two weeks covering the playoff puzzles from the 16th World Sudoku Championship and 30th World Puzzle Championship. Click these links for a single file PDF of the WSC playoff and WPC playoff.
These puzzles are just a small part of the championship though and those PDF file sets can now be purchased on our e-store. Check out the 30th WPC (November, 2023) and
61. 16th WSC puzzle sets in our store.
The 30th World Puzzle Championship had five “mini-playoffs” to determine the top solvers in five different genres. Today we’ll be releasing the Region Division puzzles starting with this Cave Puzzle by Thomas Snyder with theme involving many ascending series.
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)
Author/Opus: This is the 460th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard Cave rules.
Estimated Difficulty: 2.5 stars
Solution: PDF for all Region Division playoff puzzles.
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.
The Object Placement playoffs continued with this Battleships puzzle by Thomas Snyder with a symmetric pattern of sea clues.
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.)
Author/Opus: This is the 459th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Use the indicated fleet.
Estimated Difficulty: 2 stars
Solution: PDF for all Object Placement playoff puzzles.
Note: Follow this link for classic Battleships and this link for Battleships variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Battleships to get started on. 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.
The 30th World Puzzle Championship had five “mini-playoffs” to determine the top solvers in five different genres. The puzzles were designed to be on the easier side, able to be solved in marker on an easel, and sometimes themed with “trophy” shapes or important championship numbers like 30 and 23. Today we’ll be releasing the Number Placement puzzles starting with this TomTom puzzle by Thomas Snyder.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Author/Opus: This is the 458th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-6.
Estimated Difficulty: 2-2.5 stars
Solution: PDF for all Number Placement playoff puzzles.
Note: Follow this link for classic TomTom and this link for TomTom variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest TomTom to get started on. More TomTom puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.
The final puzzle for the World Sudoku Championship playoffs is a tricky classic Sudoku with a trophy theme by Thomas Snyder. It was designed to have a narrow solving path at the sticking point, although speed solvers might choose to “bifurcate” to go faster as happened in the competition.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Trophy
Author/Opus: This is the 457th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.
Estimated Difficulty: 3.5 stars
Solution: PDF for all playoff puzzles.
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 Sudoku including variations can be found in these books in our e-store.
The eighth playoff puzzle for the World Sudoku Championship playoffs, reflecting the unusual grids of the “Grid-Breaking” round, is this Isodoku by Thomas Snyder.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Author/Opus: This is the 456th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard Isodoku rules, using numbers 1-8.
Estimated Difficulty: 2.5 stars
Solution: PDF for all playoff puzzles.
Note: Follow this link for other Isodoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Isodoku to get started on.
Our World Sudoku Championship playoffs puzzle series continues with this “16”-themed Outside Sudoku by Thomas Snyder.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku entry modes and a shading mode to mark off clues.)
Theme: 16th WSC
Author/Opus: This is the 455th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard Outside Sudoku rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region. Some numbers are given outside the grid. These numbers must appear in the first three cells in the corresponding direction.
Estimated Difficulty: 2.5-3 stars
Solution: PDF for all playoff puzzles.
Note: Follow this link for more Outside Sudoku puzzles. More Outside Sudoku puzzles can be found in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 4.
The fourth World Sudoku Championship playoff puzzle was this Diagonal Sudoku from Thomas Snyder with a “16” theme. All the playoff puzzles represented different themed sudoku rounds and this one represented the Extra Toppings round with extra-region-type constraints.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: 16th WSC
Author/Opus: This is the 454th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard Sudoku rules. Also, numbers cannot repeat on the marked diagonals.
Estimated Difficulty: 2.5-3 stars
Solution: PDF for all playoff puzzles.
Note: Follow this link for more variations of Sudoku.
This week we are sharing the 10 puzzles that decided the World Sudoku Championship this year. The first puzzle was a classic Sudoku with a ’23 theme and a split of even/odd digits.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: ’23 (Even and Odd)
Author/Opus: This is the 453rd puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.
Estimated Difficulty: 2 stars
Solution: PDF for all playoff puzzles.
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 Sudoku including variations can be found in these books in our e-store.
It was a little over six months ago that I posted my “taking a sabbatical” letter here as part of a time I stepped away from full time science work. I’m still going through this sabbatical year, initially focusing on my physical health/wellness and more recently reengaging in different ways including with puzzles.
It has not been a straight path to find answers, but I’m doing fine, emerging from some depression in recent weeks, and signs like our GMPuzzles subscription starting with very cool puzzles coming through are some accomplishments I’d claim after 6 months. I am still assembling one mission from my different life goals (including, but not only, around mental health) which is now where the next 6 months may take me. I ultimately hope to assemble a renewed mission where puzzles and science and philosophy and a lot of things come together as a way Dr. Sudoku and my network solves for hard problems again.
I recently released two YouTube updates as a longer form of “how is Thomas doing” than the message above. The warm-up/easier video is about a trip to the National Puzzlers’ League Convention in Montreal and it came with this bonus puzzle packet of Tile Crosswords and TomTom. Some more fun easter eggs/check-in discussion begins about 18 minutes in. I hope it can put a smile on some faces if you at least used to laugh at my old livejournal Thomas self.
The more detailed and difficult video, including a perspective on my past science career and what could follow as well as more on my search to understand my bipolar brain, is here.
I don’t expect to put too much more on the GMPuzzles front page about these topics, but I have other channels I will share my thoughts in, including a lot of diverse content for YouTube. It’s been a challenging but enlightening year, and I want to thank you all again for your thoughts and messages as part of my extended family of puzzles. I’m excited for what is to come for the rest of 2023, including the World Sudoku and Puzzle Championship, and then new science/life/bigger things in 2024+.