Our subscribers receive access to bonus puzzles each week. We make these posts so those supporters have a space to comment on these puzzles, mark as FAVES, or log their solving. If you are interested in subscribing, click here for more info.

Theme: Circular Cluster

Author/Opus: This is the 328th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Spiral Galaxies rules.

Answer String: Enter the number of cells in each connected group (between bold lines) in the marked rows. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

Note: Follow this link for classic Spiral Galaxies puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Spiral Galaxies puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Spiral Galaxies Puzzles to get started on. More Spiral Galaxies puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles 2.

Our most recent variety mix of WPC practice puzzles from Palmer Mebane can be found in this PDF.

This coming week features Spiral Galaxies, a region division style that focuses on symmetry. We have several classic Galaxies and a few variations during the week. We are close to finishing an e-book (part of The Art of Puzzles 2) featuring Spiral Galaxies; be on the watch for this before the new year.

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles and images of the puzzle solutions. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus Spiral Galaxies and a Double Spiral Galaxies both by Thomas Snyder. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Our most recent week of Nurikabe puzzles can be found in this PDF.

This coming week features a variety mix of puzzles by Palmer Mebane, created as practice for the US team before the most recent World Puzzle Championship. There are several Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) puzzles, as well as other variations — 9 puzzles in total. Note: these puzzles can have high variance in solving time partially due to the genres being less familiar to solvers at this site, so expect some of the “days of the week” to be out of order for you.

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles, images of the puzzle solutions, and video talkthroughs of two of the less common puzzles. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus Gaps Between Battleships puzzle and a Pyramid puzzle by Palmer Mebane. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

PS: Also look towards the end of the week for a competition report from the World Puzzle Championship, telling my story of an unexpected world title win.

PPS: The answer checker (maintained by thegriddle.net) is undergoing end of year maintenance; please be patient as it may be missing from posts or not accepting solutions this week.

Our most recent week of TomTom puzzles can be found in this PDF.

Our next week of puzzles features Nurikabe, including a few variations. Two of the puzzles come from Ashish Kumar who recently completed a new Nurikabe e-book that we are releasing today. The book contains 35 classic Nurikabe, 5 Nurikabe (Cipher), 5 Nurikabe (Skyscrapers), and 5 Nurikabe (Borders) puzzles

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles, images of the puzzle solutions, and video talkthroughs of the Wednesday and Saturday puzzles. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus Nurikabe by Serkan Yürekli and another by Murat Can Tonta. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

PS: We just got back from the World Puzzle Championship, and will have some practice puzzles and a report on the events (including my first WPC title) in the coming weeks.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 327th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-8. The “rows” in this puzzle pass through opposite parallel sides of each quadrilateral; in other words, the rows bend across the surface of the apparent cube to travel in a “straight” line.

Answer String: Enter the 5th “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 = 4:30, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30

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.

PDF

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

Theme: Fibonacci Frame

Author/Opus: This is the 326th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the indicated set of integers {1,1,2,3,5,8}.

Answer String: Enter the 3rd 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 = 3:15, Master = 4:45, Expert = 9:30

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.

Our master+ subscribers receive access to two bonus puzzles each week in addition to other rewards. We make these posts so those supporters have a space to comment on these puzzles, mark as FAVES, or log their solving. If you are interested in subscribing and seeing these bonus puzzles, click here for more info.

Theme: It All Adds Up

Author/Opus: This is the 325th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-5.

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right followed by the 3rd row from left to right. Separate the entries with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:35, Master = 0:45, Expert = 1:30

Note: Follow this link for other classic 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.

Our most recent week of variety puzzles can be found in this PDF.

Our next week of puzzles features a set of TomTom puzzles including a few variations.

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles as well as images of the puzzle solutions. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus TomTom by Thomas Snyder and another by Murat Can Tonta. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Our next week of puzzles features a variety mix of puzzles from many authors.

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles as well as images of the puzzle solutions. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus Slitherlink by Tom Collyer and a bonus Star Battle by Serkan Yürekli. Our Grandmaster subscribers also received an early release of an e-book of Nurikabe puzzles by Ashish Kumar which we will be released here later this month. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Our most recent week of Battleships puzzles can be found in this PDF.

This is another “off week” for the site, but we just added a new book to our e-store, Castle Wall by Serkan Yürekli, which offers a fresh take on this interesting loop puzzle genre. If you enjoyed our Castle Wall puzzles from two weeks ago, please check out 58 more challenges in this collection.