Our last week of Sunglasses and Snake Pit puzzles can be found here.
Over the next two weeks, we will be posting some classic sudoku and two puzzle hunt style puzzles that I constructed for some recent live events (side activities at the World Sudoku/Puzzle Championships, and the Arlington Puzzle Festival).
A PDF of our most recent variety week of very hard guest contributions can be found here.
This coming week features several Japanese authors who contribute to the Toketa book series (Volume 5 is coming out soon and copies will be at the World Puzzle Championship in India this month). Our week of puzzles features two genres that have appeared in Toketa: Sunglasses and Snake Pit X.
Our supporters will also be receiving a bonus Tapa (Transparent) by Serkan Yürekli who also contributes to Toketa, access to puzzle solutions, and a video walkthrough of the Saturday puzzle. If you’d like to receive some of these special rewards, please click here for more info.
Note: Due to WPC preparation, and my completing a purchase and move to a new house, the next week of puzzles will probably post no sooner than 10/30.
A PDF of our most recent variety week from Grant Fikes can be found here.
This upcoming week features six guest contributions, including three Cross the Streams variations. While our guest authors like to experiment with new ideas, the vast majority of the puzzles that come in are fairly high in difficulty. As a result, all the puzzles this week are Friday/Saturday difficulty level.
Our supporters will also be receiving a bonus Cross the Streams by Murat Can Tonta, access to puzzle solutions, and a video walkthrough of the Saturday puzzle. If you’d like to receive some of these special rewards, please click here for more info.
Due to WPC preparation, and my completing a purchase and move to a new house, the next week of puzzles will post on 10/2. Expect a slower schedule through the end of October.
A PDF of our most recent week of Tapa and Sudoku puzzles can be found here.
This upcoming week features puzzles from Grant Fikes.
Our supporters will also be receiving a bonus Tapa Loop by Murat Can Tonta, access to puzzle solutions, and a video walkthrough of the Saturday puzzle. If you’d like to receive some of these special rewards, please click here for more info.
A PDF of our most recent Kakuro and Double Kakuro week of puzzles can be found here.
This upcoming week is a kind of Turkish Delight, with puzzles from Murat Can Tonta and Serkan Yürekli, specifically Tapa puzzles and Sudoku variants.
Our supporters will also be receiving a bonus Tapa (Even Rows & Columns) by Murat Can Tonta, access to puzzle solutions, and a video walkthrough of the Saturday puzzle. If you’d like to receive some of these special rewards, please click here for more info.
A PDF of our most recent week of patron-requested puzzles can be found here.
This upcoming week features puzzles in the style of the fourth section of The Art of Puzzles 2, specifically Kakuro and Double Kakuro, which will be added to our e-store later this summer.
Our supporters will also be receiving a bonus Touchy Kakuro by Grant Fikes, access to puzzle solutions, and a video walkthrough of the Saturday puzzle. If you’d like to receive some of these special rewards, please click here for more info.
This upcoming week features puzzles requested by our top patrons. This time there is a mini-theme, because of common requests, with three Tapa Variations amongst the puzzles.
Our supporters will also be receiving a bonus Pentominous by Murat Can Tonta, access to puzzle solutions, and a video walkthrough of the Saturday puzzles. These same patrons recently received a giant Double Kakuro puzzle by Serkan Yürekli. If you’d like to receive some of these special rewards, please click here for more info.
The PDF of our recent Spiral Galaxies week can be found here.
I’ve been busy with a lot of things recently (house hunting, a larger role at Verily as I recently became the head of computational biology, getting back in “competition shape” for the upcoming World Puzzle Championship, finishing some new e-books for the site, training for a marathon for the first time in over a decade, …). What this means is that for the rest of the summer we’ll be going to a biweekly schedule with our free web content. Coming on the 17th will be our next “patrons week” with puzzles requested by our top patrons. And then on July 31st will come our next week highlighting a style from The Art of Puzzles 2. Thanks for your patience, and enjoy the great puzzles.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a shading mode.)
Theme: Happy Face
Author/Opus: This is the 280th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard Spiral Galaxies rules.
[Copying the rules here as this is the first week: Divide the grid along the indicated lines into connected regions – “galaxies” – with rotational symmetry. Each cell must belong to one galaxy, and each galaxy must have exactly one circle at its center of rotational symmetry.]
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. The example has the answer “2131,331”.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00
Solution: PDF
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 will soon be found in The Art of Puzzles 2.
A PDF of Jamie Hargrove’s Nurikabe + Yajisan Kazusan week can be found here.
This upcoming week features Spiral Galaxies and Double Spiral Galaxies, which should whet your appetite for the next The Art of Puzzles 2 section coming out in July.
Our supporters will also be receiving a bonus Spiral Galaxies by John Bulten, access to puzzle solutions, and a video walkthrough of the Wednesday + Thursday puzzles. If you’d like to receive some of these special rewards, please click here for more info.