PDF

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

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 219th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Variation of LITS. Shade exactly four cells in each outlined region to form an S, L, I, C, or Y tetrahex. When all regions have been shaded, the following conditions must be true:
1) All shaded cells will be connected through a network of adjacent shaded cells;
2) No three shaded cells will share a common vertex;
3) When two tetrahexes share an edge in adjacent regions, they must not be the same type (S, L, I, C, or Y), regardless of potential rotations or reflections.

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 = 5:15, Master = 9:00, Expert = 18:00

Solution: PDF

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

All the puzzles from last week’s Number Placement mix can be found in this PDF.

Next week we’ll have a variety week, but with a twist. All the puzzles will be on hexagonal grids.
The exact schedule is this:
Monday: Hex Kakuro by Serkan Yürekli
Tuesday: Hex Tapa by Prasanna Seshadri
Wednesday: Hex Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri
Thursday: SLICY (aka Hex LITS) by Thomas Snyder
Friday: Hex Masyu by Serkan Yürekli
Saturday: Hex Kakuro by Serkan Yürekli

The bonus puzzle for our high-level supporters will be a Magic Fence by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

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

Theme: Bull’s-Eye

Author/Opus: This is the 218th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Even/Odd Sudoku rules (i.e., cells with a square contain an even digit; cells with a circle contain an odd digit).

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 9:00, Master = 21:00, Expert = 42:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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

PDF

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

Theme: Ring Cycle

Author/Opus: This is the 217th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Even/Odd Sudoku rules (i.e., cells with a square contain an even digit; cells with a circle contain an odd digit).

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Boxed In

Author/Opus: This is the 216th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Even/Odd Sudoku rules (i.e., cells with a square contain an even digit; cells with a circle contain an odd digit).

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:45, Master = 1:20, Expert = 2:40

Solution: PDF

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

All the puzzles from last week’s variety mix can be found in this PDF.

Next week we’ll be focusing on two different puzzles: Even/Odd Sudoku by Thomas Snyder and Top Heavy Number Place by Serkan Yürekli

The bonus puzzle for our high-level supporters will be a Fillomino by Grant Fikes.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic (This puzzle style was written for Chris Green, one of our Super Grandmaster patrons)

Author/Opus: This is the 215th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Tile Sudoku rules.

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 4:45, Expert = 9:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Tile Sudoku.

All the Tapa puzzles and variations from last week can be found in this PDF.

After last week’s extra hard puzzles, we have a slightly easier than normal variety week coming up. The specific styles will be these:

Monday: Masyu by Tom Collyer
Tuesday: Tight Fit Sudoku (Variation) by Serkan Yürekli
Wednesday: Star Battle by Carl Worth
Thursdays: Nanro by Grant Fikes
Friday: Fillomino by Palmer Mebane
Saturday: TomTom by Grant Fikes

The bonus puzzle for our high-level supporters will be a LITS by Grant Fikes.

All the variety puzzles from the first week of 2015 can be found in this PDF.

This next week will be a little harder than usual, with a lot of interesting Tapa puzzles and variations. Puzzles will be by Prasanna Seshadri, Serkan Yürekli, Tapio Saarinen, and Murat Can Tonta.

The bonus puzzle for our high-level supporters will be a Tapa (Borders) by Serkan Yürekli.

The advertised “stats” update for 2014 will be coming later, but I did want to follow up on several requests from readers for the new year.

– I’ve already posted about our site navigation changes for 2015 but I wanted to mention again the new sidebar/”posts by category” and “posts by author” bits and make sure solvers are finding this to be an improvement.

– We received many requests for a way to distinguish the PDF files in a week as they sometimes get mixed after printing; we’re now adding the posting date to the top of all PDFs in 2015 which should help track things better.

– The biggest open ticket to address is a way to track the puzzles you’ve solved. Here I have to rely on our web developer at the moment so I can’t promise you any timeline, but I hear the request loud and clear. We’ll work through the challenges of merging the solving data with a representative calendar of our site posts and have something available as soon as possible.

– We’ll be adding some new puzzlemasters this year, but I won’t tell you who or when yet. That will be a surprise.

– Also on the horizon for early this year are some improvements to our estore, including more titles there (that only our patrons have seen), and a new header for the blog.

Now that we are doing so many things with daily puzzles and monthly ebooks and other collections, it is time to bring on some more freelancers to help with the site and with our books. There are projects that simply cannot move fast enough because I don’t have the time to complete them myself. Our most pressing need is for an artist that can create covers for our book collections. We’re looking for clean, professional art that showcases how special our puzzles are, with our The Art of Sudoku cover being a prime example. If you think you might be the person to help us with that, please contact us.