PDF

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

Theme: Jack-O’-Lantern

Author/Opus: This is the 202nd puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules.

Answer String: Enter the 3rd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 10:00, Master = 25:00, Expert = 50:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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

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: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 201st puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Use the indicated fleet.

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 = 1:15, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30

Solution: PDF

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

All the puzzles from our TomTom week can be found in this PDF. For those who want a chance to win one of our books, check out the contest tied to my 200th puzzle here. Answers submitted before November 9th will be eligible for one of two prizes.

This next week will be a variety mix from five of our puzzlemasters. Highlight below to see the schedule:
Monday: Masyu by Tom Collyer
Tuesday: Battleships by Thomas Snyder
Wednesday: Nanro by Grant Fikes
Thursday: Cross the Streams by Prasanna Seshadri
Friday: Thermo-Sudoku by Thomas Snyder
Saturday: Fillomino (Cipher) by Palmer Mebane

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

Note: This puzzle is a contest puzzle. All correctly submitted answers (in the applet below the puzzle) before November 9th will be entered into the contest drawing. Two solvers will each get a Grandmaster Puzzles/Thomas Snyder puzzle book of their choice.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

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

Theme: 200th Puzzle Contest Spectacular

Author/Opus: This is the 200th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: To be determined by solver. (Edit: the full rules are now available on this post.)

Answer String: Enter the final answer as a single string of twelve capital letters.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 20:00, Master = 35:00, Expert = 1:10:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic TomTom puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest TomTom to get started on.

All the puzzles from the Golem Grad/Round Trip week can be found in this PDF.

Some of you have wondered, since my 199th submission several weeks ago, if I had any special plans for #200. Well, perhaps this week will reveal all? We have a set of TomTom puzzles and variations for you, including my long awaited 200th puzzle for this website.

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

The last week of variety puzzles from guest contributors can be found in this PDF.

This next week will feature two new puzzle types. Serkan Yürekli has created a Nurikabe variation with snakes. It’s called Golem Grad, after a Macedonian island also known as “Snake Island”. Craig Kasper has created another interesting loop crossover variation called Round Trip. We’ll be alternating between the two styles this week with progressively harder puzzles. I hope you enjoy the new challenges.

The bonus puzzle for our high-level supporters will be a Round Trip by Craig Kasper.

All of Zoltán’s puzzles from last week can be found in this PDF.

This year we’ve gotten a lot of tremendous submissions from authors around the world. We wanted to feature this group of authors again with another “guest contributors” week. Puzzles will come from regular guests Murat Can Tonta, Tapio Saarinen, Hans van Stippent, and first-time contributors John Bulten, Ashish Kumar, and Wei-Hwa Huang.

The bonus puzzle for our high-level supporters will be a Nurikabe by Thomas Snyder.

All of Prasanna’s puzzles from last week can be found in this PDF.

This next week will continue with the competition theme with puzzles from Zoltán Horváth that appeared on the 2014 Hungarian Puzzle Championship. Zoltán is a great puzzle designer and we are glad to have the opportunity to share some of his unique challenges.

The bonus puzzle for our high-level supporters will be an Even/Odd Sudoku by Thomas Snyder.

All puzzles from last week’s Pentomino set can be found in this PDF.

This next week will feature challenges from puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri, specifically a set of competition-level puzzles. Some are from recent national championships but many that are original to our site. As competition puzzles, they all sit around Wednesday-Thursday difficulty and contain some interesting but unusual logic in spots. The specific styles will be region division/shading puzzles: Tapa, Cave, and Kurotto. Enjoy!

The bonus puzzle for our high-level supporters will be a Tapa by Prasanna Seshadri.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 199th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Place the twelve pentominoes into the grid, rotations and reflections allowed. Pentominoes cannot cover the numbered cells, and different pentomino shapes cannot be placed in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner. Numbered cells indicate how many of the surrounding cells (including diagonally adjacent cells) contain parts of the pentominoes.

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 = 3:30, Master = 6:45, Expert = 13:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other puzzles involving Pentominoes.