Math Path by JinHoo Ahn

This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

Math Path by JinHoo Ahn

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a number entry mode, a number candidates mode, and a path drawing mode.)

Theme: Tiny Watch

Author/Opus: This is the 131st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Write a number from 1 to N (N is given for each puzzle) into each cell so that every number appears in the grid once. There must be a path using just adjacent cells to travel between consecutive numbers from 1 to N. Also, the number in the upper-left corner of each bold cage indicates the value of a mathematical operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) applied successively to all numbers in the cage, starting with the largest number for subtraction and division (e.g. 1,2,4 with subtraction is a 1- clue as 4-2-1 = 1). The operation may or may not be given in the cage, but at least one of the four operations must apply.

See also this example:

Math Path example by Thomas Snyder

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for other Math Path puzzles and this link for other Number Placement variations.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 12 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

TomTom (Different Number Set) by JinHoo Ahn

This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

TomTom (Different Number Set) by JinHoo Ahn

PDF

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

Theme: Space Oddity

Author/Opus: This is the 129th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the indicated set of numbers {1,3,5,7,9}.

Difficulty: 1 star

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

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

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.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 11 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

Easy as Japanese Sums by JinHoo Ahn

This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

Easy as Japanese Sums by JinHoo Ahn

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between number entry and shading modes.)

Theme: Triangular Numbers

Author/Opus: This is the 127th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Fill some cells with numbers 1-4 so that each row and column contains each number from 1 to 4 exactly once as well as one empty cell. Numbers outside of the grid indicate the sum of all numbers in the first connected group in that direction as in a Japanese Sums puzzle.

See also this example with the numbesr 1 to 4 and two empty cells:

Easy as Japanese Sums Example

Difficulty: 1 star

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

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for other Japanese Sums puzzles. Also, visit this page to purchase all of the puzzles from the 30th World Puzzle Championship including some Easy as Japanese Sums.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 6 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

Snake Pit by JinHoo Ahn

This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

Snake Pit by JinHoo Ahn

PDF

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 number entry mode.)

Theme: 2024

Author/Opus: This is the 125th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: (Hybrid of Fillomino and Snake Puzzles.) Divide the grid along the boundary lines so that every cell belongs to a snake. A snake is a one-cell-wide path at least two cells long that does not touch itself, not even diagonally. Circled cells must be at one of the ends of a snake. A snake may contain one circled cell, two circled cells, or no circled cells at all. Numbered cells must be part of a snake with a length of exactly that number of cells. A snake may contain one number, multiple identical numbers, or no numbers at all. Two snakes of the same length cannot touch each other horizontally or vertically.

Also see this example:

Snake Pit by Carl Worth

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:25, Master = 0:40, Expert = 1:20

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for more Snake Pit puzzles. Follow these links for other Fillomino or Snake puzzles.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 5 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

Kurotto (Blokus) by JinHoo Ahn

This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

Kurotto (Blokus) by JinHoo Ahn

PDF

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

Theme: Consecutives

Author/Opus: This is the 122nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Standard Kurotto rules. Also, all shaded groups must be diagonally connected. There is no restriction on the number of diagonal touches for shaded cells.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:45, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for classic Kurotto puzzles and this link for variations on Kurotto puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Kurotto to get started on. More Kurotto puzzles can be found in the ebook Kurotto by Prasanna Seshadri.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 4 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

Araf (Singleton) by JinHoo Ahn

This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

Araf by JinHoo Ahn

PDF

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: Triplets

Author/Opus: This is the 120th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Variation of Araf rules. Divide the grid into some regions formed of edge-adjacent squares. Each cell is part of one region, and each region should contain either one or two given numbers. If a region contains only one number, the area of that region must be represented by that number. If a region contains two numbers, the area of the region is strictly between those numbers.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:30, Master = 1:00, Expert = 2:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for more Araf puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Araf Puzzles to get started on. More Araf puzzles can be found in the ebook Araf by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 3 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

Dotted Snake by JinHoo Ahn

This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

Dotted Snake by JinHoo Ahn

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools with a composite mode where left click inside cell marks as O or X, left click + drag draws line segment; hit tab to also access shading and number entry modes.)

Theme: S is for Snake

Author/Opus: This is the 118th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Locate a numbered snake (a 1-cell wide path) that starts with 1 and goes to 30 (in example, 1 to 15). The snake cannot touch itself, not even diagonally. Every third segment of the snake is marked with gray. Digits outside the grid indicate the number of gray snake segments in that row or column.

See also this example:

Dotted Snake by Serkan Yürekli

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 2:15, Expert = 4:30

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for other Snake puzzles. More Snake puzzles and variations can be found in Snake and Variations by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 2 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn

This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; in composite Star Battle mode a left click places a star, right click in a cell marks off the cell, and a right click on an edge or corner marks in a dot as a placement note.)

Theme: Tuesday

Author/Opus: This is the 117th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:45, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles and this link for Star Battle variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 1 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn

This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; in composite Star Battle mode a left click places a star, right click in a cell marks off the cell, and a right click on an edge or corner marks in a dot as a placement note.)

Theme: In the Name of LOVE

Author/Opus: This is the 116th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:50, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles and this link for Star Battle variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 1 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn

Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; in composite Star Battle mode a left click places a star, right click in a cell marks off the cell, and a right click on an edge or corner marks in a dot as a placement note.)

Theme: Zzzzz…

Author/Opus: This is the 115th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. One star per row, column, and region.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:35, Master = 1:00, Expert = 2:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles and this link for Star Battle variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our week-0-discussion thread on the GMPuzzles Discord. If you are not yet part of this Discord community, use this link.