Pata by Serkan Yürekli

Pata by Serkan Yürekli

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the composite Yajilin mode where left click marks cells, right click marks dots in cells or X’s on edges, left click+drag draws lines.)

Theme: Just One

Author/Opus: This is the 145th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Tapa rules. The clue numbers refer to the groups of unshaded segments around that cell. Cells with numbers count as unshaded cells for adjacent clues. All other rules for the shaded Tapa are the same as usual.

Or see here:

Pata by Serkan Yürekli

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 = 4:15, Master = 6:45, Expert = 13:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa variations and this link for classic Tapa. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tapa puzzles to get started on. More Tapa puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in Tapa and Variations, both by Serkan Yürekli.

Cross the Streams by Serkan Yürekli

Cross The Streams by Serkan Yürekli

PDF

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

Theme: Just One

Author/Opus: This is the 144th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Cross the Streams rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments from top to bottom for the marked columns, going in order from A to B to C to D and separating each entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30.

Solution: PDF

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

Castle Wall by Serkan Yürekli

Castle Wall by Serkan Yürekli

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Just One

Author/Opus: This is the 143rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Castle Wall rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:30, Master = 3:15, Expert = 6:30

Solution: PDF

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

Letter Pairs by Serkan Yürekli

Letter Pairs by Serkan Yürekli

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a letter entry mode and a shading mode to mark off the clues.)

Theme: Game of Letters (for Daniel Cohen)

Author/Opus: This is the 142nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Place the 18 names into the grid, one letter per cell, so they can be read from left to right or from top to bottom, without crossing or overlapping each other. Treat the first and last names as separate entries. A dot between two cells indicates that both cells must contain the same letter. All possible dots are given.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of unused cells in that row.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 9:00, Master = 14:30, Expert = 29:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other word puzzles.

Crosslink by Serkan Yürekli

Crosslink by Serkan Yürekli

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic (for Veep)

Author/Opus: This is the 141st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Slitherlink rules. The loop may now intersect itself at a point (it still may not coincide anywhere). At any dot at which more than 2 segments meet, the segments must all travel straight through the dot. This example may help:

Crosslink by Grant Fikes

Answer String: For each marked row, enter the length in cells of each connected group inside the loop from left to right. Separate each row’s entry with a comma. Shading the loop so that each fence separates a shaded/unshaded cell can help identify what is inside. For the example, the answer would be “11,12”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:00, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF

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

Numberlink by Serkan Yürekli

Numberlink by Serkan Yürekli

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Clue Symmetry (and Logic)

Author/Opus: This is the 140th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Connect each pair of identical numbers with a path passing through edge-adjacent cells. No cell may be used on more than one path.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal line segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles.

Minesweeper (Even Rows/Columns) by Serkan Yürekli

Minesweeper by Serkan Yürekli

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools. Use left click to place mine, right click (in cell) to mark unused, right click (on edge/corner) to mark a note; hitting tab will also enable a shading mode. If you want more solving options, turn off Penpa-Lite option.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 139th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Place a mine into some of the empty cells so that each number represents the total count of mines in neighboring cells, including diagonally adjacent cells. Also, an even number of mines must be placed in each row and in each column.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each group of consecutive cells with mines 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 = 10:30, Master = 15:00, Expert = 30:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Slitherlink (Even Rows/Columns) by Serkan Yürekli

Slitherlink by Serkan Yürekli

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 138th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules. Also, an even number of cells in each row and in each column must be inside the loop.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments following the arrows for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30

Solution: PDF

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

Tight Fit Sudoku (Samurai) by Serkan Yürekli

Tight Fit Sudoku by Serkan Yürekli

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku = big digits and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 137th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules with digits from 1-9. There are five grids with these extra rules:

– Even/Odd (upper-left): Digits in circles must be odd and digits in squares must be even.
– No Touch (upper-right): Digits cannot repeat in diagonally adjacent cells (both digits in any “tight fit” cell are considered when checking presence in a diagonally adjacent cell). Only look within the upper-right grid when applying this rule.
– Irregular (center): Instead of 3×2 borders, the bold regions are irregularly shaped (and colored in cyan).
– Anti-Knight (lower-left): Digits cannot repeat in any cells separated by a chess knight’s move (both digits in any “tight fit” cell are considered when checking for presence in a cell a knight’s move away). Only look within the lower-left grid when applying this rule.
– Killer (lower-right): There are some dotted cages; the number clues given with these cages indicate the sum of all digits in the cage. Digits cannot repeat within a given cage.

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row in the even/odd from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th row in the no touch from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 3rd row in the irregular from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th row in the anti-knight from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row in the killer from left to right. (Note: for the tight fit cells, enter the top before the bottom as would be normal for the read order.)

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 22:30, Master = 40:00, Expert = 1:20:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Tight Fit Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tight Fit Sudoku to get started on. More Tight Fit Sudoku can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in The Art of Sudoku 2.

Tight Fit Sudoku (Killer) by Serkan Yürekli

Tight Fit Sudoku by Serkan Yürekli

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku = big digits and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 136th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules with digits from 1-9. Also, there are some dotted cages; the number clues given with these cages indicate the sum of all digits in the cage. Digits cannot repeat within a given cage.

Answer String: Enter the 6th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th column from top to bottom. (Note: for the tight fit cells, enter the top before the bottom as would be normal for the read order.)

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:30, Master = 9:30, Expert = 19:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other Tight Fit Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tight Fit Sudoku to get started on. More Tight Fit Sudoku can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in The Art of Sudoku 2.