PDF

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

Theme: Y’s for Kakuro

Author/Opus: This is the 15th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard Kakuro rules. Also, identical digits cannot be in diagonally adjacent cells.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic Kakuro and this link for Kakuro variations. More Kakuro puzzles can be found in Kakuro and Variations by Serkan Yürekli and in The Art of Puzzles 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: 0 to 3

Author/Opus: This is the 14th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Use the indicated fleet.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 5:45, Expert = 11:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic Battleships and this link for Battleships variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Battleships to get started on. More Battleships puzzles can be found in Battleships and Variations, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles 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 on edges)

Theme: X

Author/Opus: This is the 13th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Variation of Tapa-Like Loop rules (Form a single non-intersecting loop. Clues inside the grid represent the number of neighboring cells visited by the loop; if there is more than one number in a cell, each number should be represented with a separate loop segment. There is no 2×2 rule of Tapa in this puzzle.). The loop can travel through clue cells. Each clue now describes the entire 3×3 area the clue cell is in the middle of.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 3:15, Expert = 6:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa-Like Loop puzzles. More Tapa-Like Loop puzzles can be found in the Tapa-Like Loop Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.

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: Tokyo Olympic Torch

Author/Opus: This is the 12th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

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

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

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

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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 The Art of Puzzles, in the books Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn and Star Battle 2 by JinHoo Ahn and Murat Can Tonta, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

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 letter entry mode.)

Theme: Triplets

Author/Opus: This is the 11th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Variation of Pentominous rules. Divide the grid into 20 pentominoes so that no two pentominoes of the same shape (including rotations/reflections) share an edge. Each number in this grid represents a clue for a different letter/pentomino as in a regular Pentominous puzzle; all instances of a number must represent the same letter. An inventory of possible pentominoes is given below the puzzle.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for other Pentominous puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Pentominous to get started on. More Pentominous puzzles can be found in the Plenty o’ Pentominous series by Grant Fikes and Murat Can Tonta and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles 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 on edges)

Author/Opus: This is the 10th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Variation of Tapa-Like Loop rules (Form a single non-intersecting loop. Clues inside the grid represent the number of neighboring cells visited by the loop; if there is more than one number in a cell, each number should be represented with a separate loop segment. There is no 2×2 rule of Tapa in this puzzle.). The loop can travel through clue cells. Each clue now describes the entire 3×3 area the clue cell is in the middle of.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 4:15, Expert = 8:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa-Like Loop puzzles. More Tapa-Like Loop puzzles can be found in the Tapa-Like Loop Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.

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: 1-7

Author/Opus: This is the 9th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, similar to Nurikabe, each Tapa clue cell is part of an island of horizontally and vertically connected white cells and the area of the island must be one of the numbers in the clue (as an example, if a clue is 1 5, then the island containing that clue must be either 1 cell or 5 cells large). Islands are allowed to touch diagonally. No island can contain more than one number clue cell, but there may be islands without any number clues in the grid.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic Tapa and this link for Tapa variations. 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, in Tapa and Variations, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles, all by Serkan Yürekli.

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 letter entry mode.)

Theme: Box in Box

Author/Opus: This is the 8th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Variation of Pentominous rules. Divide the grid into 20 pentominoes so that no two pentominoes of the same shape (including rotations/reflections) share an edge. Each number in this grid represents a clue for a different letter/pentomino as in a regular Pentominous puzzle; all instances of a number must represent the same letter. An inventory of possible pentominoes is given below the puzzle.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for other Pentominous puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Pentominous to get started on. More Pentominous puzzles can be found in the Plenty o’ Pentominous series by Grant Fikes and Murat Can Tonta and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

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

Theme: Sssssssss

Author/Opus: This is the 7th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard LITS rules. Also, the letters outside the grid indicate the first tetromino encountered in the corresponding direction. Or see this:

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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. More LITS puzzles can be found in LOTS O’ LITS by Grant Fikes and Prasanna Seshadri, in The Art of Puzzles 2, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

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

Theme: Five Rings

Author/Opus: This is the 6th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard Kurotto rules. Also, the grid is hexagonal.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:45, Master = 9:15, Expert = 18:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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.