PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode, shape (star) placing mode, and the linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: White Hole

Author/Opus: This is the 306th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Balance Loop rules. Also, each row and column must contain exactly two stars. Stars cannot be placed in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner, and all stars must be on empty cells not used by the loop.

Difficulty: 4.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 13:00, Master = 18:30, Expert = 37:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other Balance Loop puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Balance Loop Puzzles to get started on. More Balance Loops can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in Balance Loop by Prasanna Seshadri and Murat Can Tonta.

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: Pairs

Author/Opus: This is the 184th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Balance Loop rules. Also, numbers outside the grid show the number of separate loop segments visible in that direction. A segment of length N in a given direction is taken as a building of height N. Buildings of height N block the view of all buildings behind them of equal or lesser height.

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:30, Master = 7:00, Expert = 14:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other Balance Loop puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Balance Loop Puzzles to get started on. More Balance Loops can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in Balance Loop by Prasanna Seshadri and Murat Can Tonta.

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: Even Diagonally

Author/Opus: This is the 191st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: (Standard Balance Loop rules.) Draw a single, non-intersecting loop that passes through all circled cells. All white circles must have equal segment lengths on both sides of the circle before turning. All black circles must have unequal segment lengths on both sides of the circle before turning. Numbers indicate the sum of the segment lengths on both sides of the circle.
Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30

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

Note: Follow this link for other Balance Loop puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Balance Loop Puzzles to get started on. More Balance Loops can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in Balance Loop by Prasanna Seshadri and Murat Can Tonta.

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: Forgotten Numbers

Author/Opus: This is the 330th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: (Standard Balance Loop rules.) Draw a single, non-intersecting loop that passes through all circled cells. All white circles must have equal segment lengths on both sides of the circle before turning. All black circles must have unequal segment lengths on both sides of the circle before turning. Numbers indicate the sum of the segment lengths on both sides of the circle.
Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other Balance Loop puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Balance Loop Puzzles to get started on. More Balance Loops can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in Balance Loop by Prasanna Seshadri and Murat Can Tonta.

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: Countdown

Author/Opus: This is the 190th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: (Standard Balance Loop rules.) Draw a single, non-intersecting loop that passes through all circled cells. All white circles must have equal segment lengths on both sides of the circle before turning. All black circles must have unequal segment lengths on both sides of the circle before turning. Numbers indicate the sum of the segment lengths on both sides of the circle.
Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:20, Master = 2:15, Expert = 4:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Balance Loop puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Balance Loop Puzzles to get started on. More Balance Loops can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in Balance Loop by Prasanna Seshadri and Murat Can Tonta.

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: Antisymmetry

Author/Opus: This is the 183rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: (Standard Balance Loop rules.) Draw a single, non-intersecting loop that passes through all circled cells. All white circles must have equal segment lengths on both sides of the circle before turning. All black circles must have unequal segment lengths on both sides of the circle before turning. Numbers indicate the sum of the segment lengths on both sides of the circle.
Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:45, Master = 1:00, Expert = 2:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Balance Loop puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Balance Loop Puzzles to get started on. More Balance Loops can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in Balance Loop by Prasanna Seshadri and Murat Can Tonta.

Yajilin and Battleships are two of our favorite Loop and Object Placement puzzles, respectively. What happens when you combine them? Our new e-book Yajilin Battleships by Serkan Yürekli will show you.

We’ve included here the example puzzle from the book which is now available for purchase. We have a companion solving video if you want to see what these puzzles are sometimes like. Some other prior posts with this style from Serkan, Freddie Hand and Grant Fikes are linked.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between Battleships placement and line drawing modes.)

Rules: Variation of Battleships and Yajilin. Place the fleet of ships in the grid so that different ships are not in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner. The grid contains internal clues (a number and an arrow) that show how many ship segments are in the indicated direction. All remaining white cells that do not contain a ship segment must be able to form a single loop, as in a Yajilin puzzle.

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

PDF

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

Theme: Simple Twister

Author/Opus: This is the 181st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Yajilin rules.

Difficulty: 1 star

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Yajilin and this link for Yajilin variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Yajilin to get started on. More Yajilin puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles 2, in Yajilin by Murat Can Tonta and Prasanna Seshadri, and in our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101.

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: Tooth

Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Salih Alan.

Rules: Standard Masyu rules.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:30, Master = 0:50, Expert = 1:40

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Masyu and this link for Masyu variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Masyu to get started on. More Masyu puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between a number entry mode and Yajilin composite mode where left click inside cell shades square, left click + drag draws line segment, right click inside cell adds dot, and right click on cell edge adds an x.)

Theme: Cipher Snake

Author/Opus: This is the 298th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Locate a numbered snake (a 1-cell wide path) that starts with 1 and goes to 45. The snake cannot touch itself, not even diagonally. All numbers are encrypted with C, I, P, H, E, R, S, N, A, K letters and each letter represent a different digit from 0 to 9. Digits outside the grid indicate how many cells in that row or column are occupied by the snake. Some snake segments are already given.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:00, Master = 11:00, Expert = 22:00

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

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