The next Loop/Path puzzle, reflecting an unusual grid geometry round, is this “Trophy” Slitherlink by Serkan Yürekli. Can you figure out how all the unusual parts of the grid will mark the 30th World Puzzle Championship.

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Author/Opus: This is the 415th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Slitherlink rules. Draw a single, non-intersecting loop on an irregular grid that can only follow the lines between the dots. Numbers inside a cell indicate how many of the edges of that cell are part of the loop.

Estimated Difficulty: 2 stars

Solution: PDF for all Loop/Path playoff puzzles.

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

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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: Similar Instances

Author/Opus: This is the 27th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:00, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

Since 2021, we have posted some extra difficult Sunday Stumpers, about once a month. These will be quite tough puzzles, but with a logical path to be found (and solution videos to help). This ninth Sunday Stumper of 2022 is a Slitherlink (Switch) puzzle by Matej Uher, author of our new Slitherlink and Variations 2 book. Each clue here has to switch with one of its orthogonal neighbors, so it will be quite a challenge to find the complete loop.

(view directly for a larger image)

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to switch between edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s, and a shading and number entry mode to mark/update the switched clues.)

Theme: Knight’s Moves

Author/Opus: This is the 5th puzzle from guest contributor Matej Uher.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules. Also, each given clue has to switch its initial position with one of its adjacent neighbors.

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 5 stars

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

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to switch between edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s, and a shading and number entry mode to mark/update the liar clues.)

Theme: Bull’s-Eye

Author/Opus: This is the 419th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Variation of Slitherlink rules. Exactly one clue in each row and column is incorrect and must represent another number.

Difficulty: 4.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:45, Master = 13:30, Expert = 27:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

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: Columns

Author/Opus: This is the 11th puzzle from guest contributor Michael Tang.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:30, Master = 5:15, Expert = 10:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

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: Empty Middle

Author/Opus: This is the 231st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules, but any two consecutive line segments cannot have the same length (i.e., on both sides of any turn, the loop must travel different lengths).

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:30, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

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: Pairs

Author/Opus: This is the 11th puzzle from guest contributor Eric Fox.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

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: Antisymmetry

Author/Opus: This is the 383rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 1:40, Expert = 3:20

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

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: 2×2

Author/Opus: This is the 98th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Difficulty: 1 star

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

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

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: Find the Difference

Author/Opus: This is the 24th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:00, Master = 2:15, Expert = 4:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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