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: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 43rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Combination of Tetromino/object placement and Spiral Galaxies puzzle styles. Place the seven tetromino shapes into the grid, rotations allowed but not reflections. Tetrominoes do not touch each other not even diagonally and they do not cover any cell with part of a white circle. Digits on the left/top of the grid indicate the number of cells used by tetrominoes in that row/column. Digits on the right/bottom indicate the number of different tetromino shapes partially in that row/column. All remaining white cells must be part of connected regions – “galaxies” – with rotational symmetry. Each galaxy must have exactly one circle at its center of rotational symmetry.

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows, enter the tetromino shape (as a capital letter IJLOSTZ) or the galaxy size in cells (enter just the last digit for any two-digit number). Separate the rows with a comma. An example answer would be “772TTT44SS,6664333LLL”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 9:30, Expert = 19:00

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Spiral Galaxies puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Spiral Galaxies puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Spiral Galaxies Puzzles to get started on. More Spiral Galaxies puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles 2.

(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 cells).

Theme: Pi Filling

Author/Opus: This is the 31st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Carl Worth.

Rules: Place each of the given words into the grid, one letter per cell, reading from left to right or top to bottom. All words must be connected, and no words other than the given words can appear in the grid. All occurrences of PI have already been entered into the grid (as the symbol π).

Answer String: Enter all crisscross letters (and spelling out PI where it is used) from left to right for the marked rows and top to bottom for the marked columns. Separate each row/column’s entry with a comma. Use CAPITAL LETTERS and ignore all empty cells.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 25:00, Master = 40:00, Expert = 1:20:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other word logic puzzles.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

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

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 141st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Place six pentominoes into each of the two top grids so that all twelve pentominoes are in one of the grids. Pentominoes can be rotated and reflected, but cannot touch each other not even diagonally. The numbers outside the grids indicate how many cells are used by pentominoes in that row/column. The shaded cells in the bottom grid must be part of a pentomino in one of the two top grids; the unshaded cells cannot be part of a pentomino in either grid.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded pentomino segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting with the two marked rows in the left grid and then with the two marked rows in the right grid. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 6:45, Expert = 13:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other puzzles involving Pentominoes.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in akari mode; left click to place a light bulb and right click to mark an unused cell with a dot; clicking and dragging draws lines for “seen” cells).

Theme: Logical (for patron Valvino)

Author/Opus: This is the 135th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Add a light bulb to exactly one cell in each bold bordered white cell region so that each white cell is lit up. Each light bulb illuminates the cell it is in, as well as any horizontally and vertically adjacent cells, stopping at any black cells. No bulb can illuminate another bulb.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of bulbs in that row. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Solution: PDF

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

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 cells).

Theme: Just Pentomino Letters

Author/Opus: This is the 86th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Locate the given words in the grid, reading across and down. All words should be interconnected and no words other than those in the word list should appear. All cells that are not part of the crisscross belong to one of the twelve pentominoes. Pentominoes can only touch each other at corners. Rotations and reflections of the pentominoes are allowed. The letters inside the grid are either part of the words, or part of a pentomino (and they must belong to a pentomino shape with that letter).

Or see this example:

Answer String: Enter all crisscross letters (ignore pentominoes) from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma. Use CAPITAL LETTERS.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:45, Master = 10:15, Expert = 20:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other puzzles involving Pentominoes.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 85th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Place all twelve pentominoes into the grid a single time, rotations and reflections allowed. Pentominoes can touch each other, but cannot overlap. When all pentominoes are placed, none of them should be able to move in any of the four directions; pentomino movement is blocked by other pentominoes and by clue cells. Each clue cell contains the letters of all pentominoes that touch that cell, even diagonally. (A blank, black cell has no pentominoes touching it.)

Or see this example:

Answer String: Enter a single CAPITAL letter representing each pentomino appearing from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other puzzles involving Pentominoes.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 84th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Place the twelve pentominoes into the grid, rotations and reflections allowed. Pentominoes cannot touch each other, not even diagonally. Letters outside the grid indicate the first pentomino seen in that direction. Some cells are blackened and cannot be used by any pentomino.

Or see this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the pentominoes 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 = 3:30, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other puzzles involving Pentominoes.

PDF

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

Theme: Wide Open Corner

Author/Opus: This is the 83rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Place the twelve pentominoes into the grid, rotations and reflections allowed. Pentominoes can touch each other only diagonally. All places where pentominoes touch are marked with a dot.

Or see this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the pentominoes 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 = 3:00, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other puzzles involving Pentominoes.

PDF

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

Theme: Logical (Originally on 2014 Hungarian Puzzle Championship)

Author/Opus: This is the 6th puzzle from guest contributor Zoltán Horváth.

Rules: Place all 12 pentominoes into the grid, rotations and reflections allowed. Pentominoes cannot touch each other, not even diagonally. Pentominoes cannot use any of the black squares. Outside numbers indicate how many cells in that row/column are part of pentominoes.

Answer String: Enter letters for all pentomino segments from left to right in the marked rows, with one letter for each cell it appears in (e.g. LLLLIV,XXXUU). Separate each row’s entry with a comma and use CAPITAL LETTERS.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:30, Master = 12:30, Expert = 25:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other puzzles involving Pentominoes.

PDF

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

Theme: Logical (Originally on 2014 Hungarian Puzzle Championship)

Author/Opus: This is the 4th puzzle from guest contributor Zoltán Horváth.

Rules: Put the given shape into each box; the shape can be rotated and reflected. Relationship signs (<, =, >) indicate the relative number of shaded cells for that row/column in adjacent boxes.
See also this smaller example with four boxes:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the black shaded segments in the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row with a comma. Shaded groups continue across the box boundaries. The example has the key “5,32”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 4:30, Expert = 9:00

Solution: PDF