Archive for the ‘Other Posts’ Category:

Schedule for Next Week

Our most recent week focused on TomTom puzzles can be found in this PDF.

This coming week will feature Tapa puzzles and some variations.

Master+ subscribers to the site are getting two more Tapas from Prasanna Seshadri as well as images of the puzzle solutions. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

We will have be off the following week before returning on 3/12 with another variety mix.

Schedule for Next Week

Our last variety mix week is collected in this PDF.

This coming week features TomTom puzzles and will also mark the 300th web post by Thomas Snyder with a special challenge on Saturday.

Master+ subscribers to the site are getting two more TomToms from Thomas Snyder and Murat Can Tonta as well as images of the puzzle solutions. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Schedule for Next Week

This coming week is a variety mix across all of our genres (sudoku, number placement, object placement, loop/path, region division, shading) featuring puzzles from eight of our puzzlemasters (two puzzles only available to subscribers).

Master+ subscribers to the site are also getting a video walkthrough of the Wednesday puzzle as well as puzzle solutions. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Site update

You can find our most recent week featuring Star Battle in this PDF.

After three straight weeks of puzzles, we are taking one week off (we will continue this 3:1 schedule for 2018). We’ll be back next week with a variety mix from our puzzlemasters.

Our Grandmaster subscribers are still getting puzzles today, receiving a Giant 20×36 Nurikabe puzzle by Murat Can Tonta and the “Plenty of Pentominous” e-book by Grant Fikes and Murat Can Tonta. We’ll be releasing this book on the website in a few weeks, but the easiest way to get all our puzzles is to sign up for a subscription.

Schedule for Next Week

You can find our most recent week featuring Slitherlink in this PDF.

This coming week features an object placement puzzle style: Star Battle, with five classic puzzles and one variation.

This week, Master+ subscribers to the site are also getting two bonus puzzles: an easy Star Battle by John Bulten and a hard Star Battle by Serkan Yürekli, as well as puzzle solutions. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Schedule for Next Week

You can find our first week of puzzles for 2018, a hard variety mix by guest Joseph Howard, in this PDF.

This year we will more regularly post weeks that focus on one puzzle style (with 4-5 classic puzzles and 1-2 variations of the style) with a complete range of very easy to hard puzzles. For our next week the focus will be on Slitherlink.

This week, Master+ subscribers to the site are also getting two bonus puzzles: an easy Slitherlink by Grant Fikes and a hard Crosslink by John Bulten, as well as puzzle solutions. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Schedule for Next Week

You can find our “Best of 2017” puzzles gathered in this packet.

This year we are going to be cycling between one variety week and then two focused weeks. We kick off our 2018 schedule tomorrow with a (hard) variety week of puzzles from guest author Joseph Howard. The puzzles start out around “Wednesday” level and go up from there.

Our next two weeks (starting 1/22 and 1/29) will feature a single Loop genre and then a single Object Placement genre and there will be a more complete range of very easy to hard puzzles.

This week, Master+ subscribers to the site are also getting two bonus puzzles: a Statue Park by Murat Can Tonta and a Roller Coaster by Joseph Howard, as well as puzzle solutions and a video talkthrough of the Saturday puzzle. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Best of 2017: Sudoku and “Extra” Puzzles

Here are the two best Sudoku puzzles of 2017, as well as our best “Extra” puzzles. We only had 13 Sudoku posted this past year but will have many more in 2018.

One of our patrons requested this unique combination of Arrow, Shape, and Thermo-Sudoku by Prasanna Seshadri, and it was a fantastic puzzle.

Arrow Thermo-Sudoku by Prasanna Seshadri

The highest-rated Sudoku for 2017 was this challenging Killer Sudoku by Serkan Yürekli.

Killer Sudoku by Serkan Yürekli

In addition to our usual puzzles, we sometimes had larger combinations, hidden puzzles, or puzzle hunt style puzzles. Both of the below “extras” got top marks from our fans.

Prasanna returned for his usual “Birthday Surprise” on March 2nd with this combination of Yajisan-Kazusan and Tapa.

Birthday Surprise by Prasanna Seshadri

Our other best Extra puzzle was “Border Patrol” by Thomas Snyder, a puzzle hunt puzzle without any instructions.

Border Patrol by Thomas Snyder

With that, we’re done with the Best of 2017, and you can find all of the puzzles in this PDF.

Best of 2017: Object Placement Puzzles

Here are our best Object Placement puzzles of 2017, selected from the 17 posts over the year. While this style did not feature as often as others in 2017, it includes our runaway vote winner for Puzzle of the Year.

One of the best object placement puzzles of this year was a gem that only our patrons got to see. Murat Can Tonta, practicing the art of Statue Park, made a memorable antisymmetric puzzle. If you want to see all our web puzzles, subscribe to GMPuzzles.

This Battleships by Thomas Snyder was not necessarily meant to have a long shelf life — it was constructed for one specific day — but our solvers enjoyed it and gave it several FAVEs to make the top list.

Battleships by Thomas Snyder

The best Object Placement puzzle of the year, and also the overall Best Puzzle of the year, goes to this Star Battle by Thomas Snyder, originally for the US Puzzle Grand Prix that Dr. Sudoku authored. The frame in the grid leads to a fun logical solving path in a medium-difficulty puzzle.

Star Battle by Thomas Snyder

Best of 2017: Loop/Path Puzzles

Here are our best Loop/Path puzzles of 2017, a style which was featured in 30 posts in 2017.

Puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta brought us our first top loop puzzle, a Yajlin, with a fun logical solving path.

Yajilin by Murat Can Tonta

Guest contributor Walker Anderson picked up his third “best of…” award with this easy and elegant Slitherlink.

Slitherlink by Walker Anderson

The best “Loop” puzzle of 2017 pulled out a lot of the stops, as a super-sized combination of four different styles. Those solvers who were able to find their way to the final solution of this 4-Way Loop by Serkan Yürekli surely felt rewarded for the experience.

Four-Way Loop by Serkan Yürekli