Our master+ subscribers receive access to two bonus puzzles each week in addition to other rewards. We make these posts so those supporters have a space to comment on these puzzles, mark as FAVES, or log their solving. If you are interested in subscribing and seeing these bonus puzzles, click here for more info.

Theme: Threes

Author/Opus: This is the 246th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Also, all of the remaining cells not used by the fleet or given sea cells can be traversed by a single, closed loop (connecting cells horizontally or vertically).

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

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

Note: Follow this link for other classic Battleships. 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.

Our master+ subscribers receive access to two bonus puzzles each week in addition to other rewards. We make these posts so those supporters have a space to comment on these puzzles, mark as FAVES, or log their solving. If you are interested in subscribing and seeing these bonus puzzles, click here for more info.

Theme: The Threes

Author/Opus: This is the 245th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: (Hybrid of Fillomino and Snake Puzzles.) Divide the grid along the boundary lines so that every cell belongs to a snake. A snake is a one-cell-wide path at least two cells long that does not touch itself, not even diagonally. Circled cells must be at one of the ends of a snake. A snake may contain one circled cell, two circled cells, or no circled cells at all. Numbered cells must be part of a snake with a length of exactly that number of cells. A snake may contain one number, multiple identical numbers, or no numbers at all. Two snakes of the same length cannot touch each other horizontally or vertically.

Also see this example:

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows, enter the length of the snake it belongs to. Enter just the last digit for any two-digit number. This example has the key “35522,44462”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:45, Master = 7:15, Expert = 14:30

Note: Follow this link for more Snake Pit puzzles. Follow these links for other Fillomino or Snake puzzles.

(view directly for a larger image)

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: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor Yuki Kawabe.

Rules: Combination of Sundoko, Snake, and Shape puzzle styles.

Sundoko: Shade some cells to make sunglasses, consisting of a bridge (a given line, in red) and two lenses made out of orthogonally connected cells that are symmetric with respect to the perpendicular bisector of the bridge. Two lenses may not share an edge, but can intersect at a point. Cells with the bridges are not shaded, except at the bridge ends. Numbers in the grid are unshaded, and indicate the total count of unshaded cells connected vertically and horizontally to the numbered cell, including the cell itself.
Sundoko example:

Snake: Shade some cells to create a one-cell wide snake in the grid that does not cross or touch itself, not even diagonally. The snake starts and ends at the black circles and must pass through all white circles.
Snake example:

Shape: Place each of the given shapes into the grid exactly once (rotations and reflections allowed). Shapes cannot touch each other, not even diagonally.
Shape example:

SSS: In SSS, shade some cells to make sunglasses, create a single snake, and place all of the shapes in the grid. Shaded cells of different categories (sunglasses, snake, shapes) cannot share an edge. Number clues referring to unshaded cell counts consider all three categories of objects as shaded cells in this hybrid.

Or see this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments (sunglasses, snake, and shapes) 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 = 16:00, Master = 22:00, Expert = 44:00

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

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: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Gomatamago.

Rules: Draw a route that starts at the gray Start circle (S) and passes through adjacent cells without crossing itself or revisiting any cells. Some cells may not be part of the route. White circles with letters represent packages that are to be picked up and delivered to the black circles marked with the same letter. The carrier has a maximum capacity of packages that can be handled at once, shown below the grid. The carrier must pick up and deliver all packages on the route, returning to S with no packages in hand.

Also see this example:

Answer String: Enter the number of turns in each row, starting at the top and proceeding to the bottom. This example has the answer “224244”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 12:00, Expert = 24:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use the tab key to alternate between shading and number entry modes)

Theme: Grid Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 4th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Variation of Nanro and Nanro Signpost puzzles.

Label some cells with numbers to form a single connected group of labeled cells; no 2×2 group of cells may be fully labeled. Each bold region must contain at least one labeled cell. The small clue numbers indicate how many cells in that region are used. When two numbers are orthogonally adjacent across a region boundary, the numbers must be different. Each bolded region must be visited twice (i.e., have exactly two distinct connected groups inside it).

Also see this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the segments labeled with numbers 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 = 5:45, Master = 7:15, Expert = 14:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for Nanro puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nanro Puzzles to get started on. More Nanro puzzles can be found in A Number o’ Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri.

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: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Yuki Kawabe.

Rules: Combination of Sundoko, Snake, and Shape puzzle styles.

Sundoko: Shade some cells to make sunglasses, consisting of a bridge (a given line, in red) and two lenses made out of orthogonally connected cells that are symmetric with respect to the perpendicular bisector of the bridge. Two lenses may not share an edge, but can intersect at a point. Cells with the bridges are not shaded, except at the bridge ends. Numbers in the grid are unshaded, and indicate the total count of unshaded cells connected vertically and horizontally to the numbered cell, including the cell itself.
Sundoko example:

Snake: Shade some cells to create a one-cell wide snake in the grid that does not cross or touch itself, not even diagonally. The snake starts and ends at the black circles and must pass through all white circles.
Snake example:

Shape: Place each of the given shapes into the grid exactly once (rotations and reflections allowed). Shapes cannot touch each other, not even diagonally.
Shape example:

SSS: In SSS, shade some cells to make sunglasses, create a single snake, and place all of the shapes in the grid. Shaded cells of different categories (sunglasses, snake, shapes) cannot share an edge. Number clues referring to unshaded cell counts consider all three categories of objects as shaded cells in this hybrid.

Or see this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments (sunglasses, snake, and shapes) 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 = 3:45, Master = 5:15, Expert = 10:30

Solution: PDF

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: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Draw a route that starts at the gray Start circle (S) and passes through adjacent cells without crossing itself or revisiting any cells. Some cells may not be part of the route. White circles with letters represent packages that are to be picked up and delivered to the black circles marked with the same letter. The carrier has a maximum capacity of packages that can be handled at once, shown below the grid. The carrier must pick up and deliver all packages on the route, returning to S with no packages in hand.

Also see this example:

Answer String: Enter the number of turns in each row, starting at the top and proceeding to the bottom. This example has the answer “224244”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:40, Master = 1:00, Expert = 2:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use the tab key to alternate between shading and number entry modes)

Theme: Rectangles

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Ken Endo.

Rules: Variation of Nanro and Nanro Signpost puzzles.

Label some cells with numbers to form a single connected group of labeled cells; no 2×2 group of cells may be fully labeled. Each bold region must contain at least one labeled cell. The small clue numbers indicate how many cells in that region are used. When two numbers are orthogonally adjacent across a region boundary, the numbers must be different. Each bolded region must be visited twice (i.e., have exactly two distinct connected groups inside it).

Also see this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the segments labeled with numbers 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 = 1:30, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for Nanro puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nanro Puzzles to get started on. More Nanro puzzles can be found in A Number o’ Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri.

Our master+ subscribers receive access to two bonus puzzles each week in addition to other rewards. We make these posts so those supporters have a space to comment on these puzzles, mark as FAVES, or log their solving. If you are interested in subscribing and seeing these bonus puzzles, click here for more info.

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 295th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Variation of Star Battle. Place a star in some cells so that there are two stars in each row and column. Stars cannot be placed in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a star appears. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00

Note: Follow this link for classic Star Battles. 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 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Our master+ subscribers receive access to two bonus puzzles each week in addition to other rewards. We make these posts so those supporters have a space to comment on these puzzles, mark as FAVES, or log their solving. If you are interested in subscribing and seeing these bonus puzzles, click here for more info.

Theme: … and After

Author/Opus: This is the 294th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Kakuro Rules. Also, no two consecutive numbers (i.e., numbers that differ by 1) can be in cells that share an edge.

Answer String: Enter the values in each cell in the 2nd row from left to right and then in the 10th row from left to right, separating the two entries with a comma. Ignore black cells.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 10:00, Master = 15:00, Expert = 30:00

Note: Follow this link for other Kakuro puzzles. More Kakuro puzzles can be found in Kakuro and Variations by Serkan Yürekli and in The Art of Puzzles 2.