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: Twins

Author/Opus: This is the 238th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules. Also, digits within a gray square must be even and digits within a gray circle must be odd. The range of this puzzle is 1-9.

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th row from left to right. (Note: for the tight fit cells, enter the top before the bottom as would be normal for the read order.)

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:40, Master = 2:45, Expert = 5:30

Note: Follow this link for other Tight Fit Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tight Fit Sudoku to get started on.

Our subscribers receive access to bonus puzzles each week. 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, click here for more info.

Theme: 1, 2, 3, 4

Author/Opus: This is the 330th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Variation of Spiral Galaxies. In addition to the standard rules, some circles are shaded gray and must belong to galaxies containing two gray circles, not one, with the circles in rotationally symmetric spots for those galaxies.

Answer String: Enter the number of cells in each connected group (between bold lines) in the marked rows. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma. The example has the answer “52,11131”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 8:30, Expert = 17:00

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 composite mode for line/edge drawing and a shading mode.)

Theme: Something Meta?

Author/Opus: This is the 289th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Spiral Galaxies rules (treat white and black circles the same when solving). After completing the grid, there is a secret message to find.

Answer String: Enter the hidden word in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 20:00, Master = 30:00, Expert = 60:00

Solution: PDF

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.

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 number entry mode.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 36th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Carl Worth.

Rules: Combination of Spiral Galaxies and Fillomino rules. Divide the grid along the dotted lines into regions, each of which must contain either exactly one circle, or one or more identical given numbers. (Note that there are no “hidden polyominoes” in this puzzle meaning there are no regions without a given number or a given circle.) Each region containing a circle is a “galaxy” and must have rotational symmetry with the circle at its center. Each region with given numbers must be the same size in cells as those numbers. Two regions with numbers of the same size cannot share an edge, but a region with numbers and a region with a circle in it can be the same size.

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows, enter the area of the region it belongs to. Enter just the last digit for any two-digit number. Start with the 4th row, followed by a comma, followed by the 8th row.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:00, Master = 13:45, Expert = 27:30

Solution: PDF

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.

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: Hidden?

Author/Opus: This is the 288th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Spiral Galaxies rules.

Answer String: Enter the number of cells in each connected group (between bold lines) in the marked rows. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF

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.

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: Hidden?

Author/Opus: This is the 5th puzzle from guest contributor William Hu.

Rules: Standard Spiral Galaxies rules.

Answer String: Enter the number of cells in each connected group (between bold lines) in the marked rows. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 4:15, Expert = 8:30

Solution: PDF

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.

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 287th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Spiral Galaxies rules. Then shade some dominoes (two-cell connected blocks) so that no two dominoes share an edge and so that every “galaxy” in the solved puzzle contains exactly two shaded cells.

Answer String: Enter the total number of horizontal dominoes (i.e., dominoes with two cells in the same row) in each row, starting at the top and proceeding to the bottom.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF

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.

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: Think Outside the Box

Author/Opus: This is the 329th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Spiral Galaxies rules.

Answer String: Enter the number of cells in each connected group (between bold lines) in the marked rows. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF

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.

Our subscribers receive access to bonus puzzles each week. 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, click here for more info.

Theme: Circular Cluster

Author/Opus: This is the 328th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Spiral Galaxies rules.

Answer String: Enter the number of cells in each connected group (between bold lines) in the marked rows. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

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.

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: Good Odds

Author/Opus: This is the 49th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Place a digit from 1 to 9 into each empty cell so that, for each row above the bottom row, every digit is the sum or difference of the two digits immediately below it. Rows marked in gray cannot have repeated digits; rows in white must have at least one repeated digit.

Also see this example:

Answer String: Enter the digits in the marked rows from left to right, separating each row with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:00, Master = 15:00, Expert = 30:00