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 (for TheSubro)

Author/Opus: This is the 149th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Castle Wall rules.

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 = 4:00, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for more Castle Wall puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Castle Wall puzzles to get started on.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the composite Yajilin mode where left click marks cells, right click marks dots in cells or X’s on edges, left click+drag draws lines.)

Theme: Cluelessly Wandering? (for Veep)

Author/Opus: This is the 60th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, if two cells are separated by a thick border, this means that exactly one of those cells is shaded and the other is unshaded.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments 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 = 2:15, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF

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

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Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 148th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments 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 = 1:45, Master = 2:45, Expert = 5:30

Note: Follow this link for other classic Tapa. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tapa to get started on.

PDF

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Dan Adams.

Rules: Place digits into some cells and shade all remaining cells so that: each dodecagon contains the digits 1-9 exactly once; digits in cells sharing a vertex with a black triangle add up to the indicated clue number without repeats; and shaded cells cannot share an edge with another shaded cell.

Answer String: Enter the digits in the marked central rows (triangle, hexagon, triangle, …). Use a capital X for shaded cells. Separate each row with a comma. The example has the key “8178XX,243”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 16:00, Master = 32:00, Expert = 1:04:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other less common Number Placement puzzles.

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 7th puzzle from guest contributor Walker Anderson.

Rules: Standard Cave rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the cave segments 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 = 3:45, Master = 8:45, Expert = 17:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Caves. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Cave Puzzles to get started on. More Cave puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in Roger Barkan’s Colossal Cave Collection.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in lineox mode where left click+drag draws lines and left click in square marks O and X.)

Theme: Brick Road

Author/Opus: This is the 8th puzzle from guest contributor Bryce Herdt.

Rules: Draw a single non-intersecting loop in the grid that enters and exits each bold region exactly once. If a number clue is given in a region, that number indicates the exact number of cells used by the loop in the region. Unused cells cannot be orthogonally adjacent across different regions.

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 = 3:15, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other less common Loop variations.

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: No Numbers

Author/Opus: This is the 7th puzzle from guest contributor Bryce Herdt.

Rules: (Standard Balance Loop rules.) Draw a single, non-intersecting loop that passes through all circled cells. All white circles must have equal segment lengths on both sides of the circle before turning. All black circles must have unequal segment lengths on both sides of the circle before turning. Numbers indicate the sum of the segment lengths on both sides of the circle.
Also, see this example:

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. This example has the key “11,311”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Balance Loop puzzles and this link for other less common Loop variations.

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: Pretty as a Picture Frame

Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Izak Bulten.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules.

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the area of the polyomino it belongs to. Enter just the last digit for any two-digit number. Start with the 5th row, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Fillomino. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in Fill o’ Fillomino by Grant Fikes.

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: Four Squares

Author/Opus: This is the 6th puzzle from guest contributor Walker Anderson.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments 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 = 0:40, Master = 1:15, Expert = 2:30

Solution: PDF

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 The Art of Puzzles.

PDF

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

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 6th puzzle from guest contributor Roger Barkan.

Rules: Combination of Star Battle and Cave. Place digits into two cells in every row, column, and region of the top grid (one cell in the example). Digits cannot touch, not even diagonally. The numbers in the upper-left of each region indicate the identity of the digit to be entered in that region. The digits must form a valid cave puzzle (which can be solved on the bottom grid).

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the cave segments 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 = 9:00, Master = 15:30, Expert = 31:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Caves. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Cave Puzzles to get started on. More Cave puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in Roger Barkan’s Colossal Cave Collection.