Archive for the ‘Puzzle’ Category:

Fillomino by David Altizio

Fillomino by David Altizio

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: Tetrominoes

Author/Opus: This is the 9th puzzle from guest contributor David Altizio.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:50, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Fillomino and this link for Fillomino variations. 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, in Fill o’ Fillomino and Fill o’ Fillomino 2 by Grant Fikes, and in our beginner-friendly books Logic Puzzles 101 and Starter Pack 1: Fillomino.

Statue Park by Jonas Gleim

Statue Park by Jonas Gleim

PDF

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

Theme: Antisymmetry

Author/Opus: This is the 15th puzzle from guest contributor Jonas Gleim.

Rules: Standard Statue Park rules. This puzzle uses a standard tetromino set.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:35, Master = 1:00, Expert = 2:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Statue Park and this link for Statue Park variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Statue Parks to get started on. More Statue Park puzzles can be found in the ebook Statue Park by Murat Can Tonta.

Battleships (Irregular Fleet) by Takeya Saikachi

Battleships (Pentomino) by Takeya Saikachi

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between two ship / shape placement modes and a shading mode. In battleship placement mode, right click gives sea, left click gives circle/square, left click and drag for rounded ships.)

Theme: Squares

Author/Opus: This is the 23rd puzzle from our newest contributing puzzlemaster Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Use the indicated fleet. Ships can be rotated and reflected.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:45, Master = 10:15, Expert = 20:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Battleships and this link for Battleships variations. 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.

Tapa (Alternative) by Takeya Saikachi

Tapa (Alternative) by Takeya Saikachi

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: Antonyms

Author/Opus: This is the 22nd puzzle from our newest contributing puzzlemaster Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, exactly one copy of each letter given in the grid must be shaded; other copies of that letter, if present, must be left unshaded.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 8:15, Expert = 16:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Tapa and this link for Tapa variations. 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, in Tapa and Variations 1 and 2, and in our beginner-friendly books Intro to GMPuzzles and Starter Pack 2: Tapa, all by Serkan Yürekli.

Kakuro (Consecutive Pairs) by Takeya Saikachi

Kakuro (Consecutive Pairs) by Takeya Saikachi

PDF

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

Theme: Triominoes

Author/Opus: This is the 21st puzzle from our newest contributing puzzlemaster Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard Kakuro rules. Also, if a gray circle is given between two adjacent cells, then the two numbers in those cells must be consecutive. (Note: not all gray circles are given; adjacent cells without a circle may contain either consecutive numbers or nonconsecutive numbers.)

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 7:15, Expert = 14:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

Cave (Myopia) by Takeya Saikachi

Cave (Myopia) by Takeya Saikachi

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: River

Author/Opus: This is the 20th puzzle from our newest contributing puzzlemaster Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard Cave rules. Also, the arrow clues indicate all the directions (up, down, left, and right) where the nearest shaded cells are located when looking from that square. Arrow clues cannot be shaded.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

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

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Caves and this link for Cave variations. 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 Roger Barkan’s Colossal Cave Collection, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Sudoku by Takeya Saikachi

Sudoku by Takeya Saikachi

PDF

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

Theme: Geometric Shapes

Author/Opus: This is the 19th puzzle from our newest contributing puzzlemaster Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:45, Master = 2:15, Expert = 4:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Tapa-Like Loop by Takeya Saikachi

Today we are quite excited to welcome Takeya Saikachi, one of the founding authors of the Toketa series of puzzle books amongst other contributions, to the Grandmaster Puzzles team as a contributing puzzlemaster. Takeya will be the author of our upcoming Starter Pack 4: Slitherlink book, coming out in about a week.

Tapa-Like Loop by Takeya Saikachi

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 on edges)

Theme: Two Sides

Author/Opus: This is the 18th puzzle from our newest contributing puzzlemaster Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Variation of Tapa: Form a single non-intersecting loop. Clues inside the grid represent the number of neighboring cells visited by the loop; if there is more than one number in a cell, each number should be represented with a separate loop segment. There is no 2×2 rule of Tapa in this puzzle.

See also this example:

Tapa-Like Loop Example by Serkan Yürekli

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:40, Master = 1:20, Expert = 2:40

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa-Like Loop puzzles. More Tapa-Like Loop puzzles can be found in the Tapa-Like Loop Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.

Sunday Stumper: Shape Sudoku by Salih Alan

Since 2021, we have posted some extra difficult Sunday Stumpers, about once a month. These will be quite tough puzzles, but with a logical path to be found (and solution videos to help). This eighth Sunday Stumper of 2022 is a Shape Sudoku by Salih Alan with a “Multiplication” theme in each of the shapes; while it might be a touch easier at 4.5 stars than some of our other stumpers, we expect you’ll still enjoy figuring out the intended solving path.

Shape Sudoku by Salih Alan

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku number entry mode and a shading mode to manage the shape inventory.)

Theme: Multiplication

Author/Opus: This is the 16th puzzle from guest contributor Salih Alan.

Rules: Standard Shape Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 4.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 9:00, Master = 15:00, Expert = 30:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Shape Sudoku. More Shape Sudoku are in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 8.

Shape Sudoku by Thomas Snyder

Shape Sudoku by Thomas Snyder

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku number entry mode and a shading mode to manage the shape inventory.)

Theme: Offset Frame

Author/Opus: This is the 418th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Shape Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:30, Master = 13:00, Expert = 26:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Shape Sudoku. More Shape Sudoku are in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 8.