[More comments about the site below; for now, here is the first of four puzzles that I wrote for last year’s Microsoft Puzzle Hunt. Our “Binary Earth” round had paired puzzles that would look similar with a “large thing” and a set of “small things” to look at. This is the easiest puzzle of the set, entitled EXPLORER. Just as at the Microsoft Puzzle Hunt, it is presented solely as a PDF with no specific instructions. I will add hints each day as I also release the other 3 puzzles I wrote for that Hunt this week.]

Puzzle PDF

Author/Opus: This is the 430th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Hints (in rot13):
1. What is this puzzle? Gur zrffntr vf qrfpevovat n “Zvarfjrrcre (Cragbzvab)” chmmyr naq gur hahfhny sbeznggvat jvyy or vzcbegnag nsgre fbyivat gung chmmyr (ohg abg orsber).
2. How do I get started? Orpnhfr cragbzvabrf unir znal pbaarpgrq pryyf, fbzr bs gur zbfg xrl pyhrf gb ybbx ng ner gur 1’f va qvssrerag ertvbaf bs gur tevq nf lbh pbafvqre funcrf. Fbzr bs gur cragbzvabrf ng gur gbc ner gur Y, C, naq M juvyr fbzr bs gur cragbzvabrf ng gur obggbz ner gur V, A, naq I.
3. I finished the first part. What now? Rnpu cragbzvab unf n ynory, naq gung zvtug uryc lbh xabj jurer gb ybbx gb svaq bhg jung gb qb ng gur raq.
4. How do I get a final answer? Ernq gur yrggref haqre gur cragbzvab ynoryf gb trg n 12-yrggre vafgehpgvba, gura sbyybj gung vafgehpgvba jvgu gur cragbzvabrf, znxvat ab bgure punatrf, gb erirny gur nafjre.

Solution: PDF

Answer String: Enter the final answer (a word or phrase) in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS without spaces to confirm. There may be intermediate answer phrases that are not the final answer; our answer checker is not able to send the message “Keep going” like the Microsoft Hunt solving software does so if you do not see what you expect, treat it like “Keep going” and potentially send an email to us or watch out for hints.

[Note: I had a very busy weekend, including some mental health care which took me offline completely for 4 days, so have not reformatted the puzzles for this week yet or made the second “Smashing the Sudoku” video either. Amazingly, those busy weekends did not include full completion of the USPC or any participation in the MIT Mystery Hunt so things must be pretty serious for me right now. Reflecting on some of the comments from my post last Thursday, I do not want this site to go completely dark during my sabbatical year, but it may be less predictable when content gets added until we have our other puzzlemasters able to do web tasks more. That said, I also don’t think we need to release more free web puzzles without a new platform that can really grow our audience. Our planning for 2023+ has kicked off in a new GMPuzzles Discord channel that we will open up to authors/top fans soon.]

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

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

Theme: Cross the Streams

Author/Opus: This is the 249th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Kakuro Rules. Also, some cells may remain empty but empty cells cannot share an edge with other empty cells.

Difficulty: 5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 15:30, Master = 20:00, Expert = 40:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in Yajilin mode allowing line drawing and cell shading/unmarking; hitting tab can alternate to separate shading and edge drawing modes).

Theme: 2 and 3

Author/Opus: This is the 387th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Locate some automobiles in the grid having size 1×2 or 1×3. Each number in the grid should be part of an automobile, indicating the number of unoccupied cells the automobile can move to by traveling along its longest axis, stopped only by an edge of the grid or another automobile. No more than one number can be in an automobile. (Unlike other variations of this puzzle, there are no extra automobiles without numbers here.)

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:00, Master = 8:00, Expert = 16:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for more Parking Lot puzzles.

PDF

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

Theme: Parity Lines

Author/Opus: This is the 7th puzzle from guest contributor R. Kumaresan.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 4:30, Expert = 9:00

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.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; in default linex mode: left-click+drag draws line, right click marks X on edge)

Theme: Odd vs. Even

Author/Opus: This is the 103rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Draw a single loop in the grid which may cross itself orthogonally, but otherwise does not touch or retrace itself. The clue numbers to the left/right of the rows indicate the number of squares visited by the nearest section of the loop that travels horizontally in the rows. The clue numbers to the top/bottom of the columns indicate the number of squares visited by the nearest section of the loop that travels vertically in the columns.

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 2 stars

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

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Round Trip puzzles. Some more Round Trip puzzles can be found in the book Loop Variety Collection by Ashish Kumar and Murat Can Tonta.

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: Empty Frame

Author/Opus: This is the 398th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Nanro rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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 alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a number entry mode.)

Theme: 2×3 Boxes

Author/Opus: This is the 66th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

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. Cells with an X cannot be an end of a snake.

Also see this example:

Difficulty: 1 star

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

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

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 thirteenth Sunday Stumper of 2022 is an unusual Castle Wall puzzle by Stefan Liew where all the clues are on the “Outside”.

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: Outside

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor Stefan Liew.

Rules: Standard Castle Wall rules.

Difficulty: 5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 11:00, Master = 22:30, Expert = 45:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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. More Castle Wall puzzles can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles as well as the larger collection Castle Wall, both by Serkan Yürekli.

This puzzle style was created by Erhard Notz for the 2019 World Puzzle Championship (innovations round). More Equality puzzles will be in our upcoming Loop Variety Collection 2.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between the default linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s and a shading mode to help mark cells.)

Theme: Quadrants

Author/Opus: This is the 236th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Draw a single, non-intersecting loop in the grid that passes through some of the white cells. Each bold region must be visited at least twice by the loop. Each visit to the same region must pass through the same number of cells. If a number clue is given in a region, that number indicates the number of cells not used by the loop in that region. The loop cannot pass through gray cells, and gray cells cannot be counted as part of any bold region.

Also see this example:

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:45, Master = 9:30, Expert = 19:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles. More Equality puzzles are in the book Loop Variety Collection 2.

This puzzle style, originally published by Nikoli, was part of our first Loop Variety Collection.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; in default lineox mode: left-click+drag draws line, clicking one time in a cell marks a circle and a second time marks an X)

Theme: 2 Many 2×2’s

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

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.

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:15, Master = 8:15, Expert = 16:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles. More Country Road puzzles can be found in the Loop Variety Collection by Ashish Kumar and Murat Can Tonta.