Archive for the ‘Puzzle’ Category:

Slitherlink by Grant Fikes

Slitherlink 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: Stay Positive!

Author/Opus: This is the 149th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

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 = 0:45, 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.

Fillomino (Checkered) by Robert Vollmert

Fillomino by Robert Vollmert

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing, a number entry mode, and shading for this variation.)

Theme: Hidden

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor Robert Vollmert. This variation was first introduced by Nikolai Beluhov.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules. Also, it must be possible to shade some polyominoes black so that no bordering polyominoes are the same color (in other words, the grid must allow a two-color shading). Also, see this example:

Fillomino (Checkered) example by Thomas Snyder

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 7th row.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 10:15, Master = 17:00, Expert = 34:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Fillomino and this link for more variations on Fillomino puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on.

Fillomino (Cipher) by Palmer Mebane

Fillomino by Palmer Mebane

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: Tic-Tac-Toe

Author/Opus: This is the 34th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules. Also, each letter represents a different positive integer.

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 3rd row, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row. (For this puzzle, use the integer values of the area, not the encoded letters.)

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:30, Master = 11:00, Expert = 22:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Fillomino and this link for more variations on Fillomino puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on.

Fillomino by Prasanna Seshadri

Fillomino 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: Number Series

Author/Opus: This is the 59th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

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 2nd row, followed by a comma, followed by the 10th column.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:30, Master = 3:15, Expert = 6:30

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.

Fillomino (Restriction) by Prasanna Seshadri

Fillomino 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: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 58th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules. Also, only polyominoes of size 1, 2, and 3 can be used.

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the area of the polyomino it belongs to. Start with the 1st column, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th column.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Fillomino and this link for more variations on Fillomino puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on.

Additional note from 2021: We renamed this puzzle variation to “Restriction” to be more consistent across the site and with our new editorial style.

Fillomino by Grant Fikes

Fillomino by Grant Fikes

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 148th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

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 9th row, followed by a comma, followed by the 9th column.

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

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.

Fillomino by Hans van Stippent

Fillomino by Hans van Stippent

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: Clock

Author/Opus: This is the 11th puzzle from guest contributor Hans van Stippent.

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 8th row, followed by a comma, followed by the 8th column.

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

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.

Fractional Skyscrapers by Robert Vollmert

Skyscrapers by Robert Vollmert

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku = big digits and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Robert Vollmert. You can find more Fractional Skyscrapers, including an example, on his blog.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers. Place a digit from 1 to 6 into each cell (including one digit in each half of the split cells) so that no digit repeats in any row or column. The building heights in the split cells are evaluated as fractions (e.g. 5/2 = 2.5) when considering their heights. A building hides all other buildings behind it that are the same height or lower in height.

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 3rd row from left to right. Enter the split cells in the order they are seen from the left (the upper triangle = numerator before the lower triangle = denominator).

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 8:00, Expert = 16:00

Solution: PDF

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

Cave by Murat Can Tonta

Cave by Murat Can Tonta

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: Primes

Author/Opus: This is the 14th puzzle from guest contributor Murat Can Tonta.

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 = 5:30, Expert = 11:00

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.

Tapa by John Bulten

Tapa by John Bulten

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: White Hole 2 (extending on John’s earlier White Hole).

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor John Bulten.

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 = 2:15, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

Solution: PDF

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.