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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: Brackets

Author/Opus: This is the 386th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Araf rules.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:00, Master = 1:15, Expert = 2:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for more Araf puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Araf Puzzles to get started on. More Araf puzzles can be found in the ebook Araf by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku entry modes and a shading mode to mark off clues.)

Author/Opus: This is the 99th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Outside Sudoku rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region. Some numbers are given outside the grid. These numbers must appear in the first three cells in the corresponding direction.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:00, Master = 10:45, Expert = 21:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for more Outside Sudoku puzzles. More Outside Sudoku puzzles can be found in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 4.

PDF

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

Theme: Triangles

Author/Opus: This is the 6th puzzle from guest contributor R. Kumaresan.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:30, Master = 9:00, Expert = 18:00

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.

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

Theme: Up and Down

Author/Opus: This is the 17th puzzle from guest contributor Zoltán Horváth.

Rules: Standard Arrow Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 5:15, Expert = 10:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for more Arrow Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Arrow Sudoku to get started on. More Arrow Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2 and Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 3.

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

Theme: Winding Road

Author/Opus: This is the 54th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

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

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.

PDF

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

Theme: X

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor Wei-Hwa Huang.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules. Remember, the smaller number goes above the larger number in all slashed cells. The range of this puzzle is 1-10.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

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

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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. More Tight Fit Sudoku can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli, in The Art of Sudoku 2, and in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 5: Tight Fit Sudoku.

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

Theme: Low to High

Author/Opus: This is the 421st puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:20, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30

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.

(view directly for a larger image)

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

Theme: Unique Groups

Author/Opus: This is the 241st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Variation of Pentopia rules: Place some of the given polyominoes in the grid so that no polyominoes are in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner. Polyominoes cannot repeat in the grid; rotations and reflections of a polyomino are considered the same shape. The arrow clues indicate all the directions (up, down, left, and right) where the nearest polyominoes are located when looking from that square, ignoring the clue cell itself. Polyominoes can sit on the clue cells.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:30, Master = 12:15, Expert = 24:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for more Pentopia puzzles and this link for other puzzles involving Pentominoes.

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

Theme: Test Your Wits

Author/Opus: This is the 90th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: Place the given pentominoes into the grid, rotations and reflections allowed, but without repeats of any shape. Pentominoes cannot cover the numbered cells, and different pentomino shapes cannot be placed in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner. Numbered cells indicate how many of the surrounding cells (including diagonally adjacent cells) contain parts of the pentominoes.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Minesweeper puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Minesweeper puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Minesweeper Puzzles to get started on. More Minesweeper puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles 2.

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

Theme: 11V

Author/Opus: This is the 6th puzzle from guest contributor Elyot Grant.

Rules: Shade some cells so that the numbers outside the grid indicate the groups of consecutive black cells which are in that row/column in order, either from left to right or from top to bottom. There must be at least one white cell between any consecutive shaded groups. Rows and columns without outside clues can have any pattern of shaded and unshaded cells. Also, all the shaded cells must be able to be split into the eleven given pentomino shapes. Pentominoes may be flipped and/or rotated.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 4:45, Expert = 9:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other less common Shading puzzles.