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: Fan

Author/Opus: This is the 7th puzzle from guest contributor William Hu.

Rules: Standard Cave rules.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:45, Master = 1:00, Expert = 2:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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.

This year, we have started to have 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 sixth Sunday Stumper is a Kakuro puzzle with some extra clue shadings to indicate connected digit subsets for some of the entries.

PDF

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

Theme: Eye

Author/Opus: This is the 209th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Kakuro Rules. Also, whenever two multi-digit entries intersect and the set of digits in one entry is a subset of the set of digits in the other entry, the cell preceding each of those entries (either giving the entry’s clue or indicating that the entry is unclued) is shaded in gray. A shaded cell may be shaded because of its Across entry, Down entry, or both. Any clue cell that is not shaded does not have a multi-digit entry intersecting its Across or Down entries with a shared subset of digits. Any set of digits is considered a subset of itself.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 20:00, Master = 30:00, Expert = 1:00:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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.

PDF

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

Theme: Two Snakes

Author/Opus: This is the 72nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:30, Master = 10:15, Expert = 20:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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)

Theme: Sun Rays

Author/Opus: This is the 7th puzzle from guest contributor Akash Doulani.

Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 8:30, Expert = 17:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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

PDF

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

Theme: Cosmos Redshift 7

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Wei-Hwa Huang.

Rules: Standard Even/Odd Sudoku rules (i.e., cells with a square contain an even digit; cells with a circle contain an odd digit).

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 5:15, Expert = 10:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for more Even/Odd Sudoku puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Even/Odd Sudoku to get started on. More Even/Odd Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2 and Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 1.

PDF

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

Theme: Rectangles

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor R. Kumaresan.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:45, Expert = 7:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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)

Theme: Crux Decussata

Author/Opus: This is the 350th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:45, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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)

Theme: U-turn

Author/Opus: This is the 333rd puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:10, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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 edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s and a star placement mode)

Author/Opus: This is the 332nd puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules. Also, each row and column must contain exactly two stars (one in the example). Stars cannot touch each other, even diagonally, and all stars must be inside the loop. Stars cannot be placed in the numbered cells.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 4.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:00, Master = 14:15, Expert = 28:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic Slitherlink and this link for Slitherlink variations. 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, Slitherlink and Variations, and our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101.

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: Zigzag Frame

Author/Opus: This is the 9th puzzle from guest contributor Walker Anderson.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic Slitherlink and this link for Slitherlink variations. 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, Slitherlink and Variations, and our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101.