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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: GEMINI / INIGEM
Author/Opus: This is the 111th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.
Rules: Standard Cross the Streams rules. There are two puzzles to solve.
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments from top to bottom for the marked columns in the two grids, going in order from A to B to C to D and separating each entry with a comma.
Time Standards (highlight to view):Grandmaster = 7:30, Master = 10:00, Expert = 20:00 – Note these time standards are for finishing both puzzles.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Stanyon Count (The Stanyon Count, a variation of and predecessor to the Elmsley Count, is a card sleight in magic tricks that makes 3 cards appear to be 4 cards; in this puzzle, 3 can become 4 and still be solved.)
Author/Opus: This is the 110th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.
Rules: Standard Nurikabe rules. There are two puzzles to solve.
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments (the unnumbered, connected “ocean”) from left to right for the marked rows, starting with the top grid and then the bottom grid. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.
Time Standards (highlight to view):Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00 – Note these time standards are for finishing both puzzles.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Logical
Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor Craig Kasper, who also contributed these two SundaySurprises. Craig has recently started a new puzzle blog.
Rules: Standard LITS 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 = 1:45, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Logical
Author/Opus: This is the 25th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.
Rules: Standard Nurikabe rules.
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments (the unnumbered, connected “ocean”) 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 = 0:45, Master = 1:15, Expert = 2:30
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: Open Spaces
Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Murat Can Tonta.
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 = 6:00, Master = 11:00, Expert = 22:00
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use the tab key to alternate between shading and number entry modes)
Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic (Note: this puzzle originally appeared in this year’s 24HPC.)
Author/Opus: This is the 39th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.
Rules: Standard Nanro rules.
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the segments labeled with numbers 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 = 2:00, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00
Note: Click here for other Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, please first try out the example on the Rules and Info page as well as this easy Nanro post.
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: Clue Symmetry and Logic
Author/Opus: This is the 37th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.
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 = 3:00, Master = 5:30, Expert = 11:00
Editor’s Note: It seems a lot of people aren’t taking us seriously this week, as if our April 1st announcement of a puzzle app combining TomTom with 2048 and Threes! was just a joke. Today’s puzzle actually grew out of a past April 1st announcement that led to a real audiobook deal for our Grandmaster titles. This puzzle is a sample from Grant Fikes’ upcoming Cross the Streams audiobook. Listen carefully or you won’t be able to solve the puzzle.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a shading mode and a number entry mode to track clues.)
Theme: Asterisk, Asterisk, Asterisk, ***
Rules: Standard Cross the Streams rules. Also, (as transcribed from the audio file): “You will hear the clues read to you, first the across clues (starting with the topmost row and moving towards the bottom) and then the down clues (starting with the leftmost column and moving towards the right). In this beautiful 10×10 puzzle, called “Asterisk, Asterisk, Asterisk”, grandmaster Grant Fikes has challenged the normal conventions of Cross the Streams, sometimes having two or more consecutive asterisks in a single row or column.”
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments from top to bottom for the marked columns, going in order from A to B to C to D and separating each entry with a comma.
Time Standards (highlight to view):Grandmaster = 7:00, Master = 12:00, Expert = 24:00
Solution:PDF 1 and PDF 2; a solution video is available here.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use the tab key to alternate between shading and number entry modes)
Theme: No Extra Numbers
Author/Opus: This is the 19th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.
Rules: Standard Nanro rules.
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the segments labeled with numbers 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 = 2:45, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00
Note: Click here for other Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, please first try out the example on the Rules and Info page as well as this easy Nanro post.
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments (the unnumbered, connected “ocean”) 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 = 0:50, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00