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 fourth Sunday Stumper is a Slitherlink puzzle with two variant rules added to it.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; in default edgexoi mode: left-click+drag draws line, right click marks X on edge, clicking inside a cell alternates color to yellow then green then white; hitting tab will alternate to a number entry mode that can be used to write over the letter clues and hitting tab again will go back to edgexoi.)

Theme: From Here to Maternity

Author/Opus: This is the 78th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules. The letters A, M, O, and Y stand for different digits from 0 – 3. Also, an even number of cells in each row and in each column must be inside the loop.

Difficulty: 4.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 17:30, Master = 25:00, Expert = 50:00

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.

PDF

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

Theme: Diamond Archipelago

Author/Opus: This is the 380th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Variation of Nurikabe rules. Every region of white cells must contain exactly two numbers (instead of one) and have total size equal to the sum of the two numbers.

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:00, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Nurikabe and this link for Nurikabe variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nurikabe puzzles to get started on. More Nurikabe puzzles can be in The Art of Puzzles, in our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101, and in the e-book Nurikabe by Ashish Kumar.

PDF

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

Theme: Windmill

Author/Opus: This is the 68th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Nurikabe rules. Also, the numbers outside the grid show the number of shaded segments visible in that direction (as in Skyscrapers). A shaded segment of length N in a given direction is taken as a building of height N. A building blocks the view of any building behind it of equal or lesser height.

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 3 stars

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

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Nurikabe and this link for Nurikabe variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nurikabe puzzles to get started on. More Nurikabe puzzles can be in The Art of Puzzles, in our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101, and in the e-book Nurikabe by Ashish Kumar.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; in default edgex mode: left-click+drag draws line, right click marks X on edge, tab shifts to a circle shape drawing mode that can help mark the vertices with different circle choices with another tab going back to default edgex)

Theme: Circular Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 197th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Draw a single, non-intersecting loop that only consists of horizontal and vertical segments between the dots. Numbers inside a cell indicate the number of turns taken by the loop at the four dots around it.

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:00, Master = 10:00, Expert = 20:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles. The puzzle styles featured this week are part of the book Loop Variety Collection by Ashish Kumar and Murat Can Tonta.

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: Four T’s

Author/Opus: This is the 196th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Draw a single, non-intersecting loop in the grid that passes through all white cells. If a number clue is given in a bold region, that number indicates the total count of cells passed through by the largest connected loop section(s) in the region.

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:30, Master = 8:00, Expert = 16:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles. The puzzle styles featured this week are part of the book Loop Variety Collection by Ashish Kumar and Murat Can Tonta.

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: Brick Wall

Author/Opus: This is the 66th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

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: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles. The puzzle styles featured this week are part of the book Loop Variety Collection by Ashish Kumar and Murat Can Tonta.

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: Wbox

Author/Opus: This is the 195th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Draw a single, non-intersecting loop in the grid that passes through all white cells. If a number clue is given in a bold region, that number indicates the total count of cells passed through by the largest connected loop section(s) in the region.

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles. The puzzle styles featured this week are part of the book Loop Variety Collection by Ashish Kumar and Murat Can Tonta.

PDF

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

Theme: Twin Tornadoes

Author/Opus: This is the 65th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Draw a single, non-intersecting loop that only consists of horizontal and vertical segments between the dots. The arrow clues indicate all the directions (up, down, left, and right) where the nearest loop segments are located when looking from that square.

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:20, Master = 2:15, Expert = 4:30

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

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles. The puzzle styles featured this week are part of the book Loop Variety Collection by Ashish Kumar and Murat Can Tonta.

PDF

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

Theme: Nothing Unusual to See Here

Author/Opus: This is the 379th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Variation of Kakuro Rules. Exactly one digit must appear twice in each entry (i.e., group of cells connected horizontally or vertically without any black cells between). All other digits must not repeat within an entry.

Difficulty: 4.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 9:00, Master = 15:45, Expert = 31:30

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; note that the dotted circles are just for answer entry and are where the number should be placed in the 2×2 cell. An alternate option suggested in the comments below with centralized digit entry is here.)

Theme: Circular Reasoning

Author/Opus: This is the 342nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Variation of Kakuro. The gray (2×2) cells are to be filled by a single digit which sits in multiple rows and columns. No digits can repeat within an entry, regardless of if it is in a small or large cell.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:50, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30

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.