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Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 251st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Nanro and Star Battle rules. Fill some cells with stars so that each row, column, and bold region contains the indicated number of stars. Stars cannot be placed in any neighboring cells, including diagonally adjacent cells. Also, fill some cells with numbers to form a valid Nanro solution. Stars cannot occupy any cell with a number from the Nanro.

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 = 5:00, Master = 7:30, Expert = 15:00

Note: Follow this link for Nanro puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nanro Puzzles to get started on. More Nanro puzzles can be found in A Number o’ Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use the tab key to alternate between shading and number entry modes)

Theme: Tetromino Tiling

Author/Opus: This is the 134th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Variation of Nanro.

Label some cells with numbers to form a single connected group of labeled cells. No 2×2 group of cells may be fully labeled. Each number must be equal to the total count of labeled cells in that bold region, and all bold regions contain at least one labeled cell. The given numbers indicate how many cells are labeled in that region (but not necessarily which cells are labeled). When two numbers are orthogonally adjacent across a region boundary, the numbers must be different.

Also see this example:

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 = 3:15, Master = 4:15, Expert = 8:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for Nanro puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nanro Puzzles to get started on. More Nanro puzzles can be found in A Number o’ Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between ship placement and shading modes. In ship placement mode, right click gives sea, left click gives circle/square, left click and drag for rounded ships.)

Theme: First 100 of Pi

Author/Opus: This is the 249th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of standard Battleships rules. Locate the indicated fleet in the grid. Each segment of a ship occupies a single cell. Ships can be rotated. Ships do not touch each other, even diagonally. The clues on the right and bottom edges of the grid reveal the sum of the digits in each of the ship segments that appear in that row or column.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears (enter just the last digit for any two-digit number). If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:14, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Battleships. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Battleships to get started on. More Battleships puzzles can be found in Battleships and Variations, in The Art of Puzzles, 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 shift between number entry and shading modes.)

Theme: Binary

Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Michael Tang. You can find more puzzles from Michael on the blog mstang’s puzzles.

Rules: Fill each row and column of the grid with the digits 1 to 5 and two blackened cells. Numbers outside the grid indicate the sum of the digits between the two blackened cells in that row or column. Blackened cells are allowed to touch. Or see here.

Answer String: Enter the 5th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th row from left to right. Use an X (capital letter) for each blackened square.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other less common Number Placement puzzles.

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: Sweeping Diagonals

Author/Opus: This is the 9th puzzle from guest contributor Chris Green.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules. Also, looking across all of the Tight Fit cells in both grids, each Tight Fit cell must have a unique pair of digits.

Answer String: In the top grid, enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th row from left to right; then, after another comma, in the bottom grid enter the 4th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row from left to right. (Note: for the tight fit cells, enter the top before the bottom as would be normal for the read order.)

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 11:15, Master = 20:00, Expert = 40:00

Solution: PDF

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 and in The Art of Sudoku 2.

(Note: This bonus puzzle is being posted today to mark the occasion of Prasanna’s birthday.)

PDF

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

Theme: 28 from 03/02 1991-2019

Author/Opus: This is the 173rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules. The numbers outside the grid indicate the sum of all digits between the 8 and the 9 in that row or column. Also, as in Consecutive Pairs Sudoku, if a gray circle is given between two adjacent cells, then the two numbers in those cells must be consecutive. (Note: not all gray circles are given; adjacent cells without a circle may contain either consecutive numbers or nonconsecutive numbers.)

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:45, Master = 10:00, Expert = 20:00

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Feng Shui (Clue symmetry, and 7 of the regions have one line of symmetry for the region and for the clues)

Author/Opus: This is the 12th puzzle from guest contributor Bryce Herdt.

Rules: Insert a letter from FENG SHUI into each cell so that no letter repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Answer String: Enter the 4th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 8th row from left to right. Use CAPITAL LETTERS.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 4:45, Expert = 9:30

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between ship placement and shading modes. In ship placement mode, right click gives sea, left click gives circle/square, left click and drag for rounded ships.)

Theme: Evens and Odds

Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Ozan Kaya.

Rules: Variation of standard Battleships rules. Instead of exterior clues, clues inside the grid indicate the number of adjacent squares, including diagonally adjacent squares, containing ship segments. Ships do not sit on cells with numbers.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears (enter just the last digit for any two-digit number). If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for more variations on Battleships and this link for classic Battleships. More Battleships puzzles can be found in Battleships and Variations, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

(view directly for a larger image)

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: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor Yuki Kawabe.

Rules: Combination of Sundoko, Snake, and Shape puzzle styles.

Sundoko: Shade some cells to make sunglasses, consisting of a bridge (a given line, in red) and two lenses made out of orthogonally connected cells that are symmetric with respect to the perpendicular bisector of the bridge. Two lenses may not share an edge, but can intersect at a point. Cells with the bridges are not shaded, except at the bridge ends. Numbers in the grid are unshaded, and indicate the total count of unshaded cells connected vertically and horizontally to the numbered cell, including the cell itself.
Sundoko example:

Snake: Shade some cells to create a one-cell wide snake in the grid that does not cross or touch itself, not even diagonally. The snake starts and ends at the black circles and must pass through all white circles.
Snake example:

Shape: Place each of the given shapes into the grid exactly once (rotations and reflections allowed). Shapes cannot touch each other, not even diagonally.
Shape example:

SSS: In SSS, shade some cells to make sunglasses, create a single snake, and place all of the shapes in the grid. Shaded cells of different categories (sunglasses, snake, shapes) cannot share an edge. Number clues referring to unshaded cell counts consider all three categories of objects as shaded cells in this hybrid.

Or see this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments (sunglasses, snake, and shapes) 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 = 16:00, Master = 22:00, Expert = 44:00

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Gomatamago.

Rules: Draw a route that starts at the gray Start circle (S) and passes through adjacent cells without crossing itself or revisiting any cells. Some cells may not be part of the route. White circles with letters represent packages that are to be picked up and delivered to the black circles marked with the same letter. The carrier has a maximum capacity of packages that can be handled at once, shown below the grid. The carrier must pick up and deliver all packages on the route, returning to S with no packages in hand.

Also see this example:

Answer String: Enter the number of turns in each row, starting at the top and proceeding to the bottom. This example has the answer “224244”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 12:00, Expert = 24:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles.