This flower-shaped clue design may provide a lot of data for determining the exits for some clue numbers in Serkan Yürekli’s Araf grid.

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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: Flower

Author/Opus: This is the 424th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Araf rules.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 1:40, Expert = 3:20

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

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.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Season 2 Preview Week Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access and check subscriber instructions for role-related access.

In puzzles where the clue distributions are symmetric, a general concept is that you can often use an approximation for one portion of the puzzle’s symmetry if you have one for the other side. Will this thinking apply to Akash Doulani’s puzzle here?

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

Author/Opus: This is the 16th puzzle from guest contributor Akash Doulani.

Rules: Standard Consecutive Pairs Sudoku rules. (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.)

Estimated Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:30, Master = 7:30, Expert = 15:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Consecutive Pairs Sudoku to get started on. More Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Season 2 Preview Week Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access and check subscriber instructions for role-related access.

In this Sudoku variation, Serkan Yürekli gives us one of the numbers in each consecutive pair.

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

Theme: Diagonals

Author/Opus: This is the 423rd puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Consecutive Pairs Sudoku rules. (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.)

Estimated Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:30, Master = 0:40, Expert = 1:20

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Consecutive Pairs Sudoku to get started on. More Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Season 2 Preview Week Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access and check subscriber instructions for role-related access.

It seems amazing that Sagittarius A, a black hole, lies at the center of our galaxy, so one may wonder where Takeya Saikachi’s design breaks apart from other unusual stellar possibilities.

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools with Double Minesweeper mines standing for stars. Left clicking a cell places a star, left clicking a cell again places a second star. Right clicking a cell marks it empty with a cross, right clicking between cells places a dot for notation.)

Author/Opus: This is the 36th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Variation of Star Battle rules. There are three stars per row, column, and region. Cells with stars can contain either 1 or 2 stars, but stars can still not be placed in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 5:15, Expert = 10:30

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles and this link for Star Battle variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in the books Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn and Star Battle 2 by JinHoo Ahn and Murat Can Tonta, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Season 2 Preview Week Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access and check subscriber instructions for role-related access.

Since we, as solvers, prefer to focus on the small regions of a Star Battle, Serkan Yürekli’s grid may allow us to continue thinking that way as we look for the hidden doubles.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools with Double Minesweeper mines standing for stars. Left clicking a cell places a star, left clicking a cell again places a second star. Right clicking a cell marks it empty with a cross, right clicking between cells places a dot for notation.)

Author/Opus: This is the 422nd puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Star Battle rules. There are three stars per row, column, and region. Cells with stars can contain either 1 or 2 stars, but stars can still not be placed in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:45, Master = 2:45, Expert = 5:30

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles and this link for Star Battle variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in the books Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn and Star Battle 2 by JinHoo Ahn and Murat Can Tonta, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Season 2 Preview Week Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access and check subscriber instructions for role-related access.

Grant Fikes created his Numberlink art with a lyre, just like ancient people did.

(view directly for a larger image)

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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: Lyre

Author/Opus: This is the 425th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Connect each pair of identical numbers with a path passing through edge-adjacent cells. No cell may be used on more than one path.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 3:40, Expert = 7:20

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

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

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Season 2 Preview Week Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access and check subscriber instructions for role-related access.

Serkan Yürekli constructed a gate whose walls reach out to both opposite corners.

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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: Gate

Author/Opus: This is the 421st puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Connect each pair of identical numbers with a path passing through edge-adjacent cells. No cell may be used on more than one path.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:20, Master = 0:30, Expert = 1:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

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

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Season 2 Preview Week Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access and check subscriber instructions for role-related access.

Worms that move from one diagonal to the next appear to split the grid in Prasanna Seshadri’s design.

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a shading mode and a mode to mark edges with an X.)

Theme: Worms

Author/Opus: This is the 271st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard LITS rules.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:30, Master = 1:15, Expert = 2:30

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for more variations of LITS and this link for classic LITS. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest LITS to get started on. More LITS puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Season 2 Preview Week Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access and check subscriber instructions for role-related access.

Might there be another S tetromino beyond the ones given in the final solution in Serkan Yürekli’s LITS grid?

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a shading mode and a mode to mark edges with an X.)

Theme: All Givens

Author/Opus: This is the 420th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard LITS rules.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:15, Master = 0:50, Expert = 1:40

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for more variations of LITS and this link for classic LITS. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest LITS to get started on. More LITS puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Season 2 Preview Week Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access and check subscriber instructions for role-related access.

Symmetrical regions with all even numbers are settled around the plus-formed empty space.

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

Theme: Easy Evens

Author/Opus: This is the 255th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-5.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

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

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for classic TomTom and this link for TomTom variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest TomTom to get started on. More TomTom puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Season 2 Preview Week Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access and check subscriber instructions for role-related access.