Best of 2014: Loop Puzzles

We had 59 loop puzzles in 2014 in several distinct genres.

One of the best Masyu puzzles was this classic “Dominoes” theme from guest contributor Murat Can Tonta:

Masyu by Murat Can Tonta

(View image directly for larger form)

Another highly rated Masyu was this Deformable Masyu from Serkan Yürekli:

Masyu by Serkan Yürekli

Three puzzles tied for the most FAVE votes and were separated based on the number of solvers to determine the order of the top 3. With 11 FAVE votes but the most solvers was a Slitherlink (Sheep and Wolves) by Thomas Snyder called “Surrounded!”:

Slitherlink by Thomas Snyder

In second, also with 11 FAVE votes, was one of the few puzzles we got from Palmer Mebane this year (almost all of which earned lots of praise). This Yajilin was actually a 2013 submission that we held onto until this year’s April Fool’s week for obvious reasons:

Yajilin by Palmer Mebane

(View image directly for larger form)

And the best Loop puzzle of 2014, with 11 FAVE votes but many fewer solvers for a 30+% Fave/Solve ratio is this Castle Wall, also by Palmer Mebane:

Castle Wall by Palmer Mebane

(View image directly for larger form)

These best puzzles have been gathered in this PDF.

Schedule for Next Week

All of Grant’s puzzles from last week have been grouped in this PDF.

This next week we’ll be throwing you for a loop. Every puzzle will have a familiar goal, even if the styles will be quite varied.

Monday: Tapa-Like Loop by Prasanna Seshadri
Tuesday: Masyu by Murat Can Tonta
Wednesday: Slitherlink by Thomas Snyder
Thursday: Masyu (Deformable) by Murat Can Tonta
Friday: Slitherlink (Sheep and Wolves and No 2×2) by Hans van Stippent
Saturday: Tapa-Like Loop by Prasanna Seshadri

The bonus puzzle for our high-level supporters will be a Yajilin by Thomas Snyder.