This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing, number entry, shading, and star placement modes.)

Theme: Block Party

Author/Opus: This is the 498th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules. Also, each row, column, and polyomino must contain exactly one star. Stars cannot be placed in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:45, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for classic Fillomino and this link for Fillomino variations. Follow this link for other classic Star Battles and this link for Star Battle variations.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 1 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

PDF

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 number entry mode.)

Author/Opus: This is the 16th puzzle from guest contributor Freddie Hand.

Rules: Variation of Fillomino rules. No two polyominoes with the same area, or with areas that differ by one, can share an edge.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for classic Fillomino and this link for Fillomino variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino 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 week-0-discussion thread on the GMPuzzles Discord. If you are not yet part of this Discord community, use this link.

PDF

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 number entry mode.)

Theme: Edge Clues

Author/Opus: This is the 476th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Fillomino rules. No two polyominoes with the same area, or with areas that differ by one, can share an edge.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:00, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for classic Fillomino and this link for Fillomino variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino 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 week-0-discussion thread on the GMPuzzles Discord. If you are not yet part of this Discord community, use this link.

Our second subscription season of GMPuzzles is into week 4 and currently available for purchase. This bonus puzzle from Serkan Yürekli is a teaser for some of the extra Sunday content that comes each week in the subscription, in this case the once a month Sunday Stumpers which rotate with new puzzle types, combination grids, and other special offerings.

PDF

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 number entry mode.)

Author/Opus: This is the 432nd puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules: Divide the grid along the dotted lines into regions called polyominoes so that no two polyominoes with the same area share an edge. Inside some cells are numbers; each number must represent the area of the polyomino it belongs to. A polyomino may contain zero, one, or more of the given numbers.

Variation rules: No two polyominoes with the same area, or with areas that differ by one, can share an edge. Also, the number at the top left of each cage gives the sum of all numbers that appear inside of it. Numbers may be repeated in cages.

Difficulty: 5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 15:00, Master = 40:00, Expert = 1:20:00

Solution: PDF; this bonus puzzle was also featured in this Cracking the Cryptic video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Fillomino and this link for Fillomino variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in Fill o’ Fillomino and Fill o’ Fillomino 2 by Grant Fikes, and in our beginner-friendly books Logic Puzzles 101 and Starter Pack 1: Fillomino.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Season 2 Preview 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.

PDF

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 number entry mode.)

Theme: Even-steven

Author/Opus: This is the 369th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules (with a hexagonal grid).

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Fillomino and this link for Fillomino variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in Fill o’ Fillomino and Fill o’ Fillomino 2 by Grant Fikes, and in our beginner-friendly books Logic Puzzles 101 and Starter Pack 1: Fillomino.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing, a number entry mode, and shading for this variation.)

Theme: Siege

Author/Opus: This is the 327th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules. Also, it must be possible to shade some polyominoes black so that no bordering polyominoes are the same color (in other words, the grid must allow a two-color shading).

See also this example:

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:30, Master = 10:30, Expert = 21:00

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Fillomino and this link for Fillomino variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in Fill o’ Fillomino and Fill o’ Fillomino 2 by Grant Fikes, and in our beginner-friendly books Logic Puzzles 101 and Starter Pack 1: Fillomino.

PDF

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 number entry mode.)

Theme: Surrounded

Author/Opus: This is the 5th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Variation of Fillomino. The size of all polyominoes must be 1, 2, or 3.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

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

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Fillomino and this link for Fillomino variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in Fill o’ Fillomino and Fill o’ Fillomino 2 by Grant Fikes, and in our beginner-friendly books Logic Puzzles 101 and Starter Pack 1: Fillomino.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing, a number entry mode, and shading for this variation.)

Theme: 2020

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor Jonas Gleim.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules. Also, it must be possible to shade some polyominoes black so that no bordering polyominoes are the same color (in other words, the grid must allow a two-color shading).

See also this example:

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:30, Master = 15:00, Expert = 30:00

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Fillomino and this link for Fillomino variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in Fill o’ Fillomino and Fill o’ Fillomino 2 by Grant Fikes, and in our beginner-friendly books Logic Puzzles 101 and Starter Pack 1: Fillomino.

PDF

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 number entry mode.)

Theme: Keep Away

Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Nate Perkins.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules. Also, adjacent polyominoes must not have any digits in common (e.g., a 24 polyomino cannot be adjacent to 2, 4, 12, 14, 20, or similar polyominoes).

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:45, Master = 9:30, Expert = 19:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other classic Fillomino and this link for more variations on Fillomino puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in Fill o’ Fillomino and Fill o’ Fillomino 2 by Grant Fikes, and in our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101.

PDF

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 number entry mode.)

Theme: 24 Dice

Author/Opus: This is the 154th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Variation of Fillomino rules. No two polyominoes with the same area, or with areas that differ by one, can share an edge.

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the area of the polyomino it belongs to. Enter just the last digit for any two-digit number. Start with the 4th row, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th column.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other classic Fillomino and this link for more variations on Fillomino puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in Fill o’ Fillomino and Fill o’ Fillomino 2 by Grant Fikes, and in our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101.