PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the composite Yajilin mode where left click marks cells, right click marks dots in cells or X’s on edges, left click+drag draws lines.)

Theme: Winner is You

Author/Opus: This is the 226th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Shade some cells black so that all remaining white cells are connected as part of a single connected group; shaded cells cannot share an edge. No unbroken sequence of white cells in any row or column can cross two thick boundaries. A number in a region indicates the number of shaded cells in that region. Regions with no number may have any number of shaded cells. Cells with numbers can be shaded over.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 7:30, Expert = 15:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other shading puzzles. More Heyawake puzzles are in Shading Variety Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.

PDF

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

Theme: 400 Posts

Author/Opus: This is the 400th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, except the digit set is unknown. This puzzle uses 8 distinct non−negative integers.

Difficulty: 5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 10:30, Master = 20:30, Expert = 41:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here. A video telling the story of how this puzzle was constructed by Thomas is here.

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 the TomTom collection, 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)

Theme: 1 vs. 3

Author/Opus: This is the 86th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-6.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:00, Master = 11:00, Expert = 22:00

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

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 the TomTom collection, 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)

Theme: Dumbbell

Author/Opus: This is the 6th puzzle from guest contributor Kishore Kumar Sridharan.

Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:45, Master = 10:30, Expert = 21:00

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

Note: Follow this link for more Thermo-Sudoku puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Thermo-Sudoku to get started on. More Thermo-Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2 and Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 2.

PDF

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

Theme: Candy Canes

Author/Opus: This is the 85th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:45, Master = 10:30, Expert = 21:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 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 alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a number entry mode.)

Theme: 2022 Duality

Author/Opus: This is the 222th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:30, Master = 9:00, Expert = 18:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here, and an Art of Puzzlecrafting video from Prasanna describing how he made the puzzle is 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)

Theme: The Rising of 2022

Author/Opus: This is the 84th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers; each clue represents the sum of the heights of the visible buildings in that direction.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:45, Master = 11:00, Expert = 22:00

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

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

See more discussion of the puzzles from the United States’ 2021 Puzzle Grand Prix on this post. Note there are some construction details and potential spoilers on that post so view it after you solve.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab mode to shift between letter entry, line drawing, and shape entry — for word list marking — modes)

Author/Opus: This is the 356th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Combination of Word Search and Meandering Words rules (see prior posts, and below). Each bold word in the given list should be either located as in a Word Search (possibly filling in missing letters in the grid) or should be placed in an outlined region as in a Meandering Words puzzle.

Meandering Words rules: Place a letter into each empty cell so that each outlined area has exactly one bold word from the given list. Cells that contain the same letter cannot be placed in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner. Each outlined area must contain the word from the first letter to the last letter such that consecutive letters within an outlined area are orthogonally adjacent. (In other words, for each region it must be possible to draw a path that starts at the first letter and ends at the last letter, going through each other cell exactly once.)

Word Search rules: Locate the bold words in the given list in the grid, running in one of eight possible directions horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Some letters in the middle of the grid are missing and must be discovered while solving.

Difficulty: 4.5 stars (estimate based off competition points; timing standards not available from our usual testers)

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Word puzzles.

See more discussion of the puzzles from the United States’ 2021 Puzzle Grand Prix on this post. Note there are some construction details and potential spoilers on that post so view it after you solve.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab mode to shift between letter entry, line drawing, and shape entry — for word list marking — modes)

Author/Opus: This is the 355th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Place a letter into each empty cell so that each outlined area has exactly one bold word from the given list. Cells that contain the same letter cannot be placed in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner. Each outlined area must contain the word from the first letter to the last letter such that consecutive letters within an outlined area are orthogonally adjacent. (In other words, for each region it must be possible to draw a path that starts at the first letter and ends at the last letter, going through each other cell exactly once.) Gray cells indicate the position of the first letter in that region.

Difficulty: 4 stars (estimate based off competition points; timing standards not available from our usual testers)

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Word puzzles.

See more discussion of the puzzles from the United States’ 2021 Puzzle Grand Prix on this post. Note there are some construction details and potential spoilers on that post so view it after you solve.

PDF

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

Author/Opus: This is the 406th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-7.

Difficulty: 4 stars (estimate based off competition points; timing standards not available from our usual testers)

Solution: PDF

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 the TomTom collection, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.