Star Battle (Builder) by Thomas Snyder

Star Battle by Grant Fikes

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

Theme: Broken Frame

Author/Opus: This is the 374th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Also, some region boundaries are missing, but all given borders must separate cells in different regions.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:00, Master = 7:45, Expert = 15:30

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

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.

Masyu (Deformable) by JinHoo Ahn

This is a bonus Sunday puzzle for Valentine’s Day, and one more puzzle to conclude a full week of puzzles from JinHoo Ahn.

Masyu by JinHoo Ahn

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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: Valentine

Author/Opus: This is the 18th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Standard Masyu rules. Also, some white circles may be shaded to become black circles. (Stylistically, here the white circles are white with red borders and the black circles are filled, red circles.)

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 8:00, Expert = 16:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Masyu variations and this link for classic Masyu. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Masyu to get started on. More Masyu puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles.

Cross the Streams (Inverted) by JinHoo Ahn

Cross The Streams by JinHoo Ahn

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

Theme: Groups

Author/Opus: This is the 17th puzzle from our new contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Variation of Cross the Streams rules. Instead of their usual meaning, clues refer to the distribution of the white cells. The shaded cells must still obey the regular rules (connectivity, no 2×2 squares).

Difficulty: 4 stars

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

Solution: PDF; a solution video (with info on an Easter Egg for this puzzle) is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for other Cross the Streams. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Cross the Streams to get started on.

Yajilin (Castle Wall) by JinHoo Ahn

Yajilin (Castle Wall) by JinHoo Ahn

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

Theme: Open Middle

Author/Opus: This is the 16th puzzle from our new contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Variation of Yajilin rules. Instead of their usual meaning, interior clues refer to the total sum of the lengths of loop segments in the given direction. (An equivalent way to understand these values is to count the number of cell borders crossed by the loop in that direction.)

See also this example:

Yajilin (Castle Wall) example by Serkan Yürekli

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video (with info on an Easter Egg for this puzzle) is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic Yajilin and this link for Yajilin variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Yajilin to get started on. More Yajilin puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles 2, in Yajilin by Murat Can Tonta and Prasanna Seshadri, and in our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101.

Kurotto by Prasanna Seshadri

Kurotto by Prasanna Seshadri

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

Theme: Empty Columns

Author/Opus: This is the 197th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Kurotto rules.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:30, Master = 8:45, Expert = 17:30

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Kurotto puzzles and this link for variations on Kurotto puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Kurotto to get started on. More Kurotto puzzles can be found in the ebook Kurotto by Prasanna Seshadri.

Kurotto by Swaroop Guggilam

Kurotto by Swaroop Guggilam

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

Theme: Pairs

Author/Opus: This is the 11th puzzle from guest contributor Swaroop Guggilam.

Rules: Standard Kurotto rules.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 5:45, Expert = 11:30

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Kurotto puzzles and this link for variations on Kurotto puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Kurotto to get started on. More Kurotto puzzles can be found in the ebook Kurotto by Prasanna Seshadri.

Araf by Serkan Yürekli

Araf by Serkan Yürekli

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools with a composite mode for line/edge drawing.)

Theme: Cyclops

Author/Opus: This is the 315th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Araf rules.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 6:45, Expert = 13:30

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

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.

Araf by Jeffrey Bardon

Araf by Jeffrey Bardon

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools with a composite mode for line/edge drawing.)

Theme: Oh Nine

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

Rules: Standard Araf rules.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

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

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.

Arrow Sudoku by Swaroop Guggilam

Arrow Sudoku by Swaroop Guggilam

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

Theme: House

Author/Opus: This is the 10th puzzle from guest contributor Swaroop Guggilam.

Rules: Standard Arrow Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:30, Master = 13:00, Expert = 26:00

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

Note: Follow this link for more Arrow Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Arrow Sudoku to get started on. More Arrow Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2 and Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 3.

Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

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

Theme: Waves

Author/Opus: This is the 59th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:30, Master = 8:30, Expert = 17:00

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.