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

Theme: Brackets

Author/Opus: This is the 4th puzzle from guest contributor William Hu.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a star appears. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 7:00, Expert = 14:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles. 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 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; note that the dotted circles are just for answer entry and are where the number should be placed in the 2×2 cell. An alternate option with centralized digit entry is here.)

Theme: 4×4

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor İlay Zehra Şenay.

Rules: Variation of Kakuro. The gray (2×2) cells are to be filled by a single digit which sits in multiple rows and columns. No digits can repeat within an entry, regardless of if it is in a small or large cell.

Answer String: Enter the values in each white/gray cell in the marked row from left to right and then the marked column from top to bottom, separating the groups with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Kakuro puzzles. More Kakuro puzzles can be found in Kakuro and Variations by Serkan Yürekli. Kakuro will also eventually be featured in The Art of Puzzles 2.

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: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 110th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules.

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 6th row, followed by a comma, followed by the 8th row.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 7:30, Expert = 15:00

Solution: PDF

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.

(view directly for a larger image)

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

Theme: One-Way Arrows

Author/Opus: This is the 170th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Pentopia rules: Place some of the given pentominoes in the grid so that no pentominoes are in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner. Pentominoes cannot repeat in the grid; rotations and reflections of a pentomino are considered the same shape. The arrow clues indicate all the directions (up, down, left, and right) where the nearest pentominoes are located when looking from that square. (Arrow clues cannot contain pentomino shapes.) Also, see this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded pentomino segments from top to bottom for the marked columns, starting at the left. Separate each column’s entry from the next with a comma.

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

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

Note: Follow this link for more Pentopia puzzles and this link for other puzzles involving Pentominoes.

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

Theme: Sun

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Kishore Kumar Sridharan.

Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules.

Answer String: Enter the 1st column from top to bottom, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th column from top to bottom.

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

Solution: PDF

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.

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

Theme: 1ST

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Yunus Emre Büyükkale.

Rules: Standard LITS rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 8:00, Expert = 16:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other 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 LOTS O’ LITS by Grant Fikes and Prasanna Seshadri and in The Art of Puzzles 2.

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

Theme: S for Superman

Author/Opus: This is the 211st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Same as LITS, except that each region must contain two shaded tetrominoes. These two tetrominoes within a region cannot touch each other, and can be the same or different shapes.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 4:45, Expert = 9:30

Solution: PDF

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 LOTS O’ LITS by Grant Fikes and Prasanna Seshadri and in The Art of Puzzles 2.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 275th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Kakuro Rules. Also, some cells may remain empty but empty cells cannot share an edge with other empty cells.

Answer String: Enter the values in each cell in the 2nd row from left to right and then in the 7th column from top to bottom, separating the two entries with a comma. Enter a capital X in the string for an empty white cell. Ignore black cells.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:30, Master = 10:00, Expert = 20:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Kakuro puzzles. More Kakuro puzzles can be found in Kakuro and Variations by Serkan Yürekli. Kakuro will also be featured in the upcoming The Art of Puzzles 2.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 9th puzzle from guest contributor Dan Katz.

Rules: Standard Kakuro Rules.

Answer String: Enter the values in each cell in the 8th row from left to right and then in the 5th column from top to bottom, separating the two entries with a comma. Ignore black cells.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:00, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Kakuro puzzles. More Kakuro puzzles can be found in Kakuro and Variations by Serkan Yürekli. Kakuro will also be featured in the upcoming The Art of Puzzles 2.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; note that the dotted circles are just for answer entry and are where the number should be placed in the 2×2 cell. An alternate option with centralized digit entry is here.)

Theme: Pattern

Author/Opus: This is the 274th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Variation of Kakuro. The gray (2×2) cells are to be filled by a single digit which sits in multiple rows and columns. No digits can repeat within an entry, regardless of if it is in a small or large cell.

Answer String: Enter the values in each white/gray cell in the marked row from left to right and then the marked column from top to bottom, separating the groups with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:00, Master = 5:30, Expert = 11:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Kakuro puzzles. More Kakuro puzzles can be found in Kakuro and Variations by Serkan Yürekli. Kakuro will also (eventually) be featured in The Art of Puzzles 2.