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Theme: Bull’s-Eye

Author/Opus: This is the 218th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Even/Odd Sudoku rules (i.e., cells with a square contain an even digit; cells with a circle contain an odd digit).

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 9:00, Master = 21:00, Expert = 42:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for more Even/Odd Sudoku puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Even/Odd Sudoku to get started on. More Even/Odd 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; use tab to shift between number entry and shading modes.)

Theme: Sum of 24 in Both Halves

Author/Opus: This is the 67th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Fill the grid with digits from 1-6 (1-4 in example below) so that each digit appears exactly once in every row and column. When digits touch vertically, the upper digit must always be bigger.

Answer String: Enter the values in each cell in the marked columns from top to bottom, using a capital X for blank cells. The example has the solution “412X3X,324X1X”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 5:30, Expert = 11:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other less common Number Placement puzzles.

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Theme: Mysterious L’s

Author/Opus: This is the 161st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

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

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right followed by the 4th row from left to right. Separate the entries with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:15, Master = 9:45, Expert = 19:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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

(View image directly for larger form.)

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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: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 16th puzzle from guest contributor Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, the shaded region must be able to be split into tetrominoes to form a valid LITS solution (meaning all tetrominoes are connected but no two tetrominoes sharing an edge are the same shape, including rotations and reflections).

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 = 12:00, Master = 25:00, Expert = 50:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa variations and this link for classic Tapa. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tapa puzzles to get started on.

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode, a number entry mode for placing Tapa clues, 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: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 7th puzzle from guest contributor Tapio Saarinen. You can find more of Tapio’s puzzles on his blog.

Rules: Variation of Tapa rules. All clues have been replaced by symbols, and each clue cell must be a unique value (e.g., 113 can appear at most once as a clue value). Each question mark stands for a nonzero number; each asterisk stands for a nonzero number of question marks.

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 = 10:00, Master = 17:00, Expert = 34:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa variations and this link for classic Tapa. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tapa puzzles to get started on.

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between ship placement and shading modes. In ship placement mode, right click gives sea, left click gives circle/square, left click and drag for rounded ships.)

Theme: 2014 to 2015

Author/Opus: This is the 214th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Use the indicated fleet. (Variable shading of numbers is for artistic purposes only)

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears (enter just the last digit for any two-digit number). If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

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

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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

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

Theme: Single Vision

Author/Opus: This is the 159th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

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 left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma. The example has the solution “21,23”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 5:45, Expert = 11:30

Solution: PDF

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: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 62nd 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 left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma. The example has the solution “21,23”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:45, Master = 9:00, Expert = 18:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is 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; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a letter entry mode.)

Theme: F is for Fiendish

Author/Opus: This is the 4th puzzle from guest contributor Carl Worth.

Rules: Divide the grid into 20 pentominoes so that no two pentominoes of the same shape (including rotations/reflections) share an edge. A cell with a letter in it must be part of the pentomino shape normally associated with that letter. An inventory of possible pentominoes is given below the puzzle.

Answer String: Enter the letter associated with the pentomino occupying each cell in the marked rows from left to right and in the marked columns from top to bottom, separating the groups with a comma. Use CAPITAL LETTERS!

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:30, Master = 10:00, Expert = 20:00

Solution: PDF

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

(view directly for a larger image)

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Theme: A Star Battle

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Carl Worth.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules with three stars per region. Also, both grids will have the same position of stars. The shading is for aesthetic purposes only.

Answer String: For one of the grids, for each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the column where the middle star appears. Enter just the last digit of any two-digit numbers, and enter all these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 9:30, Master = 18:30, Expert = 37:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other variations on Star Battle and this link for classic Star Battles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on.