PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools. Use left click to place mine, right click (in cell) to mark unused, right click (on edge/corner) to mark a note; hitting tab will also enable a shading mode. If you want more solving options, turn off Penpa-Lite option.)

Theme: Series

Author/Opus: This is the 293rd puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Place a mine into some of the empty cells so that each number represents the total count of mines in neighboring cells, including diagonally adjacent cells.

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows, enter a 1 if it contains a mine and a 0 if the cell is empty (or a clue cell). Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma. The format will resemble “0010101000,1110010101,1000011011”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:50, Master = 1:15, Expert = 2:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Click here for other Minesweeper puzzles.

PDF

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

Theme: X’s and O’s (for Jamie Hargrove)

Author/Opus: This is the 291st puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Shade some cells black so that all unshaded number and arrow clues indicate the exact count of shaded cells in the given direction. Shaded cells cannot share an edge, and all white cells must remain connected as part of a single contiguous group. It is allowed to shade over some of the numbered cells; a shaded over clue may or may not be true.

Also, see this example:

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of shaded cells as a single string. For the example, the answer is “20212”.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other less common Shading puzzles.

PDF

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: Clue Symmetry and Logic (for TheSubro)

Author/Opus: This is the 290th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Connect each pair of identical numbers with a path passing through edge-adjacent cells. No cell may be used on more than one path.

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

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles.

PDF

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

Theme: Four Loops (Originally for the 2017 Arlington Puzzle Festival)

Author/Opus: This is the 284th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

No answer string (just click “solve”).

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:45, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

Solution: PDF

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)

Theme: Fireworks (Originally for Diwali/WSC Sudoku Talk)

Author/Opus: This is the 282nd puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

No answer string (just click “solve”).

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:45, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

Solution: PDF

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)

Theme: Candles (Originally for Diwali/WSC Sudoku Talk)

Author/Opus: This is the 281st puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

No answer string (just click “solve”).

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:50, Master = 3:15, Expert = 6:30

Solution: PDF

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: X Box

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Divide the grid along the boundary lines so that every cell belongs to a snake. A snake is a one-cell-wide path at least two cells long that does not touch itself, not even diagonally. Circled cells must be at one of the ends of a snake. A snake may contain one circled cell, two circled cells, or no circled cells at all. Numbered cells must be part of a snake with a length of exactly that number of cells. A snake may contain one number, multiple identical numbers, or no numbers at all. Two snakes of the same length cannot touch each other horizontally or vertically. Cells with an X cannot be an end of a snake.

Also see this example:

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the length of the snake it belongs to. Enter just the last digit for any two-digit number. This example has the key “33553,44664”.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Snake puzzles.

PDF

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

Theme: Logical

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

Rules: Shade some cells to make sunglasses. The sunglasses consist of a bridge (a given line, in red) and two lenses made out of orthogonally connected black cells that are symmetric with respect to the perpendicular bisector of the bridge. Two lenses may not share an edge, but can intersect at a point. Cells with the bridges are not shaded, except at the bridge ends. The numbers on the right and bottom edges of the grid indicate the number of shaded lens cells in that row or column.

Also see this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black lens segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma. This example has the key “22,121,12”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:15, Expert = 4:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other shading puzzles.

PDF

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

Theme: One, Two

Author/Opus: This is the 245th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Yajilin rules, except that instead of blackening single cells, blacken in dominoes (1×2 rectangles). Clues indicate the total number of dominoes (not the total number of cells) that are shaded in the given direction.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other variations of Yajilin and this link for classic Yajilin. 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.

PDF

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

Theme: One, Two

Author/Opus: This is the 244th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Yajilin rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:00, Master = 1:20, Expert = 2:40

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Yajilin. 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.