PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between number entry and shading modes.)

Theme: Almost All Triples

Author/Opus: This is the 19th puzzle from guest contributor Salih Alan.

Rules: Fill some cells with numbers 1-5 so that each row and column contains each number from 1 to 5 exactly once as well as three empty cells (1-4 and two empty cells in the example). Numbers outside of the grid indicate the sum of all numbers in the first connected group in that direction as in a Japanese Sums puzzle.

Difficulty: 4.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:30, Master = 17:15, Expert = 34:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Japanese Sums puzzles.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a letter entry mode and a shading mode. CAPS LOCK is recommended for letter entry.)

Theme: Yell Out Greetings!

Author/Opus: This is the 245th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Fill some empty cells with the letters E, H, I, L, O, Y (A, B, C, D in the example) so that each row and column contains each letter exactly once. The letters outside the grid indicate the first letter seen from that direction, but each row and column has one transparent letter that is ignored by the clues. The transparent letters must be different in each row and column.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 8:30, Expert = 17:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a letter entry mode and a shading mode. CAPS LOCK is recommended for letter entry.)

Theme: Groups of Liars

Author/Opus: This is the 58th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Fill some empty cells with the letters A, B, C so that each row and column contains each letter exactly once. Some cells will remain blank. The letters outside the grid do NOT indicate the first letter seen from that direction.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:45, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a letter entry mode and a shading mode. CAPS LOCK is recommended for letter entry.)

Theme: Easy as

Author/Opus: This is the 379th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Fill some empty cells with the letters E, A, S, Y so that each row, column, and bold region contains each letter exactly once. Some cells will remain blank. The letters outside the grid indicate the first letter seen from that direction.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

PDF

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

Theme: Evens

Author/Opus: This is the 388th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers rules. Instead of their usual meaning, exterior clues indicate the height of one of the visible buildings that can be seen from that direction.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:50, Master = 1:20, Expert = 2:40

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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.

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: Hexed

Author/Opus: This is the 423rd puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Castle Wall rules except on a hexagonal grid.

Difficulty: 5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 15:30, Master = 21:30, Expert = 43:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for more Castle Wall puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Castle Wall puzzles to get started on. More Castle Wall puzzles can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles as well as the larger collection Castle Wall, both by Serkan Yürekli.

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: Odds

Author/Opus: This is the 378th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Castle Wall rules, but any two consecutive line segments cannot have the same length (i.e., on both sides of any turn, the loop must travel different lengths).

Difficulty: 4 stars

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

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for more Castle Wall puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Castle Wall puzzles to get started on. More Castle Wall puzzles can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles as well as the larger collection Castle Wall, both 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, a letter entry mode, and a shading mode.)

Theme: Four

Author/Opus: This is the 377th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Pentominous rules. Additionally, there are some gray cells that do not contain any pentominoes. The numbers in these gray cells indicate how many pentomino regions are present in the 8 neighboring cells.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:00, Master = 7:30, Expert = 15:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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. More Pentominous puzzles can be found in the Plenty o’ Pentominous series by Grant Fikes and Murat Can Tonta 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, a letter entry mode, and a shading mode.)

Theme: Loss

Author/Opus: This is the 387th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Variation of Pentominous rules. Some borders between pentominoes are already drawn.

Difficulty: 2 stars

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

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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. More Pentominous puzzles can be found in the Plenty o’ Pentominous series by Grant Fikes and Murat Can Tonta and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Since 2021, we have posted some extra difficult Sunday Stumpers, about once a month. These will be quite tough puzzles, but with a logical path to be found (and solution videos to help). This tenth Sunday Stumper of 2022 is a Tapa-Like Loop (Transparent) puzzle by Prasanna Seshadri. Will all the cells be used in this puzzle like the title and the clues suggest?

(view directly for a larger image)

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 on edges)

Theme: All Cells?

Author/Opus: This is the 243rd puzzle from contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Variation of Tapa-Like Loop rules. (Form a single non-intersecting loop. Clues inside the grid represent the number of neighboring cells visited by the loop; if there is more than one number in a cell, each number should be represented with a separate loop segment. There is no 2×2 rule of Tapa in this puzzle.)

The loop can travel through clue cells. Each clue now describes the entire 3×3 area the clue cell is in the middle of.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 32:00, Master = 45:00, Expert = 1:30:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa-Like Loop puzzles. More Tapa-Like Loop puzzles can be found in the Tapa-Like Loop Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.