PDF

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

Theme: Five (appeared in the 2016 Puzzle Grand Prix playoffs)

Author/Opus: This is the 255th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Variation of Nanro.

Label some cells with numbers to form a single connected group of labeled cells. No 2×2 group of cells may be fully labeled. Each number must be equal to the total count of labeled cells in that bold region, and all bold regions contain at least one labeled cell. The given numbers indicate how many cells are labeled in that region (but not necessarily which cells are labeled). When two numbers are orthogonally adjacent across a region boundary, the numbers must be different.

Also see this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the segments labeled with numbers 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 = 4:00, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for Nanro puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nanro Puzzles to get started on. More Nanro puzzles can be found in A Number o’ Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku = big entries and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 137th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules with digits from 1-9. There are five grids with these extra rules:

– Even/Odd (upper-left): Digits in circles must be odd and digits in squares must be even.
– No Touch (upper-right): Digits cannot repeat in diagonally adjacent cells (both digits in any “tight fit” cell are considered when checking presence in a diagonally adjacent cell). Only look within the upper-right grid when applying this rule.
– Irregular (center): Instead of 3×2 borders, the bold regions are irregularly shaped (and colored in cyan).
– Anti-Knight (lower-left): Digits cannot repeat in any cells separated by a chess knight’s move (both digits in any “tight fit” cell are considered when checking for presence in a cell a knight’s move away). Only look within the lower-left grid when applying this rule.
– Killer (lower-right): There are some dotted cages; the number clues given with these cages indicate the sum of all digits in the cage. Digits cannot repeat within a given cage.

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row in the even/odd from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th row in the no touch from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 3rd row in the irregular from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th row in the anti-knight from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row in the killer from left to right. (Note: for the tight fit cells, enter the top before the bottom as would be normal for the read order.)

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 22:30, Master = 40:00, Expert = 1:20:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Tight Fit Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tight Fit Sudoku to get started on. More Tight Fit Sudoku can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in The Art of Sudoku 2.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku = big entries and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 136th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules with digits from 1-9. Also, there are some dotted cages; the number clues given with these cages indicate the sum of all digits in the cage. Digits cannot repeat within a given cage.

Answer String: Enter the 6th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th column from top to bottom. (Note: for the tight fit cells, enter the top before the bottom as would be normal for the read order.)

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:30, Master = 9:30, Expert = 19:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other Tight Fit Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tight Fit Sudoku to get started on. More Tight Fit Sudoku can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in The Art of Sudoku 2.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku = big entries and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 135th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules with digits from 1-9. Also, digits in circles must be odd and digits in squares must be even.

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 3rd row from left to right. (Note: for the tight fit cells, enter the top before the bottom as would be normal for the read order.)

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Tight Fit Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tight Fit Sudoku to get started on. More Tight Fit Sudoku can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in The Art of Sudoku 2.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku = big entries and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 134th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules with digits from 1-9, except that the bold regions are irregularly shaped.

Answer String: Enter the 6th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 1st column from top to bottom. (Note: for the tight fit cells, enter the top before the bottom as would be normal for the read order.)

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Tight Fit Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tight Fit Sudoku to get started on. More Tight Fit Sudoku can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in The Art of Sudoku 2.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku = big entries and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 133rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules with digits from 1-9. Also, digits cannot repeat in diagonally adjacent cells (both digits in any “tight fit” cell are considered when checking presence in a diagonally adjacent cell).

Answer String: Enter the 3rd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th row from left to right. (Note: for the tight fit cells, enter the top before the bottom as would be normal for the read order.)

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 4:30, Expert = 9:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Tight Fit Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tight Fit Sudoku to get started on. More Tight Fit Sudoku can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in The Art of Sudoku 2.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku = big entries and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 132nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules with digits from 1-9. Also, digits cannot repeat in any cells separated by a chess knight’s move (both digits in any “tight fit” cell are considered when checking for presence in a cell a knight’s move away).

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 3rd row from left to right. (Note: for the tight fit cells, enter the top before the bottom as would be normal for the read order.)

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Tight Fit Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tight Fit Sudoku to get started on. More Tight Fit Sudoku can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in The Art of Sudoku 2.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between a number entry mode and the linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: 1 to 9 (for patron Veep, who co-wrote this style for the 2016 MIT Mystery Hunt)

Author/Opus: This is the 130th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Fill each cell with a digit from 1 to 9 (1 to 6 in example) so that no digit repeats in any row or column, and also draw a single, non-intersecting loop through some of the cells in the grid. The loop cannot pass through gray cells. Numbers on the outside of the grid show the sum of digits of ALL horizontal/vertical loop segments in that row/column in order. (Note: as in column 5 of the example, only segments that pass horizontally/vertically in a row/column appear as clues; the 5 in that column is not part of a vertical segment and is not represented by a clue). Not all outside clues are given, and unclued rows/columns can have any possible distribution of loop segments/sums.

Answer String: Enter the digits in the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 9:15, Master = 14:00, Expert = 28:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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

PDF

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

Theme: Anti-XV (for patron Phleb)

Author/Opus: This is the 129th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules. Also, when the numbers in two cells sharing an edge add up to 5, a V is marked on that edge; when the numbers in two cells sharing an edge add up to 10, an X is marked on that edge. (For clarity, as no symbols appear in the grid below, there are never any edge-adjacent cells that sum to 5 or 10.)

Answer String: Enter the 6th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th 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 other variations of Sudoku and this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on.

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: Cloverleaf (for patron Randy Rogers)

Author/Opus: This is the 222nd 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 digit may be repeated within a single entry, regardless of if it is in a small or large cell.

Answer String: Enter the values in each cell in the 4th row from left to right and then in the 4th column from top to bottom, separating the two entries with a comma. Ignore black cells.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Kakuro puzzles.