PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools. Use left click to place 1 or 2 mines, 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: Symmetry and Logic (Note: this puzzle originally appeared in this year’s 24H Puzzle Championship.)

Author/Opus: This is the 44th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Place either 0, 1, or 2 mines into each empty cell so that each number represents the total count of mines in all neighboring cells, including diagonally adjacent cells. See also this example:

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows, enter the number of mines (0, 1, 2) for each cell. Enter 0 if the cell is a number cell. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma. In this example, the answer is “022102,002000”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

Solution: PDF

Note: This is a bonus puzzle and is not tied to a normal weekly difficulty rating. Click here for other Double Minesweeper puzzles.

PDF

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

Theme: C Sharp

Author/Opus: This is the 43rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Shade some empty cells black to form a set of dominoes (1×2 rectangles) that divides the grid into white regions; the dominoes cannot overlap or share an edge. Each region must contain exactly one type of given letter, and must also contain all instances of that letter (i.e. there cannot be two regions that contain C). See also this example:

Answer String: Enter the length of the unshaded segments in order in the marked rows/columns. Separate the groups with a comma. For this example, the answer is “25,132”

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 5:30, Expert = 11:00

Solution: PDF

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools. Use left click to place 1 or 2 mines, 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: Symmetry and Logic (Note: this puzzle originally appeared in this year’s Japan dakejanai Zukei dakejanai Puzzle Championship.)

Author/Opus: This is the 42nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Place either 0, 1, or 2 mines into each empty cell so that each number represents the total count of mines in all neighboring cells, including diagonally adjacent cells. See also this example:

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows, enter the number of mines (0, 1, 2) for each cell. Enter 0 if the cell is a number cell. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma. In this example, the answer is “022102,002000”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30

Solution: PDF

Note: This is a bonus puzzle and is not tied to a normal weekly difficulty rating. Click here for other Double Minesweeper puzzles.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Symmetrical Clues (allowing for rotations and reflections)

Author/Opus: This is the 102nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules. Also, there are some sheep (marked by a reflected 2 in blue) that must be inside the loop and some wolves (marked by a rotated 3 in red) that must be outside the loop.

(Note: the reflected/rotated digits in blue and red do not actually serve as loop clues meaning 2 and 3, just as sheep and wolves. We chose this presentation because the theme works better with the wackiness of some 2’s and 3’s even if it needs this extra note.)

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments following the arrows for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools. Use left click to place 1 or 2 mines, 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: Symmetry and Logic (Note: this puzzle originally appeared in this year’s Japan dakejanai Zukei dakejanai Puzzle Championship.)

Author/Opus: This is the 41st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Place either 0, 1, or 2 mines into each empty cell so that each number represents the total count of mines in all neighboring cells, including diagonally adjacent cells. See also this example:

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows, enter the number of mines (0, 1, 2) for each cell. Enter 0 if the cell is a number cell. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma. In this example, the answer is “022102,002000”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:20, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

Solution: PDF

Note: This is a bonus puzzle and is probably harder than a usual Monday/Tuesday puzzle, particularly if you have not solved many Double Minesweeper puzzles.

PDF

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

Theme: Equal Distribution and Symmetry of Clue Numbers

Author/Opus: This is the 6th puzzle from guest contributor Roland Voigt.

Rules: Standard Skyscrapers rules. Also, some cells have been split into triangles, each of which must be filled with a number. In this puzzle, the numbers 1-6 must be placed in each row and column.

(The split cells are viewed in the order they are seen from a given direction, so the upper triangles are seen first from the left/top sides and the bottom triangles are seen first from the right/bottom sides.)

Answer String: Enter the 4th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th row from left to right. Enter the split cells in the order they are seen from the left (the upper triangle before the lower triangle).

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

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Equal Distribution and Pairing of Clue Numbers

Author/Opus: This is the 4th puzzle from guest contributor Roland Voigt.

Rules: Standard Skyscrapers rules. Also, some cells have been split into triangles, each of which must be filled with a number. In this puzzle, the numbers 1-6 must be placed in each row and column.

(The split cells are viewed in the order they are seen from a given direction, so the upper triangles are seen first from the left/top sides and the bottom triangles are seen first from the right/bottom sides.)

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th row from left to right. Enter the split cells in the order they are seen from the left (the upper triangle before the lower triangle).

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 2:40, Expert = 5:20

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Equal Distribution and Symmetry of Clue Numbers

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Roland Voigt.

Rules: Standard Skyscrapers rules. Also, some cells have been split into triangles, each of which must be filled with a number. In this puzzle, the numbers 1-5 must be placed in each row and column.

(The split cells are viewed in the order they are seen from a given direction, so the upper triangles are seen first from the left/top sides and the bottom triangles are seen first from the right/bottom sides.)

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 3rd row from left to right. Enter the split cells in the order they are seen from the left (the upper triangle before the lower triangle).

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:40, Master = 1:15, Expert = 2:30

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in a composite mode for line/edge drawing)

Theme: Words

Author/Opus: This is the 36th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Divide the white cells into tetrominoes so that no two regions sharing an edge are the same tetromino (L, I, O, S, or T considering rotation and reflection). Regions may contain at most 1 cell with given letters; regions with such a cell CANNOT have the same tetromino shape as any of the letters in that cell. Also, see this example:

Answer String: Enter the letter of the tetromino region for each cell in the two marked rows from left to right, separating the rows with a comma. Use CAPITAL LETTERS for L, I, O, S, and T.

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

Solution: PDF

PDF

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

Theme: Desperately Seeking Seven (Note: the shading of the “7” shaped region is just for artistic purposes.)

Author/Opus: This is the 173rd puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (no repeats in any rows, columns, or bold regions). The digit range is 1-7.

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

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.