Cave (Hex) by Joseph Howard

Cave by Joseph Howard

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

Theme: All Threes

Author/Opus: This is the 27th puzzle from guest contributor Joseph Howard.

Rules: Standard Cave rules. (The puzzle is on a hexagonal grid and cells now see in a maximum of six possible directions.)

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:15, Expert = 6:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic Caves and this link for Cave variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Cave Puzzles to get started on. More Cave puzzles can be found in Roger Barkan’s Colossal Cave Collection, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Even/Odd Sudoku by Wei-Hwa Huang

Even/Odd Sudoku by Wei-Hwa Huang

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

Theme: Cosmos Redshift 7

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Wei-Hwa Huang.

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

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 5:15, Expert = 10:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also 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 and Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 1.

Sudoku by R. Kumaresan

Sudoku by R. Kumaresan

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

Theme: Rectangles

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor R. Kumaresan.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:45, Expert = 7:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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.

Slitherlink (Skyscrapers) by Priyam Bhushan

Slitherlink (Skyscrapers) by Priyam Bhushan

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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: Inside Job

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

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules. Also, numbers outside the grid show the number of separate loop segments visible in that direction. A segment of length N in a given direction is taken as a building of height N. Buildings of height N block the view of all buildings behind them of equal or lesser height.

See also this example:

Slitherlink (Skyscrapers) example by Serkan Yürekli

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 5:15, Expert = 10:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic Slitherlink and this link for Slitherlink variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Slitherlink puzzles to get started on. More Slitherlink puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, Slitherlink and Variations, and our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101.

Slitherlink by Zoltán Horváth

Slitherlink by Zoltán Horváth

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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: Waves

Author/Opus: This is the 13th puzzle from guest contributor Zoltán Horváth.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 2:45, Expert = 5:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic Slitherlink and this link for Slitherlink variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Slitherlink puzzles to get started on. More Slitherlink puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, Slitherlink and Variations, and our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101.

Easy as LITS by Takeya Saikachi

Easy as LITS by Takeya Saikachi

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Theme: Sssssssss

Author/Opus: This is the 7th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Standard LITS rules. Also, the letters outside the grid indicate the first tetromino encountered in the corresponding direction. Or see this:

LITS by Chris Green

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for more variations of LITS and this link for classic LITS. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest LITS to get started on. More LITS puzzles can be found in LOTS O’ LITS by Grant Fikes and Prasanna Seshadri, in The Art of Puzzles 2, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

LITS by Nate Perkins

LITS by Nate Perkins

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

Theme: I’m Going Down

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Nate Perkins.

Rules: Standard LITS rules.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

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

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for more variations of LITS and this link for classic LITS. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest LITS to get started on. More LITS puzzles can be found in LOTS O’ LITS by Grant Fikes and Prasanna Seshadri, in The Art of Puzzles 2, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

SLICY by Thomas Snyder

SLICY by Thomas Snyder

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

Theme: Mini Hexes

Author/Opus: This is the 384th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Variation of LITS. Shade exactly four cells in each outlined region to form an S, L, I, C, or Y tetrahex. When all regions have been shaded, the following conditions must be true:
1) All shaded cells will be connected through a network of adjacent shaded cells;
2) No three shaded cells will share a common vertex;
3) When two tetrahexes share an edge in adjacent regions, they must not be the same type (S, L, I, C, or Y), regardless of potential rotations or reflections.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:00, Master = 8:00, Expert = 16:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for more variations of LITS and this link for classic LITS. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest LITS to get started on. More LITS puzzles can be found in LOTS O’ LITS by Grant Fikes and Prasanna Seshadri, in The Art of Puzzles 2, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Dutch Loop (Hex, Tricolor) by Bryce Herdt

Kakuro (Hex) by Serkan Yürekli

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

Theme: Diamond

Author/Opus: This is the 19th puzzle from guest contributor Bryce Herdt.

Rules: Draw a single, non-intersecting loop that passes through all cells. The loop must form a 60 degree angle in all the cells with black circles, a 120 degree angle in all the cells with gray circles, and a 180 degree angle (straight segment) in all the cells with white circles.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 7:30, Expert = 15:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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

TomTom by Ashish Kumar

TomTom by Ashish Kumar

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

Theme: One 6-13 Series

Author/Opus: This is the 71st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-6.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:30, Master = 3:45, Expert = 7:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic TomTom and this link for TomTom variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest TomTom to get started on. More TomTom puzzles can be found in the TomTom collection, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.