PDF

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

Theme: 4 S’s

Author/Opus: This is the 43rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in the book Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn, 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: One Corner Off

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Anurag Sahay.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.

Difficulty: 3 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 other classic Star Battles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in the book Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn, 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 Sudoku = big digits and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)

Theme: Columns

Author/Opus: This is the 8th puzzle from guest contributor Zoltán Horváth.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules. Remember, the smaller number goes above the larger number in all slashed cells. The range of this puzzle is 1-9.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

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, in The Art of Sudoku 2, and in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 5: Tight Fit Sudoku.

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

Theme: 5-Star

Author/Opus: This is the 282nd puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:45, Expert = 7:30

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)

Theme: FALL-ing Stars

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:30, Master = 5:45, Expert = 11:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in the book Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn, 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: Waves

Author/Opus: This is the 5th puzzle from guest contributor Rajesh Kumar.

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 = 3:15, Master = 5:45, Expert = 11:30

Solution: PDF

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.

Tomorrow marks the official restart of daily puzzle content here. The first week will feature a variety mix of puzzles across six genres, and later weeks in June will focus on Sudoku, Star Battle, and Pentominous puzzles. We have some other updates we’ll be rolling out alongside launch, including an update to our e-store, and more detail will be coming on that over the next day. For now, enjoy one last teaser puzzle with a countdown theme.

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

Theme: Countdown to 1

Author/Opus: This is the 358th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Consecutive Pairs Sudoku rules although this puzzle is formatted with bars and not dots for a different visual effect. (If a gray bar is given between two adjacent cells, then the two numbers in those cells must be consecutive. Note not all gray bars are given; adjacent cells without a bar may contain either consecutive numbers or nonconsecutive numbers.)

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

Note: Follow this link for Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Consecutive Pairs Sudoku to get started on. More Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2 and in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 6: Consecutive Pairs Sudoku.

It has certainly been a challenging start to 2020, but we’re excited to announce that we will be back with daily content starting in June. More info soon; for now, enjoy this Countdown Star Battle.

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

Theme: 22 Stars for 22 Days

Author/Opus: This is the 356th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in the book Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn, 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 Sudoku = big digits and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)

Theme: In Memory of Florian Kirch (FK)

Author/Opus: This is the 278th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules. Also, digits within a gray square must be even and digits within a gray circle must be odd. The range of this puzzle is 1-9.

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th 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 = 2:45, Master = 5:45, Expert = 11:30

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, in The Art of Sudoku 2, and in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 5: Tight Fit Sudoku.

PDF

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

Theme: World Sudoku Championship (WSC)

Author/Opus: This is the 355th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Consecutive Pairs Sudoku rules. (If a gray circle is given between two adjacent cells, then the two numbers in those cells must be consecutive. Note not all gray circles are given; adjacent cells without a circle may contain either consecutive numbers or nonconsecutive numbers.)

Answer String: Enter the 5th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 8th row from left to right.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Consecutive Pairs Sudoku to get started on. More Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2 and in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 6: Consecutive Pairs Sudoku.