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Theme: 1, 2, 3

Author/Opus: This is the 74th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Nurikabe. Shade some empty cells black so that the grid is divided into white areas, each containing at most one number. A white area with a number must have the same area in cells as that number. White areas may only touch diagonally. All shaded cells must be connected with each other, but no 2×2 group of cells can be entirely shaded. Also, all shaded cells must be divisible into snakes with the heads and tails given in the grid. Snakes cannot cross each other.

Also, see this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma. This example has the key “7,32,31”.

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

Solution: PDF

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

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Theme: Hawaii
Note on theme: The 1 represents Hawaii; the other 49 island cells represent the continental US

Author/Opus: This is the 13th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: Standard Nurikabe rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments (the unnumbered, connected “ocean”) 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 = 3:00, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Nurikabe. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nurikabes to get started on.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a letter entry mode.)

Theme: I Don’t Know Y

Author/Opus: This is the 171st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Divide the grid into 20 pentominoes so that no two pentominoes of the same shape (including rotations/reflections) share an edge. A cell with a letter in it must be part of the pentomino shape normally associated with that letter. An inventory of possible pentominoes is given below the puzzle.

Answer String: Enter the letter associated with the pentomino occupying each cell in the marked rows from left to right, separating the groups with a comma. Use CAPITAL LETTERS!

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:45, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

Solution: PDF

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.

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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: Devil’s Pinch

Author/Opus: This is the 11th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: Standard Cave rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the cave segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 4:30, Expert = 9:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Caves. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Cave Puzzles to get started on.

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Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 81st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Skyscrapers rules.

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:15, Master = 7:45, Expert = 15:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Skyscrapers. 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 using a composite mode where left click inside cell shades square, left click + drag draws line segment, right click inside cell adds dot, and right click on cell edge adds an x.)

Theme: Minimalism

Author/Opus: This is the 19th puzzle from guest contributor Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Locate a snake (a 1 cell-wide path) in the grid whose head and tail are given. The snake can touch itself diagonally, but cannot touch itself orthogonally or revisit any square. Besides the snake, the remaining cells must form exactly nine white areas, one of each size from 1 to 9. Numbers in the grid must be part of white areas of the indicated size.
(Also see here: https://yureklis.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/snake-egg/)

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the snake segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 4:15, Expert = 8:30

CQS

Gurzr: Fcbvyre-serr

Nhgube/Bchf: Guvf vf gur 166gu chmmyr sebz bhe pbagevohgvat chmmyrznfgre Tenag Svxrf.

Ehyrf: Fgnaqneq YVGF ehyrf (jneavat: yvax znl pbagnva fcbvyref!).

Nafjre Fgevat: Ragre gur yratgu va pryyf bs rnpu bs gur funqrq frtzragf sebz yrsg gb evtug sbe gur znexrq ebjf, fgnegvat ng gur gbc. Frcnengr rnpu ebj’f ragel sebz gur arkg jvgu n pbzzn.

Gvzr Fgnaqneqf (uvtuyvtug gb ivrj): Tenaqznfgre = 4:00, Znfgre = 5:15, Rkcreg = 10:30

Fbyhgvba: CQS

Abgr: Sbyybj guvf yvax sbe bgure pynffvp YVGF. Vs lbh ner arj gb guvf chmmyr glcr, urer ner bhe rnfvrfg YVGF gb trg fgnegrq ba.

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Theme: Hungry Hearts

Author/Opus: This is the 7th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules. For artistic reasons, clues have been replaced with letters using the standard code A=1, B=2, etc. Also, all polyominoes should have rotational symmetry as in this example:

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the area of the polyomino it belongs to. Use both digits for any two-digit number. Start with the 6th row, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th column.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:00, Master = 8:00, Expert = 16:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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

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

Theme: Cirrus Clouds

Author/Opus: This is the 6th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

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:

Also, all cells other than Minesweeper clues are Slitherlink clues. After solving the Minesweeper, convert these cells’ contents to numbers (use corresponding cells in additional grid), then draw a single, non-intersecting loop in the additional grid that only consists of horizontal and vertical segments between the dots, where the number inside each of these cells indicates how many of the four edges of that cell are part of the loop.

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

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:00, Master = 9:30, Expert = 19:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Click here for other Double Minesweeper puzzles and here for other Slitherlink puzzles.

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Theme: Pocket Puzzle

Author/Opus: This is the 5th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: Variation of standard Nanro rules. Besides the cells numbered 4, identical numbers in differing regions cannot touch along common borders. All “4” clues have been replaced by tetromino letters, and must be connected to form a valid LITS solution (that is, identical shapes cannot touch along common borders). In other words: the final solution, including all numbered cells and tetrominoes, is a valid Nanro solution, and just the regions with tetrominoes form a valid LITS solution.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the segments labeled with characters from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. (Characters include both numbers and letters.) Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Click here for other Nanro puzzles and LITS puzzles.