or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
This is a “Twisted Tuesday” puzzle variation.
Theme: Big City
Rules: Standard Sudoku rules. Also, standard Skyscrapers rules.
Answer String: Enter the 8th column from top to bottom, followed by a comma, followed by the 9th column from top to bottom.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:00, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00
Solution: PDF
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Powers of Two
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 = 1:15, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30
Solution: PDF
Today’s surprise comes from Hans van Stippent, who sent several creative submissions in for The Art of Puzzles. For this book I’m mostly avoiding “variations”, but I found this puzzle to be a surprising twist perfect for this spot.
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 number entry mode.)
Theme: Diagonals
Rules: Variation of standard Fillomino rules. Some clues are not fully specified, and must simply follow the inequality value given in the cell.
Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the area of the polyomino it belongs to. Start with the 2nd row, followed by a comma, followed by the 8th row.
Solution: PDF
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.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Mostly themeless, except for the logical solving path
Rules: Standard Cross the Streams rules.
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments from top to bottom for the marked columns, going in order from A to B to C to D and separating each entry with a comma.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:00, Master = 10:00, Expert = 20:00
Solution: 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 number entry mode.)
This is a “Franken-Friday” puzzle variation.
Theme: Mostly themeless, besides the variation itself
Rules: Variation of standard Fillomino rules. All polyominoes must be rectangles.
Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the area of the polyomino it belongs to. Start with the 6th column, followed by a comma, followed by the 9th column.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00
Solution: PDF
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.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Star Battle of LITS (the shading is for decorative purposes only, but matches that on the author’s board game logo)
Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.
Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a star appears. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 4:45, Expert = 9:30
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles and this link for Star Battle variations. 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.
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: Threes Frame (and recommended soundtrack for the puzzle)
Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.
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 = 1:00, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30
Solution: PDF
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
This is a “Twisted Tuesday” puzzle variation.
Theme: TomTomTom: The Next Dimension?
Rules: Variation of TomTom rules, using digits from 1-8. In this variation, similar to Isodoku, the rows bend along the surface of an apparent cube.
Answer String: Enter the marked “column” A, starting at the arrow, followed by a comma, followed by the marked “column” B.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00
Solution: 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: Diagonals
Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules. Range is 1-8.
Answer String: Enter the 1st column from top to bottom, 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 = 0:50, Master = 1:15, Expert = 2:30
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.
Today’s surprise comes from Tyler Hinman, five-time winner of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament and author of Winner’s Circle Crosswords. I’ve had the pleasure of co-solving with Tyler — whom I call “Kid Crossword” when in “Dr. Sudoku” mode — on many puzzle hunts in recent years and we’ve had a number of good conversations on puzzle design. Total Masyu, which appeared again this Tuesday, for example was an idea that came up in one such chat from Tyler that I constructed for my blog.
As I heard from Tyler a few months ago: “Here’s a weird idea I had the other night while unable to sleep. … It’s inspired by the Spy piece in Stratego, which wins a battle if it attacks the highest-ranked piece (the Marshal), but loses under all other circumstances.” The concept was for Spy Futoshiki, the subject of today’s surprise, where the lowest value (1) is considered greater than the highest value (5), but all other inequalities obey normal ordering. It’s a clever idea and Tyler’s provided a very nice puzzle to demonstrate the change.
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Theme: Spies among us
Rules: Insert a number from 1-5 into each square so that each number appears once in every row and column. Inequality signs between the boxes indicate the larger/smaller numbers, with the single exception that the number 1, the “Spy”, is considered larger than the number 5 if in adjacent cells.
Answer String: Enter the 1st column from top to bottom, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th column from top to bottom.
Solution: PDF