Tapa-Like Loop by Serkan Yürekli
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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s on edges)
Theme: Triple Threat
Author/Opus: This is the 28th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.
Rules: In this variation of Tapa, the wall is in the form of a single non-intersecting loop. Clues inside the grid represent the number of neighboring cells visited by the loop; if there is more than one number in a cell, each number should be represented with a separate loop segment. There is no 2×2 rule of Tapa in this puzzle. This example image should help:
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma. For the example, this would be “11,12”.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:15, Master = 10:00, Expert = 20:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other Tapa-Like Loop puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tapa puzzles to get started on.
This puzzle yielded nicely to patient observation and deduction; accordingly, I did not require look-ahead at any point to the extent that Prasanna’s Tapa-Like Loop puzzle on Thursday did.
Because of this, in part, I wound up correcting more mistakes while trying to enter the correct solution (three, I think it was, by the time I entered it right) than I had to correct when I was actually solving the puzzle!
After solving the puzzles this week, I am torn between whether I like this style of tapa loops or the original style (with the 2×2 rules) better. Without the 2×2 rule, the loop has a greater freedom in how it can travel and turn, but the 2×2 rule do give rise to some logical deductions that isn’t in this version.
Nice Puzzle with logical proceedings. 20.02 mins to solve this one.