Our subscribers receive access to bonus puzzles each week. We make these posts so those supporters have a space to comment on these puzzles, mark as FAVES, or log their solving. If you are interested in subscribing, click here for more info.

Theme: Scarecrows in the Fields

Author/Opus: This is the 20th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: Place a mine into some of the empty cells so that each number represents the total count of mines in neighboring cells, including diagonally adjacent cells. ? signs can stand for any number.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each group of consecutive cells with mines 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 = 2:00, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between ship placement and shading modes. In ship placement mode, right click gives sea, left click gives circle/square, left click and drag for rounded ships.)

Theme: One-sided Battle

Author/Opus: This is the 24th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Carl Worth.

Rules: Combination of Battleships and Star Battle. Follow standard Battleships rules. Also, exactly one ship segment is present in each bold region.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears (enter just the last digit for any two-digit number). If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:30, Master = 10:30, Expert = 21:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic Star Battles and this link for classic Battleships.

PDF

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: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 153rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

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 = 2:30, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa-Like Loop puzzles. More Tapa-Like Loop puzzles can be found in the Tapa-Like Loop Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 231st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules. Also, the sum of the digits in each cage must equal the value given in the upper-left corner of that cage. Digits cannot repeat inside a cage.

Answer String: Enter the 8th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th column from top to bottom.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 5:30, Expert = 11:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for more Killer Sudoku and this link for classic Sudoku. More Killer Sudoku puzzles can be found in Killer Sudoku by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between Battleships placement and line drawing modes.)

Theme: Clockwise Sequence

Author/Opus: This is the 155th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Battleships and Yajilin. Place the fleet of ships in the grid so that no ships touch each other, even diagonally. The grid contains internal clues (a number and an arrow) that show how many ship segments are in the indicated direction. All remaining white cells that do not contain a ship segment must be able to form a single loop, as in a Yajilin puzzle.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Yajilin and this link for classic Battleships puzzles.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between ship placement and shading modes. In ship placement mode, right click gives sea, left click gives circle/square, left click and drag for rounded ships.)

Theme: Today’s Puzzle (3/21/2017)

Author/Opus: This is the 264th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Use the indicated fleet.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears (enter just the last digit for any two-digit number). If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Battleships. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Battleships to get started on. More Battleships puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles collection.

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: 8 Symmetric Clues

Author/Opus: This is the 63rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Pentominous rules.

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

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:15, Expert = 4:30

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.

The recent week of Tapa Variations by Serkan Yürekli can be found in this PDF.

This upcoming week features puzzles from six different GMPuzzles puzzlemasters, with a mini-theme connecting three of the puzzles based on Battleships. The full schedule is:

Monday: Pentominous by Murat Can Tonta
Tuesday: Battleships by Thomas Snyder
Wednesday: Yajilin-Battleships by Serkan Yürekli
Thursday: Killer Sudoku by Grant Fikes
Friday: Tapa-Like Loop by Prasanna Seshadri
Saturday: Starship Battle by Carl Worth

Our supporters will also be receiving a bonus Minesweeper by John Bulten, access to puzzle solutions, and a video walkthrough of the Saturday puzzle. If you’d like to receive some of these special rewards, please click here for more info.

Note: We’re busy finalizing the US round for the Puzzle Grand Prix competition so we will probably be taking one or two weeks off before the next set of puzzles is posted.

Our subscribers receive access to bonus puzzles each week. We make these posts so those supporters have a space to comment on these puzzles, mark as FAVES, or log their solving. If you are interested in subscribing, click here for more info.

Theme: The most popular puzzle of TVC XIV

Author/Opus: This is the 154th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Additionally, the Tapa wall should be formed by the nine pentominoes given below the grid without overlapping. Pentominoes may be rotated and/or mirrored. (Each pentomino is used exactly once.)

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments 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 = 3:15, Master = 9:00, Expert = 18:00

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa variations and this link for classic Tapa. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tapa puzzles to get started on. More Tapa puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in Tapa and Variations, both by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the composite Yajilin mode where left click marks cells, right click marks dots in cells or X’s on edges, left click+drag draws lines.)

Theme: The most popular puzzle of TVC XI

Author/Opus: This is the 153rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Tapa. Each clue cell contains two sets of numbers. Black numbers are regular Tapa clues for immediately neighboring cells. Gray numbers supply clues for secondary neighbors that are separated by one cell from the clue cell. (It may help to refer to the figure below that shows the two rings of cells affected by black numbers and gray numbers.)

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments 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 = 5:00, Master = 8:30, Expert = 17:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa variations and this link for classic Tapa. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tapa puzzles to get started on. More Tapa puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in Tapa and Variations, both by Serkan Yürekli.