We’ve had some different personal matters affecting our two main editors over the last quarter, which has slowed us down some. Our next web week will officially go up 10/7-10/14, one week later than expected. We expect to have each of the next Sudoku, Castle Wall, and Battleships weeks posted on 10/7, 10/14, 10/21. Thanks for your patience.
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: Black Hole
Author/Opus: This is the 227th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.
Rules: Standard Balance Loop rules.
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 = 4:15, Expert = 8:30
Note: Follow this link for other Balance Loop puzzles and this link for other less common Loop variations. More Balance Loops can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Brackets
Author/Opus: This is the 4th puzzle from guest contributor William Hu.
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 = 3:15, Master = 7:00, Expert = 14:00
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 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; note that the dotted circles are just for answer entry and are where the number should be placed in the 2×2 cell. An alternate option with centralized digit entry is here.)
Theme: 4×4
Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor İlay Zehra Şenay.
Rules: Variation of Kakuro. The gray (2×2) cells are to be filled by a single digit which sits in multiple rows and columns. No digits can repeat within an entry, regardless of if it is in a small or large cell.
Answer String: Enter the values in each white/gray cell in the marked row from left to right and then the marked column from top to bottom, separating the groups with a comma.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other Kakuro puzzles. More Kakuro puzzles can be found in Kakuro and Variations by Serkan Yürekli. Kakuro will also eventually be featured in The Art of Puzzles 2.
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 shading mode.)
Theme: Logical
Author/Opus: This is the 112th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.
Rules: Standard Spiral Galaxies rules.
Answer String: Enter the number of cells in each connected group (between bold lines) in the marked rows. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 5:30, Expert = 11:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for classic Spiral Galaxies puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Spiral Galaxies puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Spiral Galaxies Puzzles to get started on. More Spiral Galaxies puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles 2.
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: Clue Symmetry and Logic
Author/Opus: This is the 172nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.
Rules: Standard Tapa rules.
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 = 1:30, Master = 2:45, Expert = 5:30
Solution: PDF
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, in Tapa and Variations, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles, all by Serkan Yürekli.
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use the tab key to alternate between shading and number entry modes)
Theme: Concentric Squares
Author/Opus: This is the 282nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.
Rules: Standard Nanro rules.
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the segments labeled with numbers 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 = 2:00, Expert = 4:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for Nanro puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nanro Puzzles to get started on. More Nanro puzzles can be found in A Number o’ Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri.
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: Parquet
Author/Opus: This is the 318th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
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 = 0:40, Master = 1:00, Expert = 2:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other classic Slitherlink. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Slitherlink puzzles to get started on. More Slitherlink puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, Slitherlink and Variations, and our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101.
Our master+ subscribers receive access to two bonus puzzles each week in addition to other rewards. 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 and seeing these bonus puzzles, click here for more info.
Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic
Author/Opus: This is the 281st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.
Rules: Standard Kurotto rules.
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 with a comma.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30
Note: Follow this link for other Kurotto puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Kurotto to get started on.
Our most recent week of Fillomino puzzles and variants can be found in this PDF.
We’re breaking our normal sequencing by having a variety mix this week (and in two weeks we should have the expected Sudoku week). We have six (+ two bonus for subscribers) puzzles across our other genres for you to enjoy.
This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles as well as images of the puzzle solutions. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus Kurotto by Grant Fikes and a bonus Balance Loop by Serkan Yürekli. Our grandmaster subscribers also received a giant Samurai Sudoku by Ashish Kumar. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.