Tapa-Like Loop by Thomas Snyder
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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: Quadrants
Author/Opus: This is the 395th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Form 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.
See also this example:
Difficulty: 4 stars
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:45, Master = 11:30, Expert = 23:00
Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.
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.
3rd time I restart to give it another go… loving it, but its kicking my ass, is this considered masochism?
Dang that was hard, probably closer to 4.5 stars IMO.
Zl fbyir jnfa’g gur fzbbgurfg; V arrqrq n ybg bs ivfhnyvmngvba gb frr ubj gur ybbc orunirq va gur zvqqyr yrsg (r.t. vs gur ybbc gnxrf E8P7 gura fbzr ybbxnurnq lvryqf n pbagenqvpgvba jvgu gur 24 pyhr va E6P3). V cebonoyl zvffrq fbzr vagraqrq qrqhpgvbaf, gubhtu; va cnegvphyne, V qvqa’g ernyvmr orsber guvf chmmyr gung gur ybbc zhfg cnff guebhtu nyy sbhe pbeare pryyf bs n 1222 pyhr. Gung zvtug unir znqr fbzr bs gur ortvaavat rnfvre. Abg fher.
That was fantastic (and very hard, took me a little over half an hour). I spent a good while deducing some minor sections of the loop that didn’t help much before finding what I assume is the intended break-in. Afterwards, things mostly fell into place and I only needed another 10 minutes or so.
This was a tough puzzle. I was stuck in this puzzle and have to watch the solution video to continue. Thanks for the brilliant puzzle and solution video.