Sunday Special: Rossini Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

This Rossini Sudoku was originally written by Ashish Kumar for the 16th World Sudoku Championship, but it proved a bit too difficult for what we needed in the championship. So we kept it to be a Sunday Special on GMPuzzles, where we expect this puzzle works perfectly for solvers looking for a challenge.

Rossini Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

PDF

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

Theme: Ribbon

Author/Opus: This is the 119th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules. Also, arrows outside the grid indicate if the first three numbers are in ascending or descending order. The arrow points towards the highest number in the series. If no arrows outside the grid are given, the first three numbers can be in neither ascending nor descending order.

See also this example:

Rossini Sudoku Example by Ashish Kumar

Difficulty: 4.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:30, Master = 17:45, Expert = 35:30

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for other variations of Sudoku and this link for classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Season 2 Preview Week Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access and check subscriber instructions for role-related access.

WSC Playoff Puzzle 2/10: Consecutive Pairs Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

The second World Sudoku Championship playoff puzzle was this fun Consecutive Pairs Sudoku by Ashish Kumar with two large boxes to work around.

Consecutive Pairs Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

PDF

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

Theme: Boxes

Author/Opus: This is the 116th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Consecutive Pairs Sudoku rules. (If a gray circle is given between two adjacent cells, then the two numbers in those cells must be consecutive. Note not all gray circles are given; adjacent cells without a circle may contain either consecutive numbers or nonconsecutive numbers.)

Estimated Difficulty: 2.5-3 stars

Solution: PDF for all playoff puzzles.

Note: Follow this link for Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Consecutive Pairs Sudoku to get started on. More Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.

Aqre by Ashish Kumar

Update: 2023/07/09 – This fun and interesting puzzle by Ashish Kumar was the favorite “warm-up” track puzzle in our first subscription week on the site and we’re releasing it for everyone to get a tease for the new subscriptions. We also put out a YouTube video focusing on the special puzzle style of Aqre originally designed by Eric Fox.

No, this is not secretly a Sudoku! But Ashish Kumar has somehow managed to make a mostly easy and fully logical Aqre puzzle with this impressive grid shape.

Aqre by Ashish Kumar

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: 3×3 Boxes

Author/Opus: This is the 104th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Aqre rules: Shade some cells so that all shaded cells form one connected group. Regions with numbers must contain the indicated count of shaded cells, and it is allowed to shade over the numbered cells. There may not exist a run of four or more consecutive shaded or unshaded cells horizontally or vertically anywhere in the grid.

Aqre Example by Serkan Yürekli

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:50, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30

Solution: PDF and solving animation. It is also featured in this “Better Know a Puzzle: Aqre” video.

Note: Follow this link for more Aqre puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Aqre to get started on. More Aqre puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.

Round Trip by Ashish Kumar

Round Trip by Ashish Kumar

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; in default linex mode: left-click+drag draws line, right click marks X on edge)

Theme: Odd vs. Even

Author/Opus: This is the 103rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Draw a single loop in the grid which may cross itself orthogonally, but otherwise does not touch or retrace itself. The clue numbers to the left/right of the rows indicate the number of squares visited by the nearest section of the loop that travels horizontally in the rows. The clue numbers to the top/bottom of the columns indicate the number of squares visited by the nearest section of the loop that travels vertically in the columns.

Also, see this example:

Round Trip by Serkan Yürekli

Difficulty: 2 stars

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

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Round Trip puzzles. Some more Round Trip puzzles can be found in the book Loop Variety Collection by Ashish Kumar and Murat Can Tonta.

Line of Sight by Ashish Kumar

This puzzle style was created by Naoki Inaba, and will be in our upcoming Loop Variety Collection 2.

Line of Sight by Ashish Kumar

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in default edgex mode where left-click+drag draws line and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Pairs

Author/Opus: This is the 102nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Draw a single, non-intersecting loop that only consists of horizontal and vertical segments between the dots. The clues in the grid indicate the length of the straight line segment first seen in the direction of the arrow.

Also see this example:

Line of Sight Example by Serkan Yürekli

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 5:30, Expert = 11:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Loop/Path puzzles. More Line of Sight puzzles are in the book Loop Variety Collection 2.

Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

PDF

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

Theme: Against Each Other

Author/Opus: This is the 101st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 4.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:00, Master = 13:30, Expert = 27:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Sudoku. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Sudoku to get started on. More classic Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku, The Art of Sudoku 2 and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Cross the Streams by Ashish Kumar

Cross The Streams by Ashish Kumar

PDF

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

Theme: 2’s

Author/Opus: This is the 100th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Cross the Streams rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:40, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Cross the Streams. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Cross the Streams to get started on. More Cross the Streams can be found in these e-books in our store.

Outside Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

Outside Sudoku by Ashish Kumar

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku entry modes and a shading mode to mark off clues.)

Author/Opus: This is the 99th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Outside Sudoku rules: Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region. Some numbers are given outside the grid. These numbers must appear in the first three cells in the corresponding direction.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:00, Master = 10:45, Expert = 21:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for more Outside Sudoku puzzles. More Outside Sudoku puzzles can be found in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 4.

Slitherlink by Ashish Kumar

Slitherlink by Ashish Kumar

PDF

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: 2×2

Author/Opus: This is the 98th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:30, Master = 0:45, Expert = 1:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Slitherlink and this link for Slitherlink variations. 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.

Smashed Sums by Ashish Kumar

Smashed Sums by Ashish Kumar

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between number entry and shading modes.)

Theme: Even Vs Odd

Author/Opus: This is the 97th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Fill each row and column of the grid with the digits 1 to 4 and two blackened cells. Numbers outside the grid indicate the sum of the digits between the two blackened cells in that row or column. Blackened cells are allowed to touch. Or see here.

Difficulty: 2 stars

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

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other less common Number Placement puzzles.