Today we continue our Best of 2022 posts with the “Object Placement” category. Throughout 2022 we had 44 posts in this area and several outstanding puzzles. The five “best of” puzzles are gathered together in this PDF file.

The first puzzle recognized in this category comes from our newest “contributing puzzlemaster”, Takeya Saikachi of Japan. This Battleships puzzle has minimal information in the outside clues but clever thinking will still let you place the full fleet.

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.)

The second puzzle also comes from Takeya Saikachi, this time with a playful “Squares” theme in a Battleships puzzle with a pentomino fleet.

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

Guest contributor Sam Cappleman-Lynes sent along two “best of” puzzles in the object placement category, starting with this Statue Park puzzle with a clean and interesting “Boxes” theme.

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

Sam also got recognition for this Star Battle puzzle that visually looks like a fighter from an iconic Sci-Fi series but embeds some creative logic in the solution as well.

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; in composite Star Battle mode a left click places a star, right click in a cell marks off the cell, and a right click on an edge or corner marks in a dot as a placement note.)

Our best puzzles often take a standard genre and present them in an unusual way, which is the case for the top Object Placement puzzle of 2022. This Statue Park (Half and Half) by Murat Can Tonta asks “Where Are the Circles?” and generated a lot of positive reviews for its avant-garde style.

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

[This is a repost from our archives with new notes at the top (original post here): Taking the thermometer shapes to an extreme, “clueless” puzzles like this one are often some of the most interesting Thermo-Sudoku puzzles and require carefully considering the interplay of shapes and digit ranges. Our first week of Thermo-Sudoku puzzles ended with this “Boxed In” challenge with 5 main thermo shapes and no given numbers.]

PDF

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

Theme: Boxed In

Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules.

Estimated Difficulty*: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:00, Master = 9:00, Expert = 18:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

Our second site category for the Best of 2022 posts is “Number Placement”, where we had 50 posts during the year. All of the puzzles are gathered together in this PDF file.

We kick off the “best of 2022” number placement with a Kakuro (Hex) puzzle by Murat Can Tonta that had a marvelous solving path with very minimal clues used throughout.

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

Less familiar genres often get recognition during the best of series, particularly when they have a memorable solving path with several Aha moments. Grant Fikes’ Skyscrapers (Haido) with an Evens theme was such a puzzle and received a lot of favorite votes.

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

Our last puzzle of 2022, a Kakuro (Gapped) puzzle by Prasanna Seshadri, also ended up being a best of 2022 puzzle. The grid is fairly open yet follows a nicely hidden logical path throughout.

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

2nd best in the Number Placement category for 2022 was an elegant Skyscrapers (Cipher) by Serkan Yürekli which combined an interesting visual theme with an interesting solving path.

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; note that solution checking requires the eleven ciphered clues and the twenty-five interior cells to all be marked)

The top Number Placement puzzle of 2022 was a “milestone” puzzle, the 400th post by Thomas Snyder. This TomTom (Mystery) with just one clue also came with a YouTube video describing the puzzle-making process behind the grid.

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

[This is a repost from our archives with new notes at the top (original post here): In this Star Battle, the second posted on the site, a common cage shape theme is used multiple times to lead to a logical solving path.]

PDF

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

Theme: Crossed Crosses

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.

Estimated Difficulty*: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

Solution: PDF

Note 2: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles and this link for Star Battle variations. 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, in the books Star Battle and Star Battle 2, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

We’re starting off our six part series of Best of 2022 posts with Sudoku, a puzzle category with 59 entries throughout the year as well as a place in many of our e-book releases including the Masterpiece Sudoku Mix series and the Grandmaster Puzzles Quarterly series.

As in years past, we selected the top Sudoku by reviewing FAVE votes, web comments, and tested comments. All of these puzzles are gathered in this PDF file.

Our first “best of” puzzle goes to a challenging Classic Sudoku by Ashish Kumar that had some unusual steps to get to the finish.

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

Another top sudoku was the t-shirt puzzle by Thomas Snyder for the United States team at the recent World Sudoku and Puzzle Championships, with a very clean theme not needing any given digits.

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

Guest constructor Jonas Gleim made a fantastic combination of Arrow and Thermo-Sudoku puzzles with this “Compass” Sunday Stumper from May that received a lot of favorite votes.

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

A Thermo-Sudoku from Kishore Kumar Sridharan took the second overall Sudoku spot, with a “weighty” theme from the given dumbbell.

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

Surprisingly, the top puzzle for the year was a new variation, Multiples Sudoku, and the “example” puzzle that Thomas Snyder wrote for the Sudoku Grand Prix round from the United States. We haven’t featured those puzzles here yet, but the fresh logic surrounding the two-digit placements got the attention of many solvers, earning the most votes to be our best of 2022 Sudoku.

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

[This is a repost from our archives with new notes at the top (original post here): Symmetrically marked cells are one of the easier themes to achieve with Thermo-Sudoku, and in this puzzle the double zeroes highlight a few different kinds of logic to get to the unique solution.]

PDF

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

Theme: Double Zeroes

Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules.

Estimated Difficulty*: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for more Thermo-Sudoku puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Thermo-Sudoku to get started on. More Thermo-Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2 and in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 2.

[This is a repost from our archives with new notes at the top (original post here): Star Battle, which was originally designed by Hans Eendebak for the 2003 World Puzzle Championship, is one of our favorite object placement styles. The region constraints and no touching constraints lead to a lot of different logic. While there are computer-generated versions of this style in major newspapers now, the hand-crafted themes and logical flows of this puzzle are what we look for with any Grandmaster Star Battle.]

PDF

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

Theme: Downward Spiral

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. One star per row, column, and region.

Estimated Difficulty*: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:45, Master = 1:15, Expert = 2:30

Solution: PDF

Note 2: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles and this link for Star Battle variations. 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, in the books Star Battle and Star Battle 2, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

[This is a repost from our archives with new notes at the top (original post here): Greater than/less than constraints can lead to good forcing chains in different number puzzles. However, I’ve never been a fan of using lots of < and > shapes (particularly when rotated 90 degrees) as that notation only works well across pairs of cells and not across chains of connected cells. I created Thermo-Sudoku as a new presentation method to make multi-cell constraints more easily seen and allow for graphically interesting themes. I first developed the style and name while planning for the book Mutant Sudoku with Wei-Hwa Huang, with imagery of a “melted thermometer in the boiling sudoku solution being poured out on paper” as the first mutation caused by Dr. Sudoku’s mistakes in the lab.]

PDF

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

Theme: Grandmaster Puzzles (the G and P shapes in the corners)

Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules. Range is 1-6.

Estimated Difficulty*: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:40, Master = 1:00, Expert = 2:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for more Thermo-Sudoku puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Thermo-Sudoku to get started on. More Thermo-Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2 and in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 2.

Our latest “Smashing the Sudoku” video covering the hard Nurikabe and Tight Fit puzzles from last week is now online.

After some extreme weather that caused power outages and then some other challenges, we’re back on track to get through our January tasks including announcing the Best of 2022 puzzles and releasing some bonus Microsoft Puzzle Hunt content. Keep a watch here for those updates and also for the start of discussing our 2023+ plans for the site in the coming weeks.

Puzzle PDF

Author/Opus: This is the 431st puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Hints: (in rot13):
1. What are these strange puzzle types? Gurl’er glcrf bs ybtvp chmmyrf. Vs lbh frnepu sbe gurve anzrf ba guvf fvgr, gurer ner qrfpevcgvbaf, ubj gb fbyir thvqrf, naq rira ivqrbf.
2. How do I get started? Frira chmmyr glcrf jvgu whfg fvk tevqf? Lbh’yy svefg jnag gb svther bhg ubj rnpu tevq pna havdhryl fbyir nf whfg bar bs gubfr chmmyr glcrf, naq guebhtu fbyivat gur chmmyr vqragvsl gur ? inyhrf juvpu, va nyy pnfrf, ner abg arrqrq gb svaq gur fbyhgvba rkprcg sbe gur snpg gurl ner n pyhr pryy naq va fbzr fglyrf pnaabg or funqrq bire be orybat jvgu nabgure pyhr va na vfynaq/erpgnatyr.
3. How do I figure out which puzzle is which type? Gur tevqf jvgu gur srjrfg pyhrf ner Ahevxnor naq Fuvxnxh naq gur tevq jvgu gur zbfg pyhrf vf n Svyybzvab. Gur erznvavat guerr ner fcyvg npebff Pnir, Xhebznfh, naq Xhebggb. N xrl ybtvpny qrqhpgvba sbe Pnir vf gung lbh pna arire svyy va n purpxreobneq yvxr 2k2 cnggrea bs oynpx naq juvgr fdhnerf (be ryfr lbh jvyy ivbyngr gur pbaarpgvivgl ehyrf). Fb sbphf ba fbzr bs gur 2 pyhrf jvgu qvntbanyyl nqwnprag arvtuobef gb vqragvsl juvpu chmmyr zhfg or gur Pnir.
4. Which puzzle is which type? Sebz hccre yrsg gb ybjre evtug, gur chmmyr glcrf ner: Ahevxnor, Xhebggb; Xhebznfh, Pnir; Svyybzvab; Fuvxnxh.
5. How do I solve the bottom one on the left? Gur obggbz bar ba gur yrsg vf n Svyybzvab chmmyr. Vg znl or n irel uneq chmmyr gb fbyir hagvy lbh erpbtavmr gur tvira pyhrf nyernql nppbhag sbe ng yrnfg 30 (fvk svirf) + 30 (svir fvkrf) + 21 (guerr friraf) pryyf jbegu bs cbylbzvab tebhcf.
6. How do I get a final answer? Gur dhrfgvba znexf va gur qvssrerag tevqf jvyy fgnaq sbe {1,1,6}, {1,2,3,4}, {2,2,3,4}, {2,3,3,5}, {3,3,4,6}, naq {5,6,6,7} juvpu znl uryc vs lbh unir whfg n pbhcyr yrsg hafbyirq. Hfr gurfr inyhrf gb perngr gur 7gu zvffvat chmmyr, gura fbyir vg.

Solution: PDF

Answer String: Enter the final answer (a word or phrase) in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS without spaces to confirm. There may be intermediate answer phrases that are not the final answer; our answer checker is not able to send the message “Keep going” like the Microsoft Hunt solving software does so if you do not see what you expect, treat it like “Keep going” and potentially send an email to us or watch out for hints.

[Note: The remaining two Microsoft Puzzle Hunt puzzles will be released on upcoming future Sundays (starting Jan 29) since these are involved puzzles to solve and harder than our usual weekday content.]