We had 45 Number Placement puzzles in 2013, mostly Skyscrapers and TomTom puzzles but also other styles like Smashed Sums. While variations did rather well in some of the other categories, our favorite Number Placement puzzles were mostly “classic”.

The one exception was the Even/Odd Skyscrapers from June with only shaded and unshaded cells to get started.

Two other skyscrapers earned a lot of votes as favorites: Mostly Five, from March

and Either/Or from February.

The others that fit this category were TomTom puzzles including Triple Play from June (also one of the hardest puzzles we’ve posted):

and 1/3/13 from our very first week of puzzles.

While some categories have a clear winner, we’d need another voting parameter to actually choose a winner here. Both Either/Or and 1/3/13 are tied at the top. The five “best” puzzles are grouped together in this PDF.

(A PDF of the puzzles from week 52 can be found here.)

There will be no new puzzles this week as we look back on the first 52 weeks (and 322 puzzle posts) at GMPuzzles. Over the next six days we will be presenting our “Best of 2013” selections, using data from the FAVE button at the bottom of each post. Because of a variable number of solvers over the year, the selection process included raw FAVE counts, FAVE/solver ratios, and internal discussions when those values brought up ties. Today, we present the nominees in our toughest category (with 77 entries) of BEST SUDOKU:

Big and Small from April was a Classic Sudoku with an uncommon separation of givens that also affected the logic of the solve.

Start Small from May was a Tile Sudoku that many found to be a good pedagogical example for how to solve this style of puzzle.

Boxed In from January was a Thermo-Sudoku with an interesting visual pattern but no givens. The logical path was highly influenced by the “box” theme and many solvers appreciated the very first required deduction.

It’s Sudoku Time from December was a late nominee but a popular one. This arrow sudoku resembles a clock with just 5 givens (at 12, 3, 6, and 9) to get the solver started.

And, by absolute vote count, the favorite sudoku of 2013 is:
Jekyll and Hyde, a consecutive sudoku from February that merges that genre with non-consecutive puzzles with a half empty/half full kind of theme.

The “Best Sudoku of 2013” are all gathered together in this PDF.

Tomorrow we will announce our best number placement puzzles from 2013.

PDF

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

Theme: Parquet

Rules: Standard Arrow Sudoku rules.

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 9th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:00, Master = 9:00, Expert = 18:00

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Gift

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region. Note: the coloring is just to emphasize the theme and is not involved in the solve.

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 = 4:00, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF

Note: 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 book Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

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

Theme: 12/23

Rules: Standard Yajilin 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 = 0:40, Master = 1:00, Expert = 2:00

Solution: PDF

Last week’s puzzles are grouped together in this PDF.

This week completes our first year of puzzles at GMPuzzles. After this week, we will take some time out to share solving stats, discuss favorite puzzles of 2013, and offer some thoughts on what is to come for us in 2014.

First, though, here are the puzzles coming in this 52nd week (highlight to view):
Monday – Yajilin by Thomas Snyder
Tuesday – Fillomino by Grant Fikes
Wednesday – Star Battle by Thomas Snyder
Thursday – LITS by Grant Fikes
Friday – Arrow Sudoku by Thomas Snyder
Saturday – Cross the Streams by Grant Fikes

PDF

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

Theme: XMas Tree

Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules.

Answer String: Enter the 1st column from top to bottom, followed by a comma, followed by the 9th column from top to bottom.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:00, Master = 7:15, Expert = 14:30

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.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Grouped Clues

Rules: Standard Cave rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the cave 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 = 3:00, Master = 4:15, Expert = 8:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Caves. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Cave Puzzles to get started on.

Last week’s puzzles are grouped together in this PDF. And no, there is no hidden puzzle in the names of these weekly files. I’m merely making the extensions unguessable since they are often up far in advance.

These are the puzzles coming this week (highlight to view):
Monday – Tapa by Palmer Mebane
Tuesday – Battleship/Masyu Hybrid by Grant Fikes
Wednesday – Cave by Thomas Snyder
Thursday – Thermo Sudoku by Thomas Snyder
Friday – Slitherlink (Domino) by Palmer Mebane
Saturday – Different Neighbors by Serkan Yürekli
and I promise no more than 2 Christmas trees this week!

PDF

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

Theme: It’s Sudoku Time

Rules: Standard Arrow Sudoku rules.

Answer String: Enter the 4th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 8th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:30, Master = 6:45, Expert = 13:30

Solution: PDF

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