On May 26th, in recognition of our Contributing Puzzlemaster Grant Fikes’ birthday, a Sunday Surprise contest was posted. 29 solvers have completed the puzzle and all were added to a drawing Grant describes here.
The winner of the random drawing is FoxFireX, who will receive a copy of Battle of LITS.
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)
This is a “Twisted Tuesday” puzzle variation.
Theme: Hidden Clues
Rules: Standard Cave rules. Also, no number may directly connect to/”see” another number within horizontally or vertically connected cells.
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 = 2:15, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00
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.
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.)
Theme: Mirror
Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Use the indicated fleet.
Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears. If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:40, Master = 0:50, Expert = 1:10
Solution: PDF
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Honeycomb
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 = 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.
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)
This is a “Franken-Friday” puzzle variation.
Theme: Hex Pill
Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.
Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments following the arrows for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 7:30, Expert = 15:00
Solution: PDF
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: May 30th
Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using digits from 1-6.
Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row from left to right.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00
Solution: PDF
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)
Theme: Five Squares
Answer String: Enter the 3rd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th row from left to right.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:30, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00
Solution: PDF
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.
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: 3456
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 = 3:15, Master = 8:00, Expert = 16:00
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.
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.)
This is a “Franken-Friday” puzzle variation.
Theme: All Mine
Rules: Variation of standard Battleships rules. Instead of exterior clues, clues inside the grid indicate the number of adjacent squares, including diagonally adjacent squares, containing ship segments. Ships do not sit on cells with numbers.
Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears. If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:30, Master = 4:30, Expert = 9:00
Solution: PDF
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)
Theme: Half and Half
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 = 2:00, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00
Editorial Note: As we celebrate the milestone of our 100th puzzle, there are two other milestones coming this week. First, the US Sudoku Qualifying Test contains many of our puzzles; best of luck and skill to the competitors. And later this weekend we’ll have a very different kind of contest here. Watch out for it.
Solution: PDF