Numberlink by Grant Fikes

Grant Fikes created his Numberlink art with a lyre, just like ancient people did.

Numberlink by Grant Fikes

(view directly for a larger image)

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: Lyre

Author/Opus: This is the 425th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Connect each pair of identical numbers with a path passing through edge-adjacent cells. No cell may be used on more than one path.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 3:40, Expert = 7:20

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for other Numberlink puzzles and this link for other Loop/Path puzzles.

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.

WPC Region Division Mini-Playoff 3/3: Pentominous by Grant Fikes

The final Region Division puzzle is a Pentominous puzzle by Grant Fikes, who wrote a very creative Pentominous+ hybrids round in the World Puzzle Championship main competition. Can you figure out this “classic” Pentominous?

Pentominous by Grant Fikes

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing, a letter entry mode, and a shading mode.)

Author/Opus: This is the 421st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Pentominous rules.

Estimated Difficulty: 1.5-2 stars

Solution: PDF for all Region Division playoff puzzles.

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

TomTom by Grant Fikes

Update: 2023/07/27 – We have opened up a few more of our subscription puzzles to give people a sense of what they may be missing if they aren’t a subscriber, including this pair of TomTom puzzles from Grant Fikes.

Grant Fikes has created this clever PairPair of TomTom puzzles, where this is the second part.

TomTom by Grant Fikes

PDF

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

Theme: Half Off (Part 2)

Author/Opus: This is the 401st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-5.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:45, Master = 1:00, Expert = 2:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

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

TomTom by Grant Fikes

Update: 2023/07/27 – We have opened up a few more of our subscription puzzles to give people a sense of what they may be missing if they aren’t a subscriber, including this pair of TomTom puzzles from Grant Fikes.

Grant Fikes has created this clever PairPair of TomTom puzzles, where this is the first part.

TomTom by Grant Fikes

PDF

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

Theme: Half Off (Part 1)

Author/Opus: This is the 400th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-5.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:35, Master = 1:00, Expert = 2:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

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

Nanro by Grant Fikes

Nanro by Grant Fikes

PDF

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

Theme: Empty Frame

Author/Opus: This is the 398th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Nanro rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for Nanro puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nanro Puzzles to get started on. More Nanro puzzles can be found in A Number o’ Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri.

Fillomino by Grant Fikes

Fillomino by Grant Fikes

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a number entry mode.)

Theme: Small Straights

Author/Opus: This is the 397th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules.

Difficulty: 1 star

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

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Fillomino and this link for Fillomino variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in Fill o’ Fillomino and Fill o’ Fillomino 2 by Grant Fikes, and in our beginner-friendly books Logic Puzzles 101 and Starter Pack 1: Fillomino.

Nanro (Signpost) by Grant Fikes

Nanro (Signpost) by Grant Fikes

PDF

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

Theme: Rectangles

Author/Opus: This is the 396th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Variation of Nanro rules. Label some cells with numbers to form a single connected group of labeled cells. No 2×2 group of cells may be fully labeled. Each label number must be equal to the total count of labeled cells in that bold region, and all bold regions contain at least one labeled cell. The given numbers indicate how many cells are labeled in that region (but not necessarily which cells are labeled). When two label numbers are orthogonally adjacent across a region boundary, the numbers must be different.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:15, Expert = 4:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for Nanro puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nanro Puzzles to get started on. More Nanro puzzles can be found in A Number o’ Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri.

Sudoku by Grant Fikes

Sudoku by Grant Fikes

PDF

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

Theme: Horseshoes

Author/Opus: This is the 395th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:45, Master = 2:45, Expert = 5:30

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.

Spiral Galaxies by Grant Fikes

Spiral Galaxies by Grant Fikes

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a shading mode.)

Theme: Diamond

Author/Opus: This is the 394th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Spiral Galaxies rules.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:00, Master = 12:45, Expert = 25:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Spiral Galaxies puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Spiral Galaxies puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Spiral Galaxies Puzzles to get started on. More Spiral Galaxies can be found in The Art of Puzzles 2.

Yajilin (Even Rows/Columns) by Grant Fikes

Yajilin by Grant Fikes

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools using a composite mode where left click inside cell shades square, left click + drag draws line segment, right click inside cell adds dot, and right click on cell edge adds an x.)

Theme: Fortysomething?

Author/Opus: This is the 393rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Yajilin rules. Also, an even number of cells must be shaded in each row and in each column.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 4:15, Expert = 8:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Yajilin and this link for Yajilin variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Yajilin to get started on. More Yajilin puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles 2, in Yajilin by Murat Can Tonta and Prasanna Seshadri, and in our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101.