Kurotto by Grant Fikes

Kurotto by Grant Fikes

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

Theme: Happy New Year

Author/Opus: This is the 361st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Kurotto rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

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

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic Kurotto puzzles and this link for variations on Kurotto puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Kurotto to get started on. More Kurotto puzzles can be found in the ebook Kurotto by Prasanna Seshadri.

Pentominous (Star Battle) by Grant Fikes

Pentominous (Star Battle) by Grant Fikes

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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 shading / shape entry modes depending on how you want to mark the stars.)

Author/Opus: This is the 360th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Combination of Pentominous and Star Battle. Place stars into some cells so that there are two stars in each row and column; no two stars can touch, even diagonally. Then divide the rest of the grid into 16 regions each containing 5 cells. Regions with the same shape (including rotations/reflections) cannot share an edge. A cell with a letter in it must be part of the pentomino shape normally associated with that letter; an inventory of pentominoes is given below the puzzle.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:30, Master = 10:15, Expert = 20:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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 the Plenty o’ Pentominous series by Grant Fikes and Murat Can Tonta and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Nanro (Signpost) by Grant Fikes

Nanro by Grant Fikes

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

Theme: Tetrominoes

Author/Opus: This is the 359th 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: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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.

Cross the Streams by Grant Fikes

Cross The Streams by Grant Fikes

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

Theme: Goldilocks and the Three Question Marks

Author/Opus: This is the 358th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Cross the Streams rules.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:45, Master = 12:00, Expert = 24:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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.

Kakuro by Grant Fikes

Kakuro by Grant Fikes

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

Theme: Fifteen Puzzle

Author/Opus: This is the 357th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Kakuro Rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:25, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for classic Kakuro and this link for Kakuro variations. More Kakuro puzzles can be found in Kakuro and Variations by Serkan Yürekli and in The Art of Puzzles 2.

Araf by Grant Fikes

Araf by Grant Fikes

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools with a composite mode for line/edge drawing.)

Theme: Squares

Author/Opus: This is the 356th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Araf rules.

Difficulty: 1 star

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

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for more Araf puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Araf Puzzles to get started on. More Araf puzzles can be found in the ebook Araf by Serkan Yürekli.

Star Battle by Grant Fikes

Star Battle by Grant Fikes

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

Theme: Pyramid Scheme

Author/Opus: This is the 355th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

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

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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 books Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn and Star Battle 2 by JinHoo Ahn and Murat Can Tonta, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Round Trip by Grant Fikes

Round Trip by Grant Fikes

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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: Prime Time

Author/Opus: This is the 354th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

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 = 1:45, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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.

Spiral Galaxies by Grant Fikes

Spiral Galaxies by Grant Fikes

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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: Down the Middle

Author/Opus: This is the 353rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Spiral Galaxies rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

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

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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 puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles 2.

TomTom (Twins) by Grant Fikes

TomTom by Grant Fikes

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

Theme: Signed by the Author

Author/Opus: This is the 352nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-5. The two grids have the same numerical clues in the cages with the given operations (e.g. the sum of the upper-left cage in the top grid equals the product of the upper-left cage in the bottom grid). The value of all mathematical operations must be nonnegative integers.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 4:45, Expert = 9:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

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 the TomTom collection, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.