Skyscrapers (with Sum Baskets) by Palmer Mebane

Skyscrapers (with Sum Baskets) by Palmer Mebane

PDF

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

Theme: Fours and Fives

Author/Opus: This is the 48th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Standard Skyscrapers rules (using digits 1 to 7). Also, there are some regions (”Sum baskets”) in the grid marked by dashed lines. The sum of the buildings in these sum baskets is given. Building heights can repeat within a basket.

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Inner Coral by Palmer Mebane

Inner Coral by Palmer Mebane

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 47th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Shade some empty cells black to create a single connected wall (the “Coral”). The shaded cells cannot form a 2×2 square anywhere in the grid, and all unshaded cells including clue cells must be connected to an edge of the grid. Clues in the gray cells indicate the lengths of the first shaded segments visible from this cell in all four directions (clues are given in ascending order). [For clarity, when considering the “first shaded segment” in a direction, gray cells see through all empty and gray cells to the edge of the grid when finding this segment, if any.]

Also see this example:

Inner Coral Example by Thomas Snyder

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry from the next with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:30, Master = 8:00, Expert = 16:00

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

Editorial Note: Many solvers can confuse Coral with another puzzle type with similar spelling. An easy way to remember the difference is that Cave has no R’s and also has no 2×2 Region constraint. Coral puzzles, with an R, do have this region constraint. The other general rules (about not enclosing white spaces and having a single shaded group) are shared between Cave and Coral puzzles.

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Palmer Mebane

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Palmer Mebane

PDF

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

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 46th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers. Insert a digit from 1 to 5 into each empty cell so that each row and column has one copy of each digit and exactly one mirror. Each digit in the grid represents the height of a building, and clues on the outside of the grid indicate how many buildings can be “seen” when looking from that direction, including those seen through the mirror’s reflection. Buildings block the view of any building with equal or lower height behind them.

Also see this example:

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Thomas Snyder

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row from left to right. Ignore the cells with the mirrors when entering the solution (i.e., just enter cells with digits 1-5).

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 7:00, Expert = 14:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Skyscrapers (Battleships) by Palmer Mebane

Skyscrapers (Battleships) by Palmer Mebane

PDF

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: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 45th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Combination of Skyscrapers and Battleships. Place the indicated fleet into the grid so that no different ships are in cells that share an edge or corner. The size of the ship represents its height as in a Skyscrapers puzzle, and the clues outside the grid indicate how many ships are visible in that direction. Ships block the view of any ship of equal or smaller size behind them.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears (enter just the last digit for any two-digit number). If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 8:00, Expert = 16:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for more classic Battleships puzzles.

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Palmer Mebane

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Palmer Mebane

PDF

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

Theme: All For One, …

Author/Opus: This is the 44th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers. Insert a digit from 1 to 5 into each empty cell so that each row and column has one copy of each digit and exactly one mirror. The direction of the mirrors must also be determined. Each digit in the grid represents the height of a building, and clues on the outside of the grid indicate how many buildings can be “seen” when looking from that direction, including those seen through the mirror’s reflection. Buildings block the view of any building with equal or lower height behind them.

Also see this example:

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Thomas Snyder

Answer String: Enter the 3rd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 5th row from left to right. Use the slash characters / or \ to enter the mirrors.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Galaxies and Tetrominoes by Palmer Mebane

Galaxies by Palmer Mebane

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: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 43rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Combination of Tetromino/object placement and Spiral Galaxies puzzle styles. Place the seven tetromino shapes into the grid, rotations allowed but not reflections. Tetrominoes do not touch each other not even diagonally and they do not cover any cell with part of a white circle. Digits on the left/top of the grid indicate the number of cells used by tetrominoes in that row/column. Digits on the right/bottom indicate the number of different tetromino shapes partially in that row/column. All remaining white cells must be part of connected regions – “galaxies” – with rotational symmetry. Each galaxy must have exactly one circle at its center of rotational symmetry.

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows, enter the tetromino shape (as a capital letter IJLOSTZ) or the galaxy size in cells (enter just the last digit for any two-digit number). Separate the rows with a comma. An example answer would be “772TTT44SS,6664333LLL”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 9:30, Expert = 19:00

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.

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Palmer Mebane

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Palmer Mebane

PDF

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

Theme: Easy as 1, 2, 3, 4?

Author/Opus: This is the 42nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers. Insert a digit from 1 to 4 or a diagonal mirror into each empty cell so that each row and column has one copy of each digit and exactly one mirror. Each digit in the grid represents the height of a building, and clues on the outside of the grid indicate how many buildings can be “seen” when looking from that direction, including those seen through the mirror’s reflection. Buildings block the view of any building with equal or lower height behind them.

Also see this example:

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Thomas Snyder

Answer String: Enter the 3rd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th row from left to right. Use the slash characters / or \ to enter the mirrors.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Palmer Mebane

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Palmer Mebane

PDF

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

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 41st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers. Insert a digit from 1 to 4 into each empty cell so that each row and column has one copy of each digit and exactly one mirror. The direction of the mirrors must also be determined. Each digit in the grid represents the height of a building, and clues on the outside of the grid indicate how many buildings can be “seen” when looking from that direction, including those seen through the mirror’s reflection. Buildings block the view of any building with equal or lower height behind them.

Also see this example:

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Thomas Snyder

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 2nd row from left to right. Use the slash characters / or \ to enter the mirrors.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:00, Master = 2:15, Expert = 4:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Palmer Mebane

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Palmer Mebane

PDF

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

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 40th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers. Insert a digit from 1 to 4 into each empty cell so that each row and column has one copy of each digit and exactly one mirror. Each digit in the grid represents the height of a building, and clues on the outside of the grid indicate how many buildings can be “seen” when looking from that direction, including those seen through the mirror’s reflection. Buildings block the view of any building with equal or lower height behind them.

Also see this example:

Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) by Thomas Snyder

Answer String: Enter the 3rd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th row from left to right. Ignore the cells with the mirrors when entering the solution (i.e., just enter cells with digits 1-4).

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

Gaps Between Battleships by Palmer Mebane [bonus]

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Gaps Between Battleships by Palmer Mebane

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 39th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Variation of Battleships. Place the given set of “ships” into the grid, rotations and reflections allowed, so that no ship touches another, not even diagonally. Every row and column will have exactly two ships in it, and the clues outside the grid indicate the count of empty cells between the ships.

Also see this example:

Gaps Between Battleships Example by Thomas Snyder

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears (enter just the last digit for any two-digit number). If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 8:30, Expert = 17:00

Note: Follow this link for more classic Battleships puzzles. More Battleships puzzles can be found in Battleships and Variations, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.