This Kropki Pairs Sudoku by Philip Newman has an amazing arrangement of numbers and dots, both visually and logically.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Tilting Kropmills

Author/Opus: This is the 9th puzzle from Philip Newman, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). If a white circle is given between two adjacent cells, then the two numbers in those cells must differ by 1. If a black circle is given between two adjacent cells, then the two numbers must have a ratio of 2. Pairs of cells without circles can have any relationship.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:00; One party hat (🥳): 15:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Speckled Sousatitan.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:51, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for more Genuinely Approachable Sudoku puzzles on this site. Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

The line shapes in this German Whispers puzzle by Philip Newman both make a visually stunning theme and interact well with the given clues.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Emerald Isle

Author/Opus: This is the 8th puzzle from Philip Newman, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Numbers in cells directly connected on a green line must differ by at least 5.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:00; One party hat (🥳): 15:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Essential Europatitan.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 4:04, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for more Genuinely Approachable Sudoku puzzles on this site. Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

This XV Pairs Sudoku by Philip Newman almost has its own X shape made out of the adjacent cell clues. Can you solve it?

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Octavianus

Author/Opus: This is the 7th puzzle from Philip Newman, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Whenever an X or V, reflecting the Roman numerals for 10 or 5, is placed on the edge between cells, the numbers in the two adjacent cells must sum to exactly 10 or 5. (Pairs of cells without an X or V mark can have any sum value.)

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 7:00; One party hat (🥳): 13:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Tiberian Tobasaurus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:07, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for more Genuinely Approachable Sudoku puzzles on this site. Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Today’s Genuinely Approachable Sudoku shows a symmetric theme with only a few distinct numbers given as clues; can you solve this fun puzzle by Philip Newman?

PDF

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

Theme: Sharrows

Author/Opus: This is the 6th puzzle from Philip Newman, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Arrow Sudoku rules.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 6:00; One party hat (🥳): 13:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Nocked Nicksaurus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:20, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for more Genuinely Approachable Sudoku puzzles on this site. 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 these books in our e-store.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our week-0-discussion thread on the GMPuzzles Discord. If you are not yet part of this Discord community, use this link. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Philip Newman gained early attention in the Sudoku world from the very interesting yet very hard classic puzzle Tatooine Sunset. The basic Tatooine grid geometry has been explored many more times with many kinds of solving paths, including in today’s Genuinely Approachable Sudoku.

PDF

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

Theme: Tatooine Thursday?

Author/Opus: This is the 5th puzzle from Philip Newman, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:00; One party hat (🥳): 20:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Quick Qaikshaheen.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:24, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for more Genuinely Approachable Sudoku puzzles on this site. 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 Sudoku including variations can be found in these books in our e-store. Also, visit this page to purchase all of the puzzles from the 16th World Sudoku Championship including classic Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

Today’s post continues our three post introduction to the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku team with a clever Thermo-Sudoku puzzle by Philip Newman highlighting the new GAS + GMP connection.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Granularly Amassable Sudoral

Author/Opus: This is the 4th puzzle from Philip Newman, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules. (Insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region. Some thermometer shapes are in the grid; numbers must be strictly increasing from the round bulb to the flat end.)

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:30; One party hat (🥳): 20:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Overheated Oharasisaurus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 3:46, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for more Genuinely Approachable Sudoku puzzles on this site. 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 these books in our e-store. Also, visit this page to purchase all of the puzzles from the 16th World Sudoku Championship including some Thermo-Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

This is the first of three extra Just One Cell puzzles posting today. Enjoy!

PDF

or solve online in Penpa, or also solve online in SudokuPad as a new option (note: highly recommended to turn off “Mark Solved Digits” option if you use that in SudokuPad).

Theme: One More Slice of Pi

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor Philip Newman.

Rules: This Sudoku does not have a unique solution for the full grid (it actually has a large number of solutions), but there is exactly one cell in which a number can be logically placed that is fixed across all solutions. Find this cell and its unique value.

This puzzle follows Classic Sudoku rules, so no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Time Standards: This competition had 1-point (easy), 2-point (medium), 3-point (hard), or higher value puzzles. This would have been 1 point (easy category), roughly 0.75-1 minute target.

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Just One Cell Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Just One Cell Sudoku Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

This is the second of two puzzles posting today in this style.

PDF

or solve online in Penpa, or also solve online in SudokuPad as a new option (note: highly recommended to turn off “Mark Solved Digits” option if you use that in SudokuPad).

Theme: Pi Again

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Philip Newman.

Rules: This Sudoku does not have a unique solution for the full grid (it actually has a large number of solutions), but there is exactly one cell in which a number can be logically placed that is fixed across all solutions. Find this cell and its unique value.

This puzzle follows Classic Sudoku rules, so no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Time Standards: This competition had 1-point (easy), 2-point (medium), 3-point (hard), or higher value puzzles. This was worth 1 point (easy category), roughly 0.75-1 minute target.

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Just One Cell Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Just One Cell Sudoku Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

This is a warm-up (meant to need no notations, visual look only) for Classic Sudoku in Just One Cell Sudoku format; everything else this week will be harder.

PDF

or solve online in Penpa, or also solve online in SudokuPad as a new option (note: highly recommended to turn off “Mark Solved Digits” option if you use that in SudokuPad).

Theme: Just Pi

Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Philip Newman.

Rules: This Sudoku does not have a unique solution for the full grid (it actually has a large number of solutions), but there is exactly one cell in which a number can be logically placed that is fixed across all solutions. Find this cell and its unique value.

This puzzle follows Classic Sudoku rules, so no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region.

Time Standards: This competition had 1-point (easy), 2-point (medium), 3-point (hard), or higher value puzzles. This would be ~0.5 points (30 seconds or less for top solvers).

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Just One Cell Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Just One Cell Sudoku Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.