Note that we’ve referred to this style before as “Tren” and this particular variation as “Ghost Tren”. While not a common puzzle style, we are updating to the nomenclature “Parking Lot” for “Tren” and “Parking Lot (Extra Parking)” for “Ghost Tren” for this style this week.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in Yajilin mode allowing line drawing and cell shading/unmarking; hitting tab can alternate to separate shading and edge drawing modes).

Theme: Prime Edges

Author/Opus: This is the 380th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Locate some automobiles in the grid having size 1×2 or 1×3. Each number in the grid should be part of an automobile, indicating the number of unoccupied cells the automobile can move to by traveling along its longest axis, stopped only by an edge of the grid or another automobile. No more than one number can be in an automobile; automobiles can also be placed without any numbers, with no restrictions on their ability to move. All unused cells must be part of a single connected group.

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 12:30, Master = 20:00, Expert = 40:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for more Parking Lot puzzles.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a letter entry mode and a shading mode. CAPS LOCK is recommended for letter entry.)

Theme: Easy as

Author/Opus: This is the 379th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Fill some empty cells with the letters E, A, S, Y so that each row, column, and bold region contains each letter exactly once. Some cells will remain blank. The letters outside the grid indicate the first letter seen from that direction.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other less common Number Placement variations.

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: Odds

Author/Opus: This is the 378th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Castle Wall rules, but any two consecutive line segments cannot have the same length (i.e., on both sides of any turn, the loop must travel different lengths).

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:30, Master = 9:45, Expert = 19:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for more Castle Wall puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Castle Wall puzzles to get started on. More Castle Wall puzzles can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles as well as the larger collection Castle Wall, both by Serkan Yürekli.

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.)

Theme: Four

Author/Opus: This is the 377th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Pentominous rules. Additionally, there are some gray cells that do not contain any pentominoes. The numbers in these gray cells indicate how many pentomino regions are present in the 8 neighboring cells.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:00, Master = 7:30, Expert = 15:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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.

PDF

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

Theme: Windows

Author/Opus: This is the 376th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Statue Park rules. This puzzle uses five distinct pentominoes.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:35, Master = 1:10, Expert = 2:20

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Statue Park and this link for Statue Park variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Statue Parks to get started on. More Statue Park puzzles can be found in the ebook Statue Park by Murat Can Tonta.

PDF

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

Theme: Order and Disorder

Author/Opus: This is the 375th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Fill each row and column of the grid with the digits 1 to 5 and two blackened cells. Numbers outside the grid indicate the sum of the digits between the two blackened cells in that row or column. Blackened cells are allowed to touch. Or see here.

Difficulty: 3 stars

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

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other less common Number Placement puzzles.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku number entry mode and a shading mode to manage the shape inventory.)

Theme: Goalkeeper

Author/Opus: This is the 374th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Shape Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 1.5 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 other Shape Sudoku. More Shape Sudoku are in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 8.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools. Use left click to place mine, right click (in cell) to mark unused, right click (on edge/corner) to mark a note; hitting tab will also enable a shading mode. If you want more solving options, turn off Penpa-Lite option.)

Theme: Protected by 3’s

Author/Opus: This is the 373rd puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Minesweeper rules. Also, each row, column, and bold region must contain exactly three mines.

Also, see this example:

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

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

PDF

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

Theme: 1 to 10

Author/Opus: This is the 372nd puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Fill some cells with numbers 1-4 so that each row and column contains each number from 1 to 4 exactly once as well as two empty cells. Numbers outside of the grid indicate the sum of all numbers in the first connected group in that direction as in a Japanese Sums puzzle.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:15, Expert = 6:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Japanese Sums puzzles.

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)

Author/Opus: This is the 371st puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Balance Loop rules. Each circle clue has either an incorrect color or an incorrect number. If the color is incorrect, the real clue should have the opposite color. If the number is incorrect, the real clue should have a number one more or one less than the given number.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 4:45, Expert = 9:30

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for other Balance Loop puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Balance Loop Puzzles to get started on. More Balance Loops can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli and in Balance Loop by Prasanna Seshadri and Murat Can Tonta.