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: Valentines

Author/Opus: This is the 367th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Yajilin rules.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:45, Master = 1:20, Expert = 2:40

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

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.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the composite Yajilin mode where left click marks cells, right click marks dots in cells or X’s on edges, left click+drag draws lines.)

Theme: Scope

Author/Opus: This is the 360th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Aqre rules: Shade some cells so that all shaded cells form one connected group. Regions with numbers must contain the indicated count of shaded cells, and it is allowed to shade over the numbered cells. There may not exist a run of four or more consecutive shaded or unshaded cells horizontally or vertically anywhere in the grid.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

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

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

Note: Follow this link for more Aqre puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Aqre to get started on. More Aqre puzzles are in Shading Variety Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the composite Yajilin mode where left click marks cells, right click marks dots in cells or X’s on edges, left click+drag draws lines.)

Theme: Quarters

Author/Opus: This is the 359th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Shade some cells black so that all unshaded number and arrow clues indicate the exact count of shaded cells in the given direction. Shaded cells cannot share an edge, and all white cells must remain connected as part of a single connected group. It is allowed to shade over some of the numbered cells; a shaded over clue may or may not be true.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:15, Master = 9:45, Expert = 19:30

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

Note: Follow this link for other shading puzzles. More Yajisan Kazusan puzzles are in Shading Variety Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.

PDF

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

Author/Opus: This is the 358th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Skyscrapers rules; also standard TomTom rules. Use the integers 1-6.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. Follow this link for classic TomTom and this link for TomTom variations.

Since 2021, we have posted some extra difficult Sunday Stumpers, about once a month. These will be quite tough puzzles, but with a logical path to be found (and solution videos to help). This first Sunday Stumper of 2022 is a Tapa variation from Serkan Yürekli.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the composite Yajilin mode where left click marks cells, right click marks dots in cells or X’s on edges, left click+drag draws lines.)

Theme: Mastermind 2022

Author/Opus: This is the 357th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, the numbers given between the grids show the total number of black cells in the same position in that row or column. A row or column without such a clue may have any number of common black cells including zero.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 33:00, Master = 55:00, Expert = 1:50:00

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

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

See more discussion of the puzzles from the United States’ 2021 Puzzle Grand Prix on this post. Note there are some construction details and potential spoilers on that post so view it after you solve.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab mode to shift between letter entry, line drawing, and shape entry — for word list marking — modes)

Author/Opus: This is the 356th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Combination of Word Search and Meandering Words rules (see prior posts, and below). Each bold word in the given list should be either located as in a Word Search (possibly filling in missing letters in the grid) or should be placed in an outlined region as in a Meandering Words puzzle.

Meandering Words rules: Place a letter into each empty cell so that each outlined area has exactly one bold word from the given list. Cells that contain the same letter cannot be placed in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner. Each outlined area must contain the word from the first letter to the last letter such that consecutive letters within an outlined area are orthogonally adjacent. (In other words, for each region it must be possible to draw a path that starts at the first letter and ends at the last letter, going through each other cell exactly once.)

Word Search rules: Locate the bold words in the given list in the grid, running in one of eight possible directions horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Some letters in the middle of the grid are missing and must be discovered while solving.

Difficulty: 4.5 stars (estimate based off competition points; timing standards not available from our usual testers)

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Word puzzles.

See more discussion of the puzzles from the United States’ 2021 Puzzle Grand Prix on this post. Note there are some construction details and potential spoilers on that post so view it after you solve.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab mode to shift between letter entry, line drawing, and shape entry — for word list marking — modes)

Author/Opus: This is the 355th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Place a letter into each empty cell so that each outlined area has exactly one bold word from the given list. Cells that contain the same letter cannot be placed in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner. Each outlined area must contain the word from the first letter to the last letter such that consecutive letters within an outlined area are orthogonally adjacent. (In other words, for each region it must be possible to draw a path that starts at the first letter and ends at the last letter, going through each other cell exactly once.) Gray cells indicate the position of the first letter in that region.

Difficulty: 4 stars (estimate based off competition points; timing standards not available from our usual testers)

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Word puzzles.

See more discussion of the puzzles from the United States’ 2021 Puzzle Grand Prix on this post. Note there are some construction details and potential spoilers on that post so view it after you solve.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab mode to shift between line drawing and letter entry modes)

Author/Opus: This is the 354th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Word Search rules: Locate the bold words in the given list in the grid, running in one of eight possible directions horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Some letters in the middle of the grid are missing and must be discovered while solving.

Difficulty: 2 stars (estimate based off competition points; timing standards not available from our usual testers)

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Word Search puzzles and this link for other Word puzzles.

See more discussion of the puzzles from the United States’ 2021 Puzzle Grand Prix on this post. Note there are some construction details and potential spoilers on that post so view it after you solve.

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 letter entry mode.)

Author/Opus: This is the 353rd puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Pentominous rules. Also, some circle clues are given in the grid which must be at the center of symmetry for a rotationally-symmetric pentomino shape.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars (estimate based off competition points; timing standards not available from our usual testers)

Solution: PDF

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.

See more discussion of the puzzles from the United States’ 2021 Puzzle Grand Prix on this post. Note there are some construction details and potential spoilers on that post so view it after you solve.

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.)

Author/Opus: This is the 352nd puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Spiral Galaxies rules.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars (estimate based off competition points; timing standards not available from our usual testers)

Solution: PDF

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.