Archive for the ‘Puzzle’ Category:

Battleships by Thomas Snyder

Battleships by Thomas Snyder

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: Unbalanced

Author/Opus: This is the 165th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Use the indicated fleet.

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 both digits if a 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 = 1:15, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Battleships. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Battleships to get started on.

TomTom by Grant Fikes

TomTom by Grant Fikes

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

Theme: Four Corners

Author/Opus: This is the 92nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-6.

Answer String: Enter the 3rd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th row from left to right.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic TomTom. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest TomTom to get started on.

Loop the Loops by Thomas Snyder

Crosslink by Thomas Snyder

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Think Positive (there are no zero clues)

Author/Opus: This is the 164th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Combination of Slitherlink and Masyu rules.

Specifically, draw a single closed loop by connecting neighboring dots horizontally or vertically so that each number represents the number of adjacent edges used by the loop. The loop passes through all large circles. It must go straight through the white circles with at least one side turning at the next dot; it must turn at the black circles and then go straight through the next dot in both directions.

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

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 5:15, Expert = 10:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow these links for other Slitherlink variations and Masyu variations. Or follow these links for classic Slitherlink and classic Masyu puzzles.

Slitherlink (Sheep and Wolves) by Hans van Stippent

Slitherlink by Hans van Stippent

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 4th puzzle from guest contributor Hans van Stippent (who has also contributed these three Sunday Surprises).

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules. Also, there are some sheep (marked S) that must be inside the loop and some wolves (marked W) that must be outside the loop.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments following the arrows for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other Slitherlink variations and this link for classic Slitherlink. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Slitherlink puzzles to get started on.

Masyu (Deformable) by Serkan Yürekli

Masyu by Serkan Yürekli

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s and a black circle shading mode)

Theme: Clue symmetry and logic

Author/Opus: This is the 32nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Masyu rules. In addition to the standard rules, some white circles may be shaded to become black circles.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 3:45, Expert = 7:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Masyu variations and this link for classic Masyu. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Masyu to get started on.

Loop the Loops by Prasanna Seshadri

Crosslink by Prasanna Seshadri

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Quadrants

Author/Opus: This is the 14th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Combination of Slitherlink and Masyu rules.

Specifically, draw a single closed loop by connecting neighboring dots horizontally or vertically so that each number represents the number of adjacent edges used by the loop. The loop passes through all large circles. It must go straight through the white circles with at least one side turning at the next dot; it must turn at the black circles and then go straight through the next dot in both directions.

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

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:40, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow these links for other Slitherlink variations and Masyu variations. Or follow these links for classic Slitherlink and classic Masyu puzzles.

Slitherlink by Grant Fikes

Slitherlink by Grant Fikes

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Antisymmetry

Author/Opus: This is the 91st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

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

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:00, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Slitherlink. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Slitherlink puzzles to get started on.

Masyu by Tom Collyer

Masyu by Tom Collyer

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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: Antisymmetry

Author/Opus: This is the 19th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Tom Collyer.

Rules: Standard Masyu rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:50, Master = 1:15, Expert = 2:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Masyu. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Masyu to get started on.

Statue Park by Prasanna Seshadri

Statue Park by Prasanna Seshadri

PDF

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

Theme: 23 on 3/2 (Note: while we don’t post puzzles on Sundays, we are pleased to wish a happy (early) birthday to our puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri who created this puzzle to mark the occasion.)

Author/Opus: This is the 13th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Statue Park rules.

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 = 3:45, Master = 9:00, Expert = 18:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Statue Park Puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Statue Parks to get started on.

Nurikabe Loop by Serkan Yürekli

Nurikabe Loop by Serkan Yürekli

View image directly for larger form.

PDF

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

Theme: The Magic of 23

Author/Opus: This is the 31st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: In this variation of Nurikabe, the no 2×2 ocean rule is removed and instead all ocean cells must belong to a single closed loop.

Specifically: Divide the grid into regions called “islands”, each containing exactly one of the given numbers and with the same area as that number. Islands can only touch diagonally. A single closed loop (without intersection or crossings) must be drawn in all remaining cells.

Nurikabe Loop by Serkan Yürekli

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma. This example has the key “12,3”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Nurikabe puzzles on this website and this link for other variations on Nurikabe puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nurikabe puzzles to get started on.