PDF

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

Theme: A Tale of Two Cities

Author/Opus: This is the 8th puzzle from guest contributor Michael Tang.

Rules: Shade some empty cells black so that each number indicates the total count of white cells connected vertically and horizontally to that number including the numbered cell itself. Black cells cannot share an edge, and all white cells must belong to a single connected group.

Also see this example:

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 4:30, Expert = 9:00

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

Note: Follow this link for more Kuromasu puzzles.

(This is a bonus “second” puzzle that is not connected to the usual Monday-Saturday week difficulty.)

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: No Four in a Row

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Matej Uher.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules. Also, the letters X and O stand for two different digits from 0 – 3.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Slitherlink and this link for Slitherlink variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Slitherlink puzzles to get started on. More Slitherlink puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, Slitherlink and Variations, and our beginner-friendly book Logic Puzzles 101.

PDF

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

Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Matej Uher.

Rules: Place either an ‘X’ or an ‘O’ into each empty cell so that four consecutive ‘X’s or ‘O’s do not appear horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 2:45, Expert = 5:30

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

Note: Follow this link for other Number Placement puzzles.

(This is a bonus “second” puzzle that is not connected to the usual Monday-Saturday week difficulty.)

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: 1234

Author/Opus: This is the 345th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

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

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.

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 on edges)

Theme: 1234

Author/Opus: This is the 344th puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Form a single non-intersecting loop. Clues inside the grid represent the number of neighboring cells visited by the loop; if there is more than one number in a cell, each number should be represented with a separate loop segment. There is no 2×2 rule of Tapa in this puzzle.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:25, Master = 0:50, Expert = 1:40

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

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa-Like Loop puzzles. More Tapa-Like Loop puzzles can be found in the Tapa-Like Loop Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.

PDF

(view directly for a larger image)

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 on edges)

Theme: Quadrants

Author/Opus: This is the 395th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Form a single non-intersecting loop. Clues inside the grid represent the number of neighboring cells visited by the loop; if there is more than one number in a cell, each number should be represented with a separate loop segment. There is no 2×2 rule of Tapa in this puzzle.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:45, Master = 11:30, Expert = 23:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa-Like Loop puzzles. More Tapa-Like Loop puzzles can be found in the Tapa-Like Loop Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.

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 on edges)

Theme: 4×4×4

Author/Opus: This is the 211th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Form a single non-intersecting loop. Clues inside the grid represent the number of neighboring cells visited by the loop; if there is more than one number in a cell, each number should be represented with a separate loop segment. There is no 2×2 rule of Tapa in this puzzle.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:00, Master = 8:15, Expert = 16:30

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

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa-Like Loop puzzles. More Tapa-Like Loop puzzles can be found in the Tapa-Like Loop Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.

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 on edges)

Author/Opus: This is the 10th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Variation of Tapa-Like Loop rules (Form a single non-intersecting loop. Clues inside the grid represent the number of neighboring cells visited by the loop; if there is more than one number in a cell, each number should be represented with a separate loop segment. There is no 2×2 rule of Tapa in this puzzle.). The loop can travel through clue cells. Each clue now describes the entire 3×3 area the clue cell is in the middle of.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 4:15, Expert = 8:30

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

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa-Like Loop puzzles. More Tapa-Like Loop puzzles can be found in the Tapa-Like Loop Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.

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 on edges)

Theme: Prime Digits

Author/Opus: This is the 221st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Form a single non-intersecting loop. Clues inside the grid represent the number of neighboring cells visited by the loop; if there is more than one number in a cell, each number should be represented with a separate loop segment. There is no 2×2 rule of Tapa in this puzzle.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:00, Master = 1:40, Expert = 3:20

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

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa-Like Loop puzzles. More Tapa-Like Loop puzzles can be found in the Tapa-Like Loop Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.

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 on edges)

Theme: Double Trouble

Author/Opus: This is the 4th puzzle from guest contributor David Altizio.

Rules: Form a single non-intersecting loop. Clues inside the grid represent the number of neighboring cells visited by the loop; if there is more than one number in a cell, each number should be represented with a separate loop segment. There is no 2×2 rule of Tapa in this puzzle.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:45, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00

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

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa-Like Loop puzzles. More Tapa-Like Loop puzzles can be found in the Tapa-Like Loop Collection by Prasanna Seshadri.