PDF

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

Theme: The Last Ones (for patron Randiman Rogers; all cages end in 1, and symmetric clues add to 11)

Author/Opus: This is the 100th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules. Also, the sum of the numbers in each cage must equal the value given in the upper-left corner of that cage. Numbers cannot repeat inside a cage.

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 9th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 10:00, Master = 25:00, Expert = 50:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for more Killer Sudoku and this link for classic Sudoku. More Killer Sudoku puzzles can be found in Killer Sudoku by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

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

Theme: Latin Square

Author/Opus: This is the 4th puzzle from guest contributor and site patron Chris Green.

Rules: Standard LITS rules. Also, as in “Easy as LITS”, the letters outside the grid indicate the first tetromino encountered in the corresponding direction. Also, as in “Signpost LITS”, some cells or groups of cells are outlined and labeled with a letter. If any of these cells is shaded, then the tetromino shape must match the clued letter.

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 = 8:45, Master = 11:00, Expert = 22:00

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Daniel Cohen (alphanumeric conversion of top/bottom rows; i.e., 4=D, 1=A, 14=N, …)

Author/Opus: This is the 117th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Nurikabe rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments (the unnumbered, connected “ocean”) 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 = 6:15, Master = 11:30, Expert = 23:00

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Easy as 1, 2, 3 (made for our patron Veep)

Author/Opus: This is the 116th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Variation of standard Slitherlink rules. Exactly one clue in each row and column is lying and must represent a different number.

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 = 6:00, Master = 8:30, Expert = 17:00

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.

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: Bottle (made for Chris Green)

Author/Opus: This is the 99th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, if two cells are separated by a thick border, this means that exactly one of those cells is shaded and the other is unshaded.

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 = 2:45, Master = 5:30, Expert = 11:00

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Phleb (for patron Paul Hlebowitsh)

Author/Opus: This is the 237th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a star appears. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators. Enter both digits of any two-digit column number.

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

Solution: PDF

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

This week is our first “Patron’s Week”, with five puzzles made for our Super Grandmasters, and one puzzle written by one of our Super Grandmasters. As our authors pulled out all the stops for our patrons, the difficulty for this week is higher than usual.

Monday: Star Battle by Thomas Snyder
Tuesday: Tapa (Borders) by Serkan Yürekli
Wednesday: Slitherlink (Liar) by Prasanna Seshadri
Thursday: Nurikabe by Prasanna Seshadri
Friday: Easy as Signpost LITS by Chris Green
Saturday: Killer Sudoku by Serkan Yürekli

Our supporters will also be receiving a bonus Nurikabe from Prasanna Seshadri, access to puzzle solutions, and a video walkthrough of the Saturday puzzle. If you’d like to receive some of these special rewards, please click here for more info.

Last week’s collection of puzzles from Grant Fikes can be found in this PDF.

We’ll be back with a special “patrons week” of puzzles on 4/4.

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.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 194th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Pentominous rules.

Answer String: Enter the letter associated with the pentomino occupying each cell in the marked rows from left to right, separating the groups with a comma. Use CAPITAL LETTERS!

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

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.

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.)

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 193rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Pentominous rules.

Answer String: Enter the letter associated with the pentomino occupying each cell in the marked rows from left to right or from top to bottom, separating the groups with a comma. Use CAPITAL LETTERS!

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

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.