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This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

PDF

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

Theme: Knight’s Moves Revisited

Author/Opus: This is the 522nd puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules.

Difficulty: 1 star

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

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

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.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 9 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

You must be logged in with the appropriate subscription to view this content.

This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

PDF

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

Theme: Knight’s Moves

Author/Opus: This is the 521st puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:25, Master = 0:35, Expert = 1:10

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

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.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 9 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

Earlier this year, Thomas helped provide puzzles for the launch of the LinkedIn game Queens, a very accessible, one-star version of Star Battle puzzles. We will be posting some weekly Queens bonuses here through this season, including this surprisingly tough puzzle, despite its cheerful appearance.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; in composite Star Battle mode a left click places a star, right click in a cell marks off the cell, and a right click on an edge or corner marks in a dot as a placement note.)

Theme: Smiley Face

Author/Opus: This is the 520th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. One star per row, column, and region.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

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

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for other one-star Star Battle puzzles exactly like Queens, and this link for our easiest Star Battles, including many with two stars per region, which are a great way to get started on this version of the puzzle. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store including our Starter Pack 5: Star Battle book.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 8 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

You must be logged in with the appropriate subscription to view this content.

You must be logged in with the appropriate subscription to view this content.

You must be logged in with the appropriate subscription to view this content.

This is a free “warm-up” puzzle; Season 4 subscribers will see today’s main puzzle in the same style posted at 9:05 AM PT.

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: Consecutive Inner Numbers

Author/Opus: This is the 299th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Cave rules. Also, numbers outside the grid show the number of separate cave segments (unshaded cells) visible in that direction. A segment of length N in a given direction is taken as a building of height N. Buildings of height N block the view of all buildings behind them of equal or lesser height.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:45, Master = 1:15, Expert = 2:30

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for classic Caves and this link for Cave variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Cave Puzzles to get started on. More Cave puzzles can be found in these books in our e-store.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 8 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

You must be logged in with the appropriate subscription to view this content.