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

Theme: Big X

Author/Opus: This is the 361st puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Consecutive Pairs Sudoku rules. (If a gray circle is given between two adjacent cells, then the two numbers in those cells must be consecutive. Note not all gray circles are given; adjacent cells without a circle may contain either consecutive numbers or nonconsecutive numbers.)

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:20, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Consecutive Pairs Sudoku to get started on. More Consecutive Pairs Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2 and in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 6: Consecutive Pairs Sudoku.

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Sudoku = big entries and Number candidate = small entries in the corners of cells.)

Theme: Diagonals

Author/Opus: This is the 10th puzzle from guest contributor Zoltán Horváth.

Rules: Standard Tight Fit Sudoku rules. Remember, the smaller number goes above the larger number in all slashed cells. The range of this puzzle is 1-9.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Tight Fit Sudoku puzzles on this website. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tight Fit Sudoku to get started on. More Tight Fit Sudoku can be found in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli, in The Art of Sudoku 2, and in Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 5: Tight Fit Sudoku.

(view directly for a larger image)

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Theme: Letters and Numbers

Author/Opus: This is the 178th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

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

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:00, Master = 13:15, Expert = 26:30

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. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in the book Star Battle by JinHoo Ahn, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

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Theme: Hot and Cold

Author/Opus: This is the 16th puzzle from guest contributor Bryce Herdt.

Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules. (Note: The coloration of the hot/cold thermometers is only for aesthetic purposes and all thermometers obey standard rules.)

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

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

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

Note: Follow this link for more Thermo-Sudoku puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Thermo-Sudoku to get started on. More Thermo-Sudoku puzzles can be found in The Art of Sudoku 2 and Masterpiece Sudoku Mix 2.

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: Center X

Author/Opus: This is the 7th puzzle from guest contributor JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Standard Pentominous rules.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:45, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

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. 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.

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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: Tooth

Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Salih Alan.

Rules: Standard Masyu rules.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:30, Master = 0:50, Expert = 1:40

Solution: PDF

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

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: Tetrominoes

Author/Opus: This is the 186th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Draw a snake (a 1-cell wide path) from one dot to the other by moving horizontally or vertically between adjacent squares. The snake cannot touch itself, not even diagonally. All highlighted regions must be visited by the snake, and may be re-entered. If two or more highlighted regions have the same shape and orientation, then how the path passes through those shapes must be identical.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 7:30, Expert = 15:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Snake puzzles. More Snake puzzles and variations can be found in Snake and Variations by Serkan Yürekli.

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: Divisible by 3

Author/Opus: This is the 53rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Locate a snake (a 1-cell wide path) of unknown length in the grid, whose head and tail are given. The snake does not touch itself, even diagonally. Numbers outside the grid indicate the number of snake cells in that row/column.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:50, Master = 1:30, Expert = 3:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Snake puzzles. More Snake puzzles and variations can be found in Snake and Variations by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

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

Theme: Diagonal Pairs

Author/Opus: This is the 184th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Kurotto rules.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Kurotto puzzles and this link for variations on Kurotto puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Kurotto to get started on. More Kurotto puzzles can be found in the ebook Kurotto by Prasanna Seshadri.

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Theme: Odd Couples

Author/Opus: This is the 52nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Kurotto rules.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:30, Master = 3:15, Expert = 6:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Kurotto puzzles and this link for variations on Kurotto puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Kurotto to get started on. More Kurotto puzzles can be found in the ebook Kurotto by Prasanna Seshadri.