PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools. Use left click to place mine, right click (in cell) to mark unused, right click (on edge/corner) to mark a note. If you want more solving options, turn off Penpa-Lite option; we recently updated the solver tools and you may need to do a hard refresh [Ctrl+F5 or Ctrl+Shift+R] or clear file cache to take advantage of the new answer checker features.)

Theme: Frames

Author/Opus: This is the 50th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Palmer Mebane.

Rules: Standard Minesweeper rules.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:00, Master = 13:15, Expert = 26:30

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Minesweeper puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Minesweeper puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Minesweeper Puzzles to get started on. More Minesweeper puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles 2.

PDF

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

Theme: Tightly Packed

Author/Opus: This is the 387th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Place the twelve pentominoes into the grid, rotations and reflections allowed. Pentominoes cannot cover the numbered cells, and different pentomino shapes cannot be placed in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner. Numbered cells indicate how many of the surrounding cells (including diagonally adjacent cells) contain parts of the pentominoes.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 9:00, Expert = 18:00

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

Note: Follow this link for classic Minesweeper puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Minesweeper puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Minesweeper Puzzles to get started on. More Minesweeper puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles 2.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Surface = shading mode and a line drawing mode)

Theme: Noah’s Ark

Author/Opus: This is the 9th puzzle from guest contributor Roger Barkan.

Rules: Standard Cave rules.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:45, Master = 9:15, Expert = 18:30

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

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 Roger Barkan’s Colossal Cave Collection, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between Surface = shading mode and a line drawing mode)

Theme: Sevens

Author/Opus: This is the 7th puzzle from guest contributor Michael Tang.

Rules: Standard Cave rules.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 4:15, Expert = 8:30

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

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 Roger Barkan’s Colossal Cave Collection, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

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

Theme: Two Snakes

Author/Opus: This is the 72nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:30, Master = 10:15, Expert = 20:30

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

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

PDF

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

Theme: Sun Rays

Author/Opus: This is the 7th puzzle from guest contributor Akash Doulani.

Rules: Standard Thermo-Sudoku rules.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 8:30, Expert = 17:00

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.

PDF

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

Author/Opus: This is the 332nd puzzle from our managing editor Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules. Also, each row and column must contain exactly two stars (one in the example). Stars cannot touch each other, even diagonally, and all stars must be inside the loop. Stars cannot be placed in the numbered cells.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 4.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:00, Master = 14:15, Expert = 28:30

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.