Syuma by John Bulten

Syuma by John Bulten

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)

Theme: Yin-Yang Swirl

Author/Opus: This is the 57th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: Variant of Masyu rules. The loop turns in every black circle and goes straight through at least one adjacent square. The loop goes straight through every white circle and turns in both adjacent squares.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Masyu variations and this link for classic Masyu. 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.

4-Way Loop by Serkan Yürekli

4-Way Loop by Serkan Yürekli

(View image directly for larger form.)

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in yajilin mode where left click shades squares, left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s; note that the default puzzle info is too long — even for an url shortener — so copy and paste all the text in this file into the “Load” option in the upper-right of the penpa-edit interface to access.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic (for TheSubro)

Author/Opus: This is the 158th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: This puzzle combines four loop varieties commonly featured at GMPuzzles: Balance Loop (upper left), Yajilin (upper right), Castle Wall (lower left), and Masyu (lower right).

Draw a single, non-intersecting loop throughout all four quadrants. The loop may enter and exit the different quadrants as many times as needed.

The standard rules for each puzzle type are true for each quadrant, with these additional considerations:

Balance Loop: Use the entire length of segments (including parts of the segments that extend into an adjacent quadrant) when determining the balanced/unbalanced status of a circle clue.

Yajilin: The arrow clues refer only to shaded cells within the Yajilin quadrant. The loop must occupy all cells adjacent to a shaded cell, even in an adjacent quadrant.

Castle Wall: Number clues only apply within the grid and DO NOT include any line segments that cross the bold border with another grid or any segments in other quadrants. (Another way to say this is that the Castle Wall clues refer to the number of thin lines crossed in the lower-left quadrant only.)

Masyu: Normal rules apply for white and black circles, but the path satisfying these rules can extend into an adjacent quadrant. (For example, a white circle can be passed through crossing a quadrant edge, provided it turns immediately on one side of the circle whether the turn is in the Masyu quadrant or in another quadrant.)

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Solution: PDF

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 18:00, Master = 35:00, Expert = 1:10:00

Masyu (Deformable) by Serkan Yürekli

Masyu by Serkan Yürekli

PDF

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

Theme: Clue symmetry and logic

Author/Opus: This is the 147th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Masyu rules. Also, some white circles may be shaded to become black circles.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:45, Master = 8:45, Expert = 17:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Masyu variations and this link for classic Masyu. 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.

Syuma by Prasanna Seshadri

Syuma 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)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 151st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Variant of Masyu rules. The loop turns in every black circle and goes straight through at least one adjacent square. The loop goes straight through every white circle and turns in both adjacent squares.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 4:45, Expert = 9:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other variations of Masyu and this link for classic Masyu. 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.

Masyu or Balance Loop? by Carl Worth

Masyu/Balance Loop by Carl Worth

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)

Theme: Almost Antisymmetric

Author/Opus: This is the 21st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Carl Worth.

Rules: Combination of Masyu and Balance Loop rules. In each horizontal row, all the circles obey the same rules, which are Masyu rules or Balance Loop rules. You must determine what rule applies to each row in order to form the single loop that solves the puzzle.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:00, Master = 9:30, Expert = 19:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other Masyu and Balance Loop puzzles.

Masyu (Battleships) by Walker Anderson

Masyu (Battleships) by Walker Anderson

PDF

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

Theme: Half and Half

Author/Opus: This is the 4th puzzle from guest contributor Walker Anderson.

Rules: Combination of Masyu and Battleships rules. Start with standard Masyu rules. All empty cells not occupied by the Masyu loop will belong to the fleet of ships given below the grid. The whole fleet must be placed in the grid; ships cannot touch each other, not even diagonally.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other variations of Masyu and this link for classic Masyu. Follow this link for more variations on Battleships and this link for classic Battleships.

Masyu (Regional) by Prasanna Seshadri

Masyu 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)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic (for patron Chris Green)

Author/Opus: This is the 126th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Masyu rules. Also, the loop must make the same number of turns in each bold region that it enters. It is up to you to determine how many turns this is. Be sure to count all turns, including turns in black circles. (The loop does not necessarily enter all regions.)

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:30, Master = 8:30, Expert = 17:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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

Masyu (Windows) by Prasanna Seshadri

Masyu by Murat Can Tonta

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)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 112th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Masyu rules. Also there are two windows in the upper left (blue) and lower right (red) of the grid. If the loop passes through a cell in one window by going straight, it must go through the same cell in the other window by turning; the converse is also true. (It is possible for the cells to be unused by the loop in both windows.)

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 5:15, Expert = 10:30

Solution: PDF

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

Masyu (Deformable) by Murat Can Tonta

Masyu by Murat Can Tonta

PDF

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

Theme: Antisymmetry

Author/Opus: This is the 18th puzzle from guest contributor Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Variation of Masyu rules. In addition to the standard rules, white circles may be shaded to become black circles.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

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

Birthday Loop by Prasanna Seshadri

(Note: This puzzle is at a Saturday+ difficulty, and is being posted today to mark the occasion of Prasanna’s birthday. Our regular “easy” puzzles will run on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.)

Birthday Loop by Prasanna Seshadri

(View image directly for larger form.)

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in yajilin mode where left click shades squares, left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s; note that the default puzzle info is too long — even for an url shortener — so copy and paste all the text in this file into the “Load” option in the upper-right of the penpa-edit interface to access.)

Theme: 24 on 03/02/15

Author/Opus: This is the 73rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: This puzzle combines four loop varieties commonly featured at GMPuzzles: Balance Loop (upper left), Yajilin (upper right), Castle Wall (lower left), and Masyu (lower right).

Draw a single, non-intersecting loop throughout all four quadrants. The loop may enter and exit the different quadrants as many times as needed.

The standard rules for each puzzle type are true for each quadrant, with these additional considerations:

Balance Loop: Use the entire length of segments (including parts of the segments that extend into an adjacent quadrant) when determining the balanced/unbalanced status of a circle clue.

Yajilin: The arrow clues refer only to shaded cells within the Yajilin quadrant. The loop must occupy all cells adjacent to a shaded cell, even in an adjacent quadrant.

Castle Wall: Number clues can see beyond the CW quadrant ONLY IF the line segment begins from a cell within the CW quadrant. (For example, if a segment starts in the rightmost column of the CW quadrant and goes three cells further to the right into the Masyu quadrant before turning, this segment would contribute 3 to the count of segments for that row.)

Masyu: Normal rules apply for white and black circles, but the path satisfying these rules can extend into an adjacent quadrant. (For example, a white circle can be passed through crossing a quadrant edge, provided it turns immediately on one side of the circle whether the turn is in the Masyu quadrant or in another quadrant.)

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of the horizontal loop segments from left to right in the marked rows, starting at the top. If the loop only has vertical segments in the marked row, enter 0. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 30:00, Master = 55:00, Expert = 1:50:00

Solution: PDF