(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
A lot of activities pick up at the end of the year, and some of the upcoming GAS puzzles like today’s Skyscraper Sudoku by Bill Murphy might ask for some careful thinking to see the solution.

PDF

or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: Pick Up

Author/Opus: This is the 60th puzzle from Bill Murphy, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Also, as in the puzzle Skyscrapers, each number in the grid represents the height of a building and the clues on the outside of the grid indicate how many buildings can be “seen” when looking from that direction. Taller buildings block the view of smaller buildings. For example, if a row contained the numbers 198432675, then two buildings are seen from the left – 1 and 9 – and four buildings from the right – 5, 7, 8 and 9 – with the other buildings blocked by taller buildings in front of them.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 7:00; One party hat (🥳): 13:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Tall Tarchia.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:38, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF; solving video with explanation to be added later from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku. Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli, and in the e-book Skyscrapers by Ashish Kumar.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
More seriously: Today’s GAS combines the puzzle style Skyscrapers with Sudoku, forcing you to think of each number’s height when making your placements. Less seriously: Did you also look at the theme and wonder “6 7 8?” Kind of an adult version of “6 7?” You’ll have to think to get these three numbers in the grid.

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or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Author/Opus: This is the 70th puzzle from Clover, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Also, as in the puzzle Skyscrapers, each number in the grid represents the height of a building and the clues on the outside of the grid indicate how many buildings can be “seen” when looking from that direction. Taller buildings block the view of smaller buildings. For example, if a row contained the numbers 198432675, then two buildings are seen from the left – 1 and 9 – and four buildings from the right – 5, 7, 8 and 9 – with the other buildings blocked by taller buildings in front of them.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 8:00; One party hat (🥳): 15:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: earthbound Elaphrosaurus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:16, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku. Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli, and in the e-book Skyscrapers by Ashish Kumar.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

(This post is part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) series.)
Today’s GAS raises the temperature a bit with a combination of Thermo-Sudoku and the puzzle genre Skyscrapers.

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or solve online (using SudokuPad)

Theme: High Rising Temps

Author/Opus: This is the 41st puzzle from Philip Newman, part of the Genuinely Approachable Sudoku (GAS) team.

Rules: Standard Sudoku rules (insert a number from 1 to 9 into each cell so that no number repeats in any row, column, or bold region). Some thermometer shapes are in the grid; numbers must be strictly increasing from the round bulb to the flat end. Also, as in the puzzle Skyscrapers, each number in the grid represents the height of a building and the clues on the outside of the grid indicate how many buildings can be “seen” when looking from that direction. Taller buildings block the view of smaller buildings. For example, if a row contained the numbers 198432675, then two buildings are seen from the left – 1 and 9 – and four buildings from the right – 5, 7, 8 and 9 – with the other buildings blocked by taller buildings in front of them.

GAS Time Standards (highlight to view): Two party hats (🎩🥳): 7:00; One party hat (🥳): 13:00. All other solvers earn a 🦕: Built Bashunosaurus.

Thomas Hits the GAS (highlight to view): 2:50, with SudokuPad replay file shared as a download for now (requires loading via settings menu with improvements expected before people should use this regularly).

Solution: PDF and solving video with explanation from GAS team.

Note: Follow this link for other less common variations of Sudoku.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Daily GAS discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord. Not a member of the Discord? Click this link for basic access.

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.

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

Author/Opus: This is the 493rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers rules. All exterior clues are false and should be either one higher or one lower than the value given.

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 Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli, and in the e-book Skyscrapers by Ashish Kumar.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our Week 5 Discussion post on the GMPuzzles Discord.

Getting started with this difficult Skyscrapers (Sum) puzzle designed by Murat Can Tonta probably requires noting a lot about the two distinct clues in the grid.

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

Theme: Two Consecutive Numbers

Author/Opus: This is the 274th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers; each clue represents the sum of the heights of the visible buildings in that direction.

Difficulty: 5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 9:45, Master = 25:00, Expert = 50:00

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli, and in the e-book Skyscrapers by Ashish Kumar.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our week-0-discussion thread on the GMPuzzles Discord. If you are not yet part of this Discord community, use this link.

Takeya Saikachi’s warm-up puzzle, in which he places all possible odd clues symmetrically, will be good practice for the second grid today.

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

Theme: Possible Odds

Author/Opus: This is the 39th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Takeya Saikachi.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers; each clue represents the sum of the heights of the visible buildings in that direction.

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:20, Master = 0:35, Expert = 1:10

Solution: PDF and solving animation.

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli, and in the e-book Skyscrapers by Ashish Kumar.

Note 2: Comments on the blog are great! For a more interactive discussion, please also consider using our week-0-discussion thread on the GMPuzzles Discord. If you are not yet part of this Discord community, use this link.

The last Number Placement playoff puzzle from the World Puzzle Championship was a Skyscrapers (Gap) puzzle with an empty cell in each row and column. How long will it take you to solve David Altizio’s puzzle?

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between number entry modes and a shading mode to mark the unused cells.)

Author/Opus: This is the 15th puzzle from guest contributor David Altizio.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers rules. Insert numbers into some cells of the grid so that each row and column of the grid contains the numbers from 1 to 5 once each and one gap. Each number in the grid represents the height of a building and the clues on the outside of the grid indicate how many buildings can be “seen” when looking from that direction. Taller buildings block the view of smaller buildings.

Estimated Difficulty: 1.5 stars

Solution: PDF for all Number Placement playoff puzzles.

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli, and in the e-book Skyscrapers by Ashish Kumar.

PDF

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

Theme: Evens

Author/Opus: This is the 388th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Variation of Skyscrapers rules. Instead of their usual meaning, exterior clues indicate the height of one of the visible buildings that can be seen from that direction.

See also this example:

Difficulty: 1 star

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:50, Master = 1:20, Expert = 2:40

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli, and in the e-book Skyscrapers by Ashish Kumar.

PDF

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

Theme: Seven Times

Author/Opus: This is the 17th puzzle from guest contributor Salih Alan.

Rules: Standard Skyscrapers rules.

Difficulty: 2 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:40, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli, and in the e-book Skyscrapers by Ashish Kumar.

PDF

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

Theme: Three’s Company

Author/Opus: This is the 47th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster JinHoo Ahn.

Rules: Standard Skyscrapers rules.

Difficulty: 4 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:30, Master = 11:00, Expert = 22:00

Solution: PDF and solving video.

Note: Follow this link for classic Skyscrapers puzzles and this link for variations on Skyscrapers puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers Puzzles to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles, in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli, and in the e-book Skyscrapers by Ashish Kumar.