For those who thought there would be no special puzzles on Sundays in 2014: SURPRISE!

This very creative submission comes from Nikolai Beluhov. And like his earlier Matryoshka Fillomino, this is a gift that keeps on giving. Starting with a challenging Fillomino puzzle, erasing all of the 4s leaves a Slitherlink. Then erasing all of the 3s leaves a Tapa. Then erasing all of the 2s gives a Simple Loop (treating the 1s as blackened cells).

PDF

Fillomino

Slitherlink

Tapa

Simple Loop

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between a Composite Edgesub mode for Fillomino and Slitherlink, a shading mode for Tapa, a number entry mode for Fillomino, and a line drawing mode for Simple Loop.)

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules.
Then standard Slitherlink rules.
Then standard Tapa rules.
Then Simple Loop rules (draw a single closed loop, without intersections or crossings, through all empty cells; cells with 1s cannot be visited by the loop).

Answer String: None for this puzzle; simply click solved if finished.

Solution: PDF

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: The Lone Sheep

Author/Opus: This is the 8th puzzle from guest contributor Hans van Stippent.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules. Also, there are some sheep (marked S) that must be inside the loop and some wolves (marked W) that must be outside the loop. Also, no 2×2 square of cells can be entirely inside the loop or entirely outside the loop.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments following the arrows for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:45, Master = 6:15, Expert = 12:30

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: 0123 (and antisymmetry)

Author/Opus: This is the 194th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:30, Master = 3:45, Expert = 7:30

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 130th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:15, Master = 1:45, Expert = 3:30

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 3rd puzzle from guest contributor Bram de Laat.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules, except that the edges of the grid wrap around. The top row of dots is the same as the bottom row of dots; the left column of dots is the same as the right column of dots. The loop can now run across an outer edge and continue on the other side. This example image may help:

Answer String: Enter the size of each group of connected squares in the marked rows from left to right; in the example, the bottom row would be “112”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:20, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Bram de Laat.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:40, Master = 5:40, Expert = 11:20

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: U’s Full

Author/Opus: This is the 112th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Connected Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Bobby Liu.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules. Also, there are four regions (in gray) in the two grids that are portals. All edges that touch any gray squares must match across grids (without rotation or reflection). For identical shapes, it is not known which positions are matched (for example, the ring in the upper left of the first puzzle could be in either the upper left or lower right of the second puzzle).

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments following the arrows for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 18:00, Master = 30:00, Expert = 1:00:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: Symmetrical Clues (allowing for rotations and reflections)

Author/Opus: This is the 102nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules. Also, there are some sheep (marked by a reflected 2 in blue) that must be inside the loop and some wolves (marked by a rotated 3 in red) that must be outside the loop.

(Note: the reflected/rotated digits in blue and red do not actually serve as loop clues meaning 2 and 3, just as sheep and wolves. We chose this presentation because the theme works better with the wackiness of some 2’s and 3’s even if it needs this extra note.)

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments following the arrows for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in edgex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s)

Theme: I Solemnly Square

Author/Opus: This is the 95th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Slitherlink rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the internal loop segments from left to right for the marked rows, starting at the top. Separate each row’s entry with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

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