PDF

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

Theme: Pentomino (originally on the US round for the 2016 WPF Puzzle Grand Prix)

Author/Opus: This is the 246th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-8.

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right followed by the 4th row from left to right. Separate the entries with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:30, Master = 12:00, Expert = 24:00

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Five (originally on the US round for the 2016 WPF Puzzle Grand Prix)

Author/Opus: This is the 241st puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-5.

Answer String: Enter the 3rd row from left to right followed by the 4th row from left to right. Separate the entries with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 0:45, Master = 1:15, Expert = 2:30

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Dozen Dominoes

Author/Opus: This is the 190th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-6.

Answer String: Enter the 3rd row from left to right followed by the 4th row from left to right. Separate the entries with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Shutter

Author/Opus: This is the 189th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-5.

Answer String: Enter the 1st column from top to bottom followed by the 2nd column from top to bottom. Separate the entries with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:15, Expert = 4:30

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Mysterious L’s

Author/Opus: This is the 161st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-7.

Answer String: Enter the 2nd row from left to right followed by the 4th row from left to right. Separate the entries with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:15, Master = 9:45, Expert = 19:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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

Because of the mainstream popularity of Sudoku (née Number Place) and its variations, we’ve kept Sudoku separate from the rest of the Number Placement category historically. But due to this split, both Sudoku and Number Placement are our smallest categories, each with 34 entries this year. Today we are announcing our best Number Placement puzzles of 2014:

TomTom puzzles add some math onto the Latin Square frame familiar from Sudoku, and one of our Toms wrote the best classic TomTom of the year. This “Count-Up” puzzle from Tom Collyer started the year off well:

Skyscrapers is our other major Number Placement genre at the moment. This Sums Skyscraper by Thomas Snyder, “Going Up?”, received a lot of faves. Is there something to puzzles with “up” themes getting highly rated this year?

We’ve only posted one Ripple Effect puzzle on this site, but it was a rare gem from Grant Fikes and very highly rated.

Our two best number placement puzzles were both “new” TomTom variations. John Bulten, a guest contributor to GMPuzzles, came up with a rather original “clueless” TomTom:

In the end, the highest rated Number Placement puzzle (and one of three puzzles that tied for FAVES for Puzzle of the Year) was the TomTomTom by Thomas Snyder, his 200th contribution for the site:

(View image directly for larger form)

All of the Best Number Placement puzzles of 2014 are collected in this PDF.

PDF

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

Theme: Cage Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 156th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-6.

Answer String: Enter the 4th row from left to right followed by the 6th row from left to right. Separate the entries with a comma.

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

Solution: PDF

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

Note: This puzzle is a contest puzzle. All correctly submitted answers (in the applet below the puzzle) before November 9th will be entered into the contest drawing. Two solvers will each get a Grandmaster Puzzles/Thomas Snyder puzzle book of their choice.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

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

Theme: 200th Puzzle Contest Spectacular

Author/Opus: This is the 200th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: To be determined by solver. (Edit: the full rules are now available on this post.)

Answer String: Enter the final answer as a single string of twelve capital letters.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 20:00, Master = 35:00, Expert = 1:10:00

Solution: PDF

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

PDF

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

Theme: Windmill

Author/Opus: This is the 143rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-8.

Answer String: Enter the 4th row from left to right followed by the 5th column from top to bottom. Separate the entries with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:15, Master = 10:00, Expert = 20:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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

PDF

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

Theme: Invaluable

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor John Bulten.

Rules: Standard TomTom rules, using the integers 1-5. Also, each cage must have a non-negative integer operation value (i.e., is equal to 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, …).

Answer String: Enter the 1st row from left to right followed by the 2nd row from left to right. Separate all rows with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 7:00, Expert = 14:00

Solution: PDF

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