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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.

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Theme: New Constellation

Author/Opus: This is the 56th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: Variation of Spiral Galaxies. In addition to the standard rules, some circles are shaded gray and must belong to galaxies containing two gray circles, not one, with the circles in rotationally symmetric spots for those galaxies.

Answer String: Enter the number of cells in each connected group (between bold lines) in the marked columns. Separate each column’s entry from the next with a comma. The example (using rows) has the answer “52,11131”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF

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

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Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 198th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Standard Cave rules; also, all groups of cells outside the Cave must be formed out of different arrangements of exactly five cells (i.e., different pentominoes). Pentomino shapes may be reflected or rotated, but they cannot repeat or touch each other. Not all pentominoes need to appear.

This example uses four cell regions (i.e., tetrominoes) within the same rules.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the cave 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 = 6:45, Master = 11:45, Expert = 23:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Cave variations and this link for other classic Caves. 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 The Art of Puzzles and in Roger Barkan’s Colossal Cave Collection.

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Theme: Sunken Lake

Author/Opus: This is the 54th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: This puzzle is a combination of Cross the Streams and Cave rules (with the exception of having multiple “caves” that all connect to the edge of the grid).

Shade some empty cells black to create a single group of black cells that are all connected to each other through their edges. No 2×2 cell area within the grid contains all black cells. Numbers to the left/top of the grid represent the groups of consecutive black cells which are in that row/column in order, either from left to right or from top to bottom. A question mark (?) represents a group of consecutive black cells whose size is unknown; an asterisk (*) represents any number of unknown groups of black cells, including none at all.

All white cells must be connected via other white cells to an edge of the grid. All numbered cells inside the grid must be white and each number in these cells indicates the total count of white cells connected vertically and horizontally to the numbered cell including the cell itself.

See also this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the (white) cave 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 = 3:30, Master = 4:30, Expert = 9:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Cross the Streams. Follow this link for other Cave variations and this link for other classic Caves. If you are new to Cave puzzles, here are our easiest Cave Puzzles to get started on. More Cave puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in Roger Barkan’s Colossal Cave Collection.

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Theme: Pocket Puzzle

Author/Opus: This is the 52nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster John Bulten.

Rules: Variation of standard Nanro rules. Besides the cells numbered 4, identical numbers in differing regions cannot touch along common borders. All “4” clues have been replaced by tetromino letters, and must be connected to form a valid LITS solution (that is, identical shapes cannot touch along common borders). In other words: the final solution, including all numbered cells and tetrominoes, is a valid Nanro solution, and just the regions with tetrominoes form a valid LITS solution.

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

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:15, Master = 8:00, Expert = 16:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for Nanro puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nanro Puzzles to get started on. More Nanro puzzles can be found in A Number o’ Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri.

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Theme: Bisection

Author/Opus: This is the 34th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Carl Worth.

Rules: In this variation of Nanro, numbers are now given outside the grid. Each number clue represents the first number placed inside the grid in that row or column in the corresponding direction.

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

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 5:00, Master = 7:30, Expert = 15:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for Nanro puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nanro Puzzles to get started on. More Nanro puzzles can be found in A Number o’ Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri.

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Theme: Pentominoes

Author/Opus: This is the 265th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Variation of Nanro.

Label some cells with numbers to form a single connected group of labeled cells. No 2×2 group of cells may be fully labeled. Each number must be equal to the total count of labeled cells in that bold region, and all bold regions contain at least one labeled cell. The given numbers indicate how many cells are labeled in that region (but not necessarily which cells are labeled). When two numbers are orthogonally adjacent across a region boundary, the numbers must be different.

Also see this example:

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

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for Nanro puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nanro Puzzles to get started on. More Nanro puzzles can be found in A Number o’ Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri.

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Theme: Pentom1noes

Author/Opus: This is the 312th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.

Rules: Variation of Nanro.

Label some cells with numbers to form a single connected group of labeled cells. No 2×2 group of cells may be fully labeled. Each number must be equal to the total count of labeled cells in that bold region, and all bold regions contain at least one labeled cell. The given numbers indicate how many cells are labeled in that region (but not necessarily which cells are labeled). When two numbers are orthogonally adjacent across a region boundary, the numbers must be different.

Also see this example:

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

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:00, Master = 3:15, Expert = 6:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for Nanro puzzles on this website and this link for variations on Nanro puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nanro Puzzles to get started on. More Nanro puzzles can be found in A Number o’ Nanro by Prasanna Seshadri.

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or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to shift between shading mode and the composite Yajilin mode where left click marks cells, right click marks dots in cells or X’s on edges, left click+drag draws lines.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 95th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, numbers outside the grid show the number of separate wall segments visible in that direction. A segment of length N in a given direction is taken as a building of height N. Buildings of height N block the view of all buildings behind them of equal or lesser height.

See also this example (by Serkan Yürekli):

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

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Tapa variations and this link for classic Tapa. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Tapa puzzles to get started on. More Tapa puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in Tapa and Variations, both by Serkan Yürekli.

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Theme: Clueless?

Author/Opus: This is the 94th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Skyscrapers rules. Also, as in Thermo-Sudoku, digits must be strictly increasing in all thermometer shapes from round bulb to flat end. Note that the lower-left corner thermometer is four cells long; a digit should go in the bulb, the bend, and the two other cells under grid columns 1 and 2. The digit in the bend is not a Skyscrapers clues.

Answer String: Enter the six digits in the 4th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the six digits in the 5th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:45, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00

Solution: PDF

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.