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.

PDF

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 147th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, similar to Nurikabe, each clue cell is part of an island of horizontally and vertically connected white cells. Islands are allowed to touch diagonally. Islands may contain at most one clue cell, and the area of the island must be one of the numbers in the clue (as an example, if a clue is 15, then the island containing that clue must be either 1 cell or 5 cells large).

See also this example:

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 = 4:45, Master = 10:45, Expert = 21:30

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.

PDF

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 56th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, similar to Nurikabe, each clue cell is part of an island of horizontally and vertically connected white cells. Islands are allowed to touch diagonally. Islands may contain at most one clue cell, and the area of the island must be one of the numbers in the clue (as an example, if a clue is 15, then the island containing that clue must be either 1 cell or 5 cells large).

See also this example:

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 = 3:15, Master = 8:45, Expert = 17:30

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.

PDF

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: Just One

Author/Opus: This is the 145th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Tapa rules. The clue numbers refer to the groups of unshaded segments around that cell. Cells with numbers count as unshaded cells for adjacent clues. All other rules for the shaded Tapa are the same as usual.

Or see here:

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 = 4:15, Master = 6:45, Expert = 13:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

Example puzzle as PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a number entry mode.)

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 18th puzzle from our newest contributing puzzlemaster Carl Worth.

Rules: (Hybrid of Fillomino and Snake Puzzles.) Divide the grid along the boundary lines so that every cell belongs to a snake. A snake is a one-cell-wide path at least two cells long that does not touch itself, not even diagonally. Circled cells must be at one of the ends of a snake. A snake may contain one circled cell, two circled cells, or no circled cells at all. Numbered cells must be part of a snake with a length of exactly that number of cells. A snake may contain one number, multiple identical numbers, or no numbers at all. Two snakes of the same length cannot touch each other horizontally or vertically.

Also see this example:

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the length of the snake it belongs to. Enter just the last digit for any two-digit number. This example has the key “35522,44462”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 11:30, Master = 22:00, Expert = 44:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow these link for other Fillomino or Snake puzzles.

PDF

Example puzzle as PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a number entry mode.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 17th puzzle from our newest contributing puzzlemaster Carl Worth.

Rules: (Hybrid of Fillomino and Snake Puzzles.) Divide the grid along the boundary lines so that every cell belongs to a snake. A snake is a one-cell-wide path at least two cells long that does not touch itself, not even diagonally. Circled cells must be at one of the ends of a snake. A snake may contain one circled cell, two circled cells, or no circled cells at all. Numbered cells must be part of a snake with a length of exactly that number of cells. A snake may contain one number, multiple identical numbers, or no numbers at all. Two snakes of the same length cannot touch each other horizontally or vertically.

Also see this example:

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the length of the snake it belongs to. Enter just the last digit for any two-digit number. This example has the key “35522,44462”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:00, Master = 16:00, Expert = 32:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow these link for other Fillomino or Snake puzzles.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

Example puzzle as PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a number entry mode.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 16th puzzle from our newest contributing puzzlemaster Carl Worth.

Rules: (Hybrid of Fillomino and Snake Puzzles.) Divide the grid along the boundary lines so that every cell belongs to a snake. A snake is a one-cell-wide path at least two cells long that does not touch itself, not even diagonally. Circled cells must be at one of the ends of a snake. A snake may contain one circled cell, two circled cells, or no circled cells at all. Numbered cells must be part of a snake with a length of exactly that number of cells. A snake may contain one number, multiple identical numbers, or no numbers at all. Two snakes of the same length cannot touch each other horizontally or vertically.

Also see this example:

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the length of the snake it belongs to. Enter just the last digit for any two-digit number. This example has the key “35522,44462”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 10:15, Master = 14:30, Expert = 29:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow these link for other Fillomino or Snake puzzles.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

Example puzzle as PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a number entry mode.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 15th puzzle from our newest contributing puzzlemaster Carl Worth.

Rules: (Hybrid of Fillomino and Snake Puzzles.) Divide the grid along the boundary lines so that every cell belongs to a snake. A snake is a one-cell-wide path at least two cells long that does not touch itself, not even diagonally. Circled cells must be at one of the ends of a snake. A snake may contain one circled cell, two circled cells, or no circled cells at all. Numbered cells must be part of a snake with a length of exactly that number of cells. A snake may contain one number, multiple identical numbers, or no numbers at all. Two snakes of the same length cannot touch each other horizontally or vertically.

Also see this example:

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the length of the snake it belongs to. Enter just the last digit for any two-digit number. This example has the key “35522,44462”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 6:15, Master = 8:45, Expert = 17:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow these link for other Fillomino or Snake puzzles.

PDF

Example puzzle as PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a composite mode for line/edge drawing and a number entry mode.)

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 14th puzzle from our newest contributing puzzlemaster Carl Worth.

Rules: (Hybrid of Fillomino and Snake Puzzles.) Divide the grid along the boundary lines so that every cell belongs to a snake. A snake is a one-cell-wide path at least two cells long that does not touch itself, not even diagonally. Circled cells must be at one of the ends of a snake. A snake may contain one circled cell, two circled cells, or no circled cells at all. Numbered cells must be part of a snake with a length of exactly that number of cells. A snake may contain one number, multiple identical numbers, or no numbers at all. Two snakes of the same length cannot touch each other horizontally or vertically.

Also see this example:

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the length of the snake it belongs to. Enter just the last digit for any two-digit number. This example has the key “35522,44462”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow these link for other Fillomino or Snake puzzles.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

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

Theme: Game of Letters (for Daniel Cohen)

Author/Opus: This is the 142nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Place the 18 names into the grid, one letter per cell, so they can be read from left to right or from top to bottom, without crossing or overlapping each other. Treat the first and last names as separate entries. A dot between two cells indicates that both cells must contain the same letter. All possible dots are given.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of unused cells in that row.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 9:00, Master = 14:30, Expert = 29:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other word puzzles.