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

Theme: Octets (for Randy Rogers)

Author/Opus: This is the 226th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Kakuro rules. Also, digits do not repeat within the red bold regions. (The shading is used to help distinguish the regions as well.)

Answer String: Enter the values in each cell in the 2nd row from left to right and then in the 9th column from top to bottom, separating the two entries with a comma. Ignore black cells.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 7:15, Master = 11:00, Expert = 22:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Kakuro puzzles. More Kakuro puzzles can be found in Kakuro and Variations by Serkan Yürekli.

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 (for Veep)

Author/Opus: This is the 141st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Variation of Slitherlink rules. The loop may now intersect itself at a point (it still may not coincide anywhere). At any dot at which more than 2 segments meet, the segments must all travel straight through the dot. This example may help:

Answer String: For each marked row, enter the length in cells of each connected group inside the loop from left to right. Separate each row’s entry with a comma. Shading the loop so that each fence separates a shaded/unshaded cell can help identify what is inside. For the example, the answer would be “11,12”.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:00, 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; 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: Egocentric (for Chris Green)

Author/Opus: This is the 54th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules. Also, if two cells are separated by a thick border, this means that exactly one of those cells is shaded and the other is unshaded.

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 = 2:00, Master = 3:15, Expert = 6:30

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).

Theme: No Obvious Lies (for Jamie Hargrove)

Author/Opus: This is the 53rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Shade some cells black so that all unshaded number and arrow clues indicate the exact count of shaded cells in the given direction. Shaded cells cannot share an edge, and all white cells must remain connected as part of a single contiguous group. It is allowed to shade over some of the numbered cells; a shaded over clue may or may not be true.

Also, see this example:

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of shaded cells as a single string. For the example, the answer is “20212”.

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other less common Shading puzzles.

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: Almost Antisymmetric

Author/Opus: This is the 143rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Fillomino rules. Also, if there is a white dot between two adjacent cells, then those cells must contain numbers that differ by one. If there is a black dot between two adjacent cells, then one of the numbers must be twice the other. Either a white or black dot can separate 1 and 2. All possible dots are given (i.e., no unmarked borders can have numbers that differ by 1 or have a quotient of 2).

Answer String: For each cell in the marked rows/columns, enter the area of the polyomino it belongs to. Enter just the last digit for any two-digit number. Start with the 2nd row, followed by a comma, followed by the 8th row.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:45, Master = 13:30, Expert = 27:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Fillomino and this link for more variations on Fillomino puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Fillomino puzzles to get started on. More Fillomino puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in Fill o’ Fillomino by Grant Fikes.

(view directly for a larger image)

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

Theme: Sevens

Author/Opus: This is the 142nd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Skyscrapers Rules, with two grids at the bottom to solve. The top grid indicates the sum of the digits in the bottom two grids in the corresponding positions.

Answer String: For the rightmost grid, enter the 4th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 6th row from left to right.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:00, Master = 6:30, Expert = 13:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Skyscrapers. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Skyscrapers to get started on. More Skyscrapers puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles.

(view directly for a larger image)

PDF

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

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 141st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Place six pentominoes into each of the two top grids so that all twelve pentominoes are in one of the grids. Pentominoes can be rotated and reflected, but cannot touch each other not even diagonally. The numbers outside the grids indicate how many cells are used by pentominoes in that row/column. The shaded cells in the bottom grid must be part of a pentomino in one of the two top grids; the unshaded cells cannot be part of a pentomino in either grid.

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

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 6:45, Expert = 13:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other puzzles involving Pentominoes.

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: Anti-symmetry

Author/Opus: This is the 140th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Draw a single closed loop that passes vertically and horizontally through all cells. The loop must go through all of the given dots. When passing through a white dot, the number of cells on one side of the dot before turning must differ by 1 from the number of cells on the other side before turning. When passing through a black dot, the number of cells on one side of the dot before turning must be twice the number of cells on the other side before turning. (Not all possible dots are given; if a line crosses two dots, ignore the other dot and count cells as if it is not there.)

Also, see this example:

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 = 4:00, Master = 5:45, Expert = 11:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other less common Loop variations.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between ship placement and shading modes. In ship placement mode, right click gives sea, left click gives circle/square, left click and drag for rounded ships.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 139th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Also, the arrows point at the closest ship segment(s) from that cell. No ship segment can be placed in a cell with an arrow.

Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears (enter both digits if a two-digit number). If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:30, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for more variations on Battleships and this link for classic Battleships. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Battleships to get started on. More Battleships puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles collection.

PDF

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

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 138th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Variation of Nurikabe. Shade some of the numbered cells so that the grid is divided into white regions, with each cell in such a region containing a number identical to the area of the region. Two white regions may only touch diagonally. All shaded cells must be connected with each other, but no 2×2 group of cells can be entirely shaded black.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments (the unnumbered, connected “ocean”) 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 = 2:15, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Nurikabe puzzles on this website and this link for other variations on Nurikabe puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Nurikabe puzzles to get started on. More Nurikabe puzzles can be in The Art of Puzzles collection.