PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools in lineox mode where left click+drag draws lines and left click in square marks O and X.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic (originally on 2016 Polish Puzzle Championship)

Author/Opus: This is the 121st puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Draw a single closed loop (without intersections or crossings). Each clue gives the number of surrounding clues used by the loop. The loop can pass through the clue cells.

See also 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.

Solution: PDF

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:15, Master = 5:30, Expert = 11:00

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. CAPS LOCK is recommended for letter entry.)

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic (originally on 2016 Polish Puzzle Championship)

Author/Opus: This is the 120th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Fill some empty cells with the letters A-F (A-D in the example) so that each row and column contains each letter exactly once. The letters outside the grid indicate the first letter seen from that direction, but each row and column has one transparent letter that is ignored by the clues. The transparent letters must be different in each row and column.

See also this example:

Answer String: Enter the letters (including the transparent letter) in the marked rows in order from left to right, separating each row’s entry with a comma. USE CAPITAL LETTERS.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other less common number placement variations.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic (originally on 2016 Polish Puzzle Championship)

Author/Opus: This is the 119th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Variation of Pentopia rules: Place some of the given pentominoes in the grid so that no pentominoes are in adjacent cells that share an edge or corner. Pentominoes cannot repeat in the grid; rotations and reflections of a pentomino are considered the same shape. The arrow clues indicate all the directions (up, down, left, and right) where the nearest pentominoes are located when looking from that square, ignoring the clue cell itself. (Pentominoes can sit on the clue cells.)

See also this example:

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the shaded pentomino 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 = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for more Pentopia puzzles and this link for other puzzles involving Pentominoes.

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 (originally on 2016 Polish Puzzle Championship)

Author/Opus: This is the 118th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Prasanna Seshadri.

Rules: Variation of Battleships rules. Place the indicated fleet into the grid; ships cannot touch each other, not even diagonally. Numbers indicate how many ship segments are in that cell and in all adjacent cells.

See also this example:

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 = 1:30, Master = 2:30, Expert = 5:00

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.

PDF

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

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 198th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Standard Cross the Streams rules. Also there are two windows in the upper left (blue) and lower right (red) of the grid. The cells in the same position in these windows must have the exact opposite shading.

Answer String: Enter the length in cells of each of the black segments from top to bottom for the marked columns, going in order from A to B to C to D and separating each entry with a comma.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:30, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00.

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

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

PDF

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

Theme: Logical

Author/Opus: This is the 197th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Hybrid of Nurikabe and Sashigane, originally created by Grant Fikes. Standard Nurikabe rules are in place for the “ocean” (connected and no 2×2 squares) but the island rules have changed as follows:
1. All islands must be L-shaped and one cell wide. Islands cannot share an edge.
2. An arrow clue points from an end of an island towards the bend in the middle.
3. A circle clue indicates the bend in the middle of an island; if a number is also present, this is the size of the island in cells.
4. An island can have 0, 1, or more of these clues given.

Also see this example and solution by Thomas Snyder:

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 = 2:30, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

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.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 106th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Fill the grid with digits from the indicated range (1 to n) so that no digit is repeated within a row or column. Number clues in the grid indicate the difference between the largest and smallest digits in the visible cells (i.e., going from the clue until hitting an edge or another triangled cell). If there is only one visible cell, the clue number indicates the digit itself.

Answer String: Enter the digits in the 5th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 7th row from left to right. Ignore the triangled cells.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 9:15, Expert = 18:30

Solution: PDF; a solution video is available here.

Note: Follow this link for other less common Number Placement puzzles.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 105th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Fill the grid with digits from the indicated range (1 to n) so that no digit is repeated within a row or column. Number clues in the grid indicate the difference between the largest and smallest digits in the visible cells (i.e., going from the clue until hitting an edge or another triangled cell). If there is only one visible cell, the clue number indicates the digit itself.

Answer String: Enter the digits in the 4th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 10th column from top to bottom. Ignore the triangled cells.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:00, Master = 5:45, Expert = 11:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other less common Number Placement puzzles.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 104th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Fill the grid with digits from the indicated range (1 to n) so that no digit is repeated within a row or column. Number clues in the grid indicate the difference between the largest and smallest digits in the visible cells (i.e., going from the clue until hitting an edge or another triangled cell). If there is only one visible cell, the clue number indicates the digit itself.

Answer String: Enter the digits in the 7th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th column from top to bottom. Ignore the triangled cells.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other less common Number Placement puzzles.

PDF

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

Theme: Clue Symmetry and Logic

Author/Opus: This is the 103rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Serkan Yürekli.

Rules: Fill the grid with digits from the indicated range (1 to n) so that no digit is repeated within a row or column. Number clues in the grid indicate the difference between the largest and smallest digits in the visible cells (i.e., going from the clue until hitting an edge or another triangled cell). If there is only one visible cell, the clue number indicates the digit itself.

Answer String: Enter the digits in the 5th row from left to right, followed by a comma, followed by the 4th column from top to bottom. Ignore the triangled cells.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 2:00, Expert = 4:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other less common Number Placement puzzles.