PDF

Theme: Catch Your Z’s

Author/Opus: This is the 18th puzzle from guest contributor Joseph Howard.

Rules: Standard Tapa rules.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 5:00, Expert = 10:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for classic Tapa and this link for Tapa variations. 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, in Tapa and Variations, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles, all by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

Theme: Balloons

Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor Jesper Post.

Rules: Standard Cave rules.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

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

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow 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 Roger Barkan’s Colossal Cave Collection, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

Theme: Heart-Shaped Box

Author/Opus: This is the 165th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Murat Can Tonta.

Rules: Variation of Pentominous rules. Some borders between pentominoes are already drawn.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 3:00, Master = 4:30, Expert = 9:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Pentominous puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Pentominous to get started on. More Pentominous puzzles can be found in the Plenty o’ Pentominous series by Grant Fikes and Murat Can Tonta and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

Theme: Out of the Box

Author/Opus: This is the 1st puzzle from guest contributor wormsofcan.

Rules: Standard Pentominous rules.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 4:00, Expert = 8:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for other Pentominous puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Pentominous to get started on. More Pentominous puzzles can be found in the Plenty o’ Pentominous series by Grant Fikes and Murat Can Tonta and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

Theme: Couples

Author/Opus: This is the 44th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Pentominous rules.

Difficulty: 2.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:15, Master = 3:45, Expert = 7:30

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other Pentominous puzzles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Pentominous to get started on. More Pentominous puzzles can be found in the Plenty o’ Pentominous series by Grant Fikes and Murat Can Tonta and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

or play online with puzz.link tools — (Note: this week we are experimenting with this external solver, while we evaluate our online options).

Theme: 4 S’s

Author/Opus: This is the 43rd puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Ashish Kumar.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.

Difficulty: 3.5 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 6:00, Expert = 12:00

Solution: PDF

Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.

PDF

or play online with puzz.link tools — (Note: this week we are experimenting with this external solver, while we evaluate our online options).

Theme: One Corner Off

Author/Opus: This is the 2nd puzzle from guest contributor Anurag Sahay.

Rules: Standard Star Battle rules. Two stars per row, column, and region.

Difficulty: 3 stars

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 3:30, Expert = 7:00

Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.

Note: Follow this link for other classic Star Battles. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Star Battles to get started on. More Star Battle puzzles can be found in The Art of Puzzles and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.