Puzzle 352 (In-Out Slitherlink)

This is an In-Out Slitherlink puzzle.

Puzzle 352

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Puzzle 299 (In-Out Slitherlink)

This is a In-Out Slitherlink puzzle.

Puzzle 299

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(See 294 for info about this “reject” series.) The adult in the earliest versions. One of the worst offenders in terms of overdoing the level of challenge.

The visual theme in this one is pretty obfuscated and probably nontrivial to catch. Your hint is that it’s staring at you from the start.

Puzzle 298 (In-Out Slitherlink)

This is a In-Out Slitherlink puzzle.

Puzzle 298

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(See 294 for info about this “reject” series.) This one would have been the adult. I really liked this puzzle, so it was a bit of a shame to have to cut it.

Puzzle 297 (In-Out Slitherlink)

This is a In-Out Slitherlink puzzle.

Puzzle 297

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(See 294 for info about this “reject” series.) Now for the type cut from the Mutant section. When it came time to decide what to take out, it was pretty clear that I may as well avoid having two Slitherlink variations in the mutant section, and there was no way in hell I was taking out Liar Slitherlink.

This puzzle was the baby on an early draft. Later drafts had a tweak with a lot more clues and an almost identical solution, but ignoring the difficulty difference I find this version superior. A bit heavy for Monday, admittedly.

Puzzle 277 (In-Out Slitherlink)

This is a In-Out Slitherlink puzzle.

Puzzle 277

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I think all of the puzzles this week ended up being easier than you’re used to from here. My apologies if that’s not your cup of tea.

The idea in this puzzle is something I tried for a long time to get in standard Slitherlink without too much success. Then I realized I could combine it with another trick in this variation.

Puzzle 228 (In-Out Slitherlink)

This is a Sunday In-Out Slitherlink puzzle.

Puzzle 228

This puzzle was made shortly after I did the one posted here by a Japanese author, whom I do not know although he apparently has seen this site. In my attempt to give feedback (albeit in English) on his post I was thwarted by a Japanese CAPTCHA, so apparently on Japanese sites I am indistinguishable from a spam bot. Darn.

To compensate, here is my shout-out and tribute to that construction. The main ideas employed aren’t that similar; I was mainly trying to put to thorough use a number of deductions that I learned while doing that puzzle.

Puzzle 174 (In-Out Slitherlink)

This is a Wednesday In-Out Slitherlink puzzle.

Puzzle 174

Wait, haven’t we seen this one before?

Puzzle 152 (In-Out Slitherlink)

This is a Tuesday In-Out Slitherlink puzzle.

Puzzle 152

Puzzle 147 (In-Out Colorlink)

This is a Friday In-Out Colorlink puzzle, a synthesis of In-Out Slitherlink and Colorlink. Each clue is always correctly colored, and the number tells the truth if it is inside that color’s loop. If it is outside the loop of the corresponding color, it is inverted as it would be in In-Out Slitherlink. There are no black numbers.

Puzzle 147

Happy new year with another holiday puzzle from hell. It turns out the rule changes in each of these variations can work together to create some nice logic. Keep that in mind if you get stuck.

Puzzle 113 (In-Out Slitherlink)

This is a Saturday In-Out Slitherlink puzzle.

Puzzle 113

Added 12/18: It has come to my attention from a conversation with a reader that the unique quality of this puzzle is very subtle and almost certain to be missed without a hint. Once you are done the puzzle, take another look at the 3 by 5 blocks of clues. You should find something that made me push this into the Author’s Favorites list.