Puzzle 350 (Slitherlink) [All Twos]

This is a Slitherlink puzzle, with a twist. All of the twos are given to you in this puzzle. That is, any unclued square cannot have exactly two segments of the loop surrounding it.

Puzzle 350

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Celebrating the blog’s second anniverary. For those who think this puzzle is boringly easy, try to see how few non-2 clues you need to solve it. The new rule is a tight constraint, so the minimum is probably pretty low.

Puzzle 348 (Nurikabe) [Line]

This is a Nurikabe puzzle, with a twist. It is not allowed to have five consecutive black cells in a row or column. The usual Nurikabe restriction that there can be no two by two squares of black cells is waived and no longer applies.

Puzzle 348

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Puzzle 343 (Tapa) [Line]

This is a Tapa puzzle, with a twist. There may not be four consecutive black cells in any row or column. The usual rule that there may be no two by two square of black cells is waived and no longer applies.

Puzzle 343

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Puzzle 337 (Magnetic Dominoes)

This is a magnetic dominoes puzzle, a hybrid of the Magnets and Domino types that frequently appear at WPCs. Detailed rules follow below the image.

Puzzle 337

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Rules

1. Fill in the grid with numbers from 1 to 6 (some numbers are given), and then partition the grid into 1 by 2 dominoes oriented in either direction so that all 21 possible dominos with numbers from 1 to 6, including doubles (1-1, 2-2, etc.), appear.
2. Two adjacent numbers may be equal only if they are part of the same domino. In particular, there will only be six pairs of adjacent squares with equal numbers, corresponding to the six double dominoes.
3. If one marks the greater number in each domino with a plus and the lesser number with a minus, no two plusses or minuses can be adjacent, as in the Magnets type. Double dominoes with two equal numbers are non-magnets and are not marked with a plus or a minus.

Puzzle 334 (Fillomino) [Potpourri]

This is a Fillomino Potpourri puzzle. Almost all of your favorite Fillomino variations that made an appearance in Fillomino-Fillia have been rolled into one. Detailed rules follow below the image.

Puzzle 334

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Puzzle 330 (Fillomino) [Hexagonal]

This is a Fillomino puzzle on a hexagonal grid. All the usual rules apply.

Puzzle 330

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Like Skyscrapers, Hexagonal was another variation that never really got off the ground.

Puzzle 328 (Fillomino) [Skyscrapers]

This is a Fillomino puzzle, with a twist. There are some clues on the outside edges of the puzzle. If one views the numbers in the completed grid as building heights, then a clue on the outside tells how many of the buildings are visible when looking into that row/column from that location. A clue is visible if and only if it is strictly greater than all clues before it. For instance, if a row reads “13235″ from left to right, the clue on the left (if given) would be a 3 (13235) and the clue on the right would be a 1 (13235).

Puzzle 328

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This was made early before we had any idea which variations would actually be used. Neither of us ended up making any more Skyscrapers, and later we had enough good puzzles in other variations, so the variation never really entered serious consideration. It is likely a bit easier than what I usually put up on Friday, but that’s probably the case for any of the rejects I’m posting.

Puzzle 325 (Fillomino) [Star]

This is a Star Fillomino puzzle. Not all of the cells will be contained in polyominoes; the remaining cells will contain stars. Every row and every column must contain two stars, and no two stars may be in cells which share a corner or an edge.

Puzzle 325

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Part 4 of 4 in the Fillomino-fillia preview series. See mathgrant’s blog for the other half.

Answer Entry: Enter the units digits of each square in the marked rows and columns, from left to right for rows and from top to bottom for columns. For a cell with a star, write S.

Highlight to see answer: S4144332S3, 51255S1S32

Of all the puzzles in consideration for inclusion on the test or in this preview series, this is the only one without rotational symmetry (inequality signs in Greater-Than not included). I confess it was originally an accident, but even after I noticed it the idea of one of the stars being upside down didn’t seem to work aesthetically. It comes down to the fact that the star icons themselves don’t have 180 degree rotational symmetry.

Puzzle 324 (Fillomino) [Sum]

This is a Sum Fillomino puzzle. The grid contains some cages. The number at the top left of each cage gives the sum of all numbers that appear inside of it. Numbers may be repeated in cages.

Puzzle 324

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Part 3 of 4 in the Fillomino-fillia preview series. See mathgrant’s blog for the other half.

Answer Entry: Enter the units digits of each square in the marked rows and columns, from left to right for rows and from top to bottom for columns.

Highlight to see answer: 1712312154, 2338442919

I made this puzzle partially to poke fun at motris, actually. We all know he loves it when nikoli.com releases a puzzle like this one, no matter how vehemently he denies it.

Puzzle 323 (Fillomino) [Greater-Than]

This is a Greater-Than Fillomino puzzle. The grid will contain inequality signs. Each sign must point from a larger polyomino to a smaller one.

Puzzle 323

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Part 2 of 4 in the Fillomino-fillia preview series. See mathgrant’s blog for the other half.

Answer Entry: Enter the units digits of each square in the marked rows and columns, from left to right for rows and from top to bottom for columns.

Highlight to see answer: 4446371323, 6777752217