Featured Puzzle: Ichimaga #2
Love and dating is all about making human connection. In that spirit, today we’ll play a variant of Ichimaga, a puzzle all about connections.
Featured Puzzle: Index Sums #2
I really liked the concept behind Index Sums puzzles. Do a little mild arithmetic based on the values of rows and columns, and shade the appropriate cells to reach the given totals. I use a chalkboard for the look in several other puzzle types, so why not a whiteboard here?
Featured Puzzle: Kakuro #2
February is mostly associated with Valentine’s Day here in the US. So for these first couple of weeks, enjoy the theme of love and lots of pink and red. Kakuro requires some addition to create the sums shown. So, we could say it’s about bringing people together?
Featured Puzzle: Kin-Kon-Kan #2
Today, we’re playing Kin-Kon-Kan, a puzzle about placing mirrors. Draw a diagonal line in only one cell within each region.
Featured Puzzle: L.I.T.S. #4 – Double L.I.T.S.
Today, we have a “couples” variant of L.I.T.S. Normally, you need to shade 4 cells in each region to place a single tetromino. In Double L.I.T.S., you must shade a total of 8 cells, to place two tetrominoes in each region.
Featured Puzzle: Leapfrog #1
Happy Leap Day! Every four years, we make up for the fact that the solar year is about 6 hours longer than the 365 days on the Gregorian calendar. To do so, we simply add an extra day at the end of February. This was actually a major plot point in The Pirates of Penzance.
Today’s puzzle is Leapfrog. The Japanese name is Satogaeri, literally “coming home.” This is the first puzzle I’ve introduced in which you must visualize movement. Move the frogs so that each region contains exactly one frog.
Featured Puzzle: Love Letters
Ah, the time-honored practice of writing a heartfelt letter to the person you admire. Perhaps you send it in secret, or maybe you already confessed your love, and you’re simply reaffirming it.
Today’s puzzle is a simple maze, with a quote spelled out along the solution path.
Featured Puzzle: Matrix Logic #2 – First Date
Ah, Valentine’s Day, when love is in the air, and the pressure to impress your date is at its highest. Naturally, that’s the day these eight shy teenagers chose to test their compatibility. For their first date, the four couples had different meals, and a different choice of activity. Which lucky lovers were paired up, and what did they do?
Featured Puzzle: Milk Tea #4 – Teasing Gifts
Valentine’s Day is steeped in tradition. Roses and a box of chocolates are probably the most iconic gifts for your romantic partner. You know what else is steeped? Tea! So let’s theme a Milk Tea puzzle for Valentine’s Day. But, there’s a twist! Teasing is also a time-honored tradition in the game of love. So I present to you the Milk Tease variant.
Featured Puzzle: Minesweeper #3
Using the clues given, mark all cells containing mines. Unlike the computer game, you get to see all the clues when you start.