This is the second puzzle I made for WPC "prep". Tapa-Like Loop is pretty cool. Quad variants are usually pretty scary, but this one isn't too bad.
Rules: Classic Tapa-Like Loop rules apply within each quadrant. Additionally, the contents of row / column pairs adjacent to gaps between the quadrants are exact reflections of each other, including loop segments and empty cells. For example, the bottom row of the top-left grid is a mirror image of the top row in the bottom-left grid.
It's my birthday today! Can you guess how old I am now?
This puzzle was annoying to construct, surprisingly. I ended up using noq a lot for testing, since many of my grids would only touch three of the four quadrants. (The center clues are quite powerful.) Once I came up with something that had a unique solution, though, I realized I completely changed the dynamic of the puzzle. Is it better? No clue.
I found an interesting deduction in Tapa-Like Loop when constructing this. I'm not sure if this puzzle requires it, but it certainly makes your life much easier if you find it.
Yet another Tapa-Like Loop!
Part of the reason I'm on a TLL kick right now is because I've been working through the corresponding GMPuzzles collection by Prasanna Seshadri. I highly recommend it!
Rules (cf. Eric Fox): Draw a non-intersecting loop through the centers of some empty cells. Clues represent the numbers of consecutive cells occupied by the loop each time it enters the (up to) eight cells surrounding the clue.
Or "Empty Middle", if you prefer.
Rules (cf. Eric Fox): Draw a non-intersecting loop through the centers of some empty cells. Clues represent the numbers of consecutive cells occupied by the loop each time it enters the (up to) eight cells surrounding the clue.
Haven't posted on this blog in a bit! Now that I'm done writing puzzles for this ~~mysterious~~ GMPuzzles project, I'm hoping to get back to a posting puzzles here. I still need to figure out the right balance between posting puzzles here and submitting them to GMP.
In the meantime, here's a square-numbered Tapa-Like Loop with a square theme. (Maybe I use this theme a bit too much. xD)
Rules (cf. Eric Fox): Draw a non-intersecting loop through the centers of some
empty cells. Clues represent the numbers of consecutive cells occupied
by the loop each time it enters the (up to) eight cells surrounding the
clue.
