The metapuzzle is where to find time for all the puzzles
October 8, 2019 12:07 PM Subscribe
Grandmaster Puzzles is a blog that posts a wide range of logic puzzles (many Sudoku variants, Minesweeper puzzles, Slitherlink, Fillomino, Nurikabe, Puzzle Hunts... and the list goes considerably on) designed by expert puzzle-makers. There's lots to see and do; you might like to start by browsing the Best Of... category, where some of the puzzles are dazzling to look at even if you have no intention of solving them.
I can do low level Sudoku and Minesweeper but I also become frustrated very easily. These types of puzzles are very much NOT for me, but I appreciate that others will enjoy them. And I'm glad someone has dedicated so much time to their blog in sharing this kind of stuff with the rest of the web.
Great post.
posted by Fizz at 2:41 PM on October 8, 2019
Great post.
posted by Fizz at 2:41 PM on October 8, 2019
A great resource of puzzles indeed. I would love seeing some crossword puzzles as well. My favorite variation of Sudoku is Killer Sudoku
posted by andrewmc at 2:57 PM on October 8, 2019
posted by andrewmc at 2:57 PM on October 8, 2019
I used to do Kakuro's long ago. Happy to see them here.
I sometimes do Sudoku, but do KenKen's daily. Looks like those are called TomTom here.
posted by MtDewd at 3:37 PM on October 8, 2019
I sometimes do Sudoku, but do KenKen's daily. Looks like those are called TomTom here.
posted by MtDewd at 3:37 PM on October 8, 2019
These types of puzzles are very much NOT for me
I've been following Cracking The Cryptic and slowly learning how to solve more advanced Sudokus. The channel is a slightly different take on an idea I had of Let's Play videos focused on puzzle games called Let's Solve. Also he's actually doing it, where as I just have some brainstorm notes, so props.
Been subscribed to GM's RSS for a while, they're pretty damn hard. krazydad has a more general audience set of puzzles. And conversely, if you want to benchmark yourself against the great solvers of the world, the World Puzzle Championship puzzles are available. I have an archive somewhere on the NAS at home (perhaps I should make a google drive folder, but they publish books so perhaps not), they've always kicked my ass.
Final thought: I've been using xournal to good effect; import the puzzle pdf and you can draw / annotate as desired. it's a bit more usable with wacom digitizers I guess, but infinitely more flexible than puzzle specific apps.
posted by pwnguin at 3:49 PM on October 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
I've been following Cracking The Cryptic and slowly learning how to solve more advanced Sudokus. The channel is a slightly different take on an idea I had of Let's Play videos focused on puzzle games called Let's Solve. Also he's actually doing it, where as I just have some brainstorm notes, so props.
Been subscribed to GM's RSS for a while, they're pretty damn hard. krazydad has a more general audience set of puzzles. And conversely, if you want to benchmark yourself against the great solvers of the world, the World Puzzle Championship puzzles are available. I have an archive somewhere on the NAS at home (perhaps I should make a google drive folder, but they publish books so perhaps not), they've always kicked my ass.
Final thought: I've been using xournal to good effect; import the puzzle pdf and you can draw / annotate as desired. it's a bit more usable with wacom digitizers I guess, but infinitely more flexible than puzzle specific apps.
posted by pwnguin at 3:49 PM on October 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
I have a drawer full of puzzle books I've bought and then not solved. Half of the drawer's taken up with Nikoli annuals (mostly Penpa Mix and Puzzle the Giants) and the other half with Western puzzle books I've picked up over the years.
I recognised, after the most recent move, that this couldn't continue, and started trying to do them all in approximately chronological order. I've managed to get through all but one of the puzzle books I had as a kid, and one of the Nikoli annuals from 2009.
What I'm trying to say is that this is very interesting and I really hope it's still up in 2030 when I need it.
posted by Merus at 8:45 PM on October 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
I recognised, after the most recent move, that this couldn't continue, and started trying to do them all in approximately chronological order. I've managed to get through all but one of the puzzle books I had as a kid, and one of the Nikoli annuals from 2009.
What I'm trying to say is that this is very interesting and I really hope it's still up in 2030 when I need it.
posted by Merus at 8:45 PM on October 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
Wow, this is great!
I love easy TomTom (Kenken) puzzles, and it's very intriguing to see the variations they have on there. And I'm so grateful for the clickable category labels and the difficulty ratings.
I am very interested in trying some of the other puzzle types they have listed in the sidebar.
andrewmc, my favorite source for crosswords is Will Johnston's Puzzle Pointers - any "2019" page in that list goes to a calendar page with links to downloadable .puz format puzzles. (Some only go back four weeks, but others go back months.)
Thanks so much for posting this, Wolfdog!
posted by kristi at 9:50 PM on October 8, 2019
I love easy TomTom (Kenken) puzzles, and it's very intriguing to see the variations they have on there. And I'm so grateful for the clickable category labels and the difficulty ratings.
I am very interested in trying some of the other puzzle types they have listed in the sidebar.
andrewmc, my favorite source for crosswords is Will Johnston's Puzzle Pointers - any "2019" page in that list goes to a calendar page with links to downloadable .puz format puzzles. (Some only go back four weeks, but others go back months.)
Thanks so much for posting this, Wolfdog!
posted by kristi at 9:50 PM on October 8, 2019
I have also been watching Cracking the Cryptic, after it got randomly recommended on my YouTube feed. It had honestly never occurred to me to look beyond the hard Sudokus in the newspapers I read.
My current favorite are the Tapa puzzles (explainer video, explainer article), which are unfortunately hard to find online. So this site is a good resource for that.
I solve them by copying the image into Paint, and using the fill tool, with black and green on either mouse click.
posted by rollick at 10:47 AM on October 9, 2019
My current favorite are the Tapa puzzles (explainer video, explainer article), which are unfortunately hard to find online. So this site is a good resource for that.
I solve them by copying the image into Paint, and using the fill tool, with black and green on either mouse click.
posted by rollick at 10:47 AM on October 9, 2019
This is SO topical for me, because I too have been completely sucked in by Cracking the Cryptic. I love that channel so much--so clear, helpful, and soothing. It's the puzzle version of GBBO. Looking forward to hearing if others have additional recommendations for sources of puzzles.
posted by soonertbone at 7:27 AM on October 10, 2019
posted by soonertbone at 7:27 AM on October 10, 2019
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posted by jeather at 1:26 PM on October 8, 2019