Posts

Bhai Bahan

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The following puzzles were set and shared on 2/18/26.  I especially like how the clues feel local despite being able to influence large portions of the board. https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?bhaibahan/7/7/q2i56g.q2g2.i2q https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?bhaibahan/9/9/j1n2w1s59h1h41p2h3h1k1j

Wrong Number

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The following trio of puzzles were set and shared on 2/17/26, although I thought of the first one a few days earlier. Variant rule: All numbers are wrong. You can verify your solution by enabling "Check multiple errors": every circle should be red and all broken rules should relate to clue numbers. https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?teri/v:/3/3/369l https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?kurodoko/v:/5/5/729g9j47g7g54j9g523 https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?oasis/v:/7/7/2h2h1h2k3h9h5k2h6h2k3h1h5h4

Update: January 2026

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 I am somewhat familiar with the concept of link rot. When sites go offline, the hyperlinks that point to them are often considered broken or dead. A few years ago, I lost a few Witness panel sets I had made through Looksy because the link shortener I used for them, git.io, went out of service. I don't know what the status is there because, for example, the git.io link for my Plateaus puzzle still works but the link to the puzzle in its Source does not, but it is unfortunate nonetheless that information can just disappear from the internet. It was about a year ago that I mentioned someone advised me to provide pictures of the puzzles on the posts. I didn't think that the sites I was still linking to were liable to stop working. I did notice late last year that the Kudamono editor started adding a pop-up on puzzle completion asking for donations. I also noticed that this pop-up disappeared in December, so I assumed it had accrued enough donations to keep going. Now I fear the op...

Circuit Walk

 I assume the name is a nod to how it's like a more restrictive version of Energy Walk. I set these three yesterday with a certain solving theme in mind. https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?circuitwalk/5/5/04400o6pcj https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?circuitwalk/5/5/08200k6y https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?circuitwalk/5/5/060c0zj6

Word Cube

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 sketched on 1/10; shared on 1/11

Corner Chain

 The lack of rules surrounding shaded squares initially caught me off guard, but the special rule seems perfectly tailored to target local nonuniquenesses whilst allowing for a more free-flowing form of Mochikoro. For example, rectangles are always allowed to be 2 cells wide if necessary, but only some of the small region shapes can be used. https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?cornerch/5/5/3o3i4p https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?cornerch/7/7/6k4t.z8k4 https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?cornerch/9/5/.i.i2q6i.q5i.i./ https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?cornerch/8/8/j.h.g2n6zl6n4g2h.j https://pzprxs.vercel.app/p?cornerch/9/9/4l3q4h4n4n4i34l3k4r3m3g

Update: December 2025

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 2025 was a very ambitious year for me. I'm especially proud of Puzzletober and mostly proud of the mystery and larger project which were completed back in spring and summer. I enjoy having lofty goals to work towards, though sometimes I worry about biting off more than I can chew. I wonder how that bar is set. My original plan for the Christmas puzzle was to make a 45x45 grid composed of 81 5x5 plots that needed to be placed in the right locations and then divided into 37 zones, each with a different ruleset inspired by a prompt on the calendar, the entirety of which would be traversed by a directed network of looping carolers who could band together, split up, and sometimes cross paths. I got about halfway through writing the rules before realizing it was too complicated even for myself. Instead, I poured the extra energy into making puzzles for my family as presents; every family member received two puzzles I thought they'd enjoy that hinted towards a location to find scraps...