AkashG23's Puzzle Locker

       Ten puzzles on this blog! I know it's not that much of a milestone, but I'll still take it. Also, as the title implies, I set this puzzle at around 4 AM today in my time zone, and it's a Star Battle. I almost forgot some basic rules. Creator's time:  0:46.0 Rules:  Place stars into some cells such that each row, column, and outlined region contains exactly N stars. The value of N is given outside the grid. Stars may not touch one another, not even diagonally. Difficulty:  3/14 Online interface (Penpa+) Online interface (puzz.link)

      Here's a relatively easy Shikaku puzzle to gain experience. Creator's time:  1:15.4 Rules:  Divide the grid into rectangular regions of orthogonally connected cells. Each region must contain exactly one circle. A number in a circle represents how many cells are in the region the circle belongs to. Difficulty:  3/14 Online interface (Penpa+) Online interface (puzz.link)

     Another puzzle category — loop-based puzzles. However, the instructions here might be a little bit vague. Also I wish puzz.link supports irregular board shapes... Also, the reason for the long name is because Masyu used to also have a longer name when it was introduced. Again, this might count as two puzzles, so I'll put the Multiple label just in case. Creator's time:  2:38.5 Rules:  Draw two non-intersecting loops — one in each area. The loops cannot branch off or cross themselves. The loops must turn on black circles and travel straight through the cells before and after the circle. The loops must go straight through white circles, and turn in at least one of the cells on either side. The loops may not cross areas. Difficulty:  4/14 Online interface (Penpa+)

     Here's another shading puzzle. However, there are more numbers, and you have to cover them. Creator's time:  2:46.1 Rules:  Shade some cells on the board. Shaded cells cannot be horizontally or vertically adjacent. A row or column may not contain two unshaded cells with identical numbers. All unshaded cells on the board form one orthogonally contiguous area. Difficulty:  3/14 Online interface (Penpa+) Online interface (puzz.link)

    Here's a larger puzzle. Only this time, it's a number placement puzzle... a Cojun. Also, due to the size and nature of this puzzle, the Creator's Time is longer than usual. Creator's time:  6:42.1 Rules:  Place a number in each cell. Some numbers are already placed. Numbers must be positive integers between 1 and N, where N is the size of the region. Each region contains exactly one of each number. Two equal numbers cannot be orthogonally adjacent. Where two numbers within a region are stacked vertically, the number on top must always be larger. Difficulty:  6/14 Online interface (Penpa+)

   Should this count as one or four Tapa puzzles? I'm not entirely sure, but I'll still put the Multiple  label just to be safe. Creator's time:  1:14.3 Rules:  Shade some cells on the board. You cannot shade a cell containing numbers. Numbers represent the lengths of the blocks of consecutive shaded cells in the (up to) eight cells surrounding the clue. Numbers aren't necessarily in order. The shaded cells cannot form a 2x2 square. All shaded cells form one orthogonally contiguous area. Difficulty:  2/14 Online interface (Penpa+)

  Here's another hybrid between shading puzzles which involves squares and stuff. Note that puzz.link does not have the dashed border in the middle 6x6 region. Creator's time:  2:58.4 Rules:  Shade some cells on the board. Every group of shaded cells must form a filled square. Clues represent how many of the five cells forming a cross around the clue (including itself) are shaded. Two squares of the same size may not have a vertical or horizontal line of unshaded cells between them, unless obstructed by another square. Additionally, all unshaded cells in the middle 6x6 region must form one orthogonally contiguous area, and all shaded regions that lie inside the middle region must also form filled squares. Clues act as if they were placed on the full 10x10 grid. Squares retain their full size, even if part of the square lies in the middle 6x6 region. Difficulty:  4/14 Online interface (Penpa+) Online interface (puzz.link)

 Here's a hybrid between a Nonogram and Tapa puzzle. Note that this puzzle breaks the rules of Tapa a bit. Creator's time:  1:48.0 Rules:  Shade some cells on the board according to the numbers. Clues outside the grid represent the lengths of each of the blocks of consecutive shaded cells in the corresponding row or column, in order from left to right or top to bottom. Rows or columns without numbers must remain empty. Clues inside the grid cannot be shaded, and represent the lengths of the blocks of consecutive shaded cells in the (up to) eight cells surrounding the clue. Numbers aren't necessarily in order. Note that in this variant, shaded cells may be separated and ARE allowed to form a 2x2 square. Difficulty:  5/14 Online interface (Penpa+)

Here's another Look-Air puzzle. This one has a bit of problems on its first draft in terms of uniqueness, but was later fixed. Creator's time:  2:58.3 Rules:  Standard Look-Air rules apply. In addition, each of the red, green, and blue grids acts as separate puzzles. Shade some cells on the board. Every group of shaded cells must form a filled square. Clues represent how many of the five cells forming a cross around the clue (including itself) are shaded. Two squares of the same size may not have a vertical or horizontal line of unshaded cells between them, unless obstructed by another square Difficulty:  4/14 Online interface (Penpa+)

 Hello! I'm starting a blog to post some of the pencil puzzles that I've constructed. I'll start off with some older puzzles, then work my way to posting some newer ones. Here's a puzzle genre that I've been trying to cram lately — Look-Air. Only this time, the board shape is not rectangular. Creator's time:  0:33.4 Rules:  Shade some cells on the board. Every group of shaded cells must form a filled square. Clues represent how many of the five cells forming a cross around the clue (including itself) are shaded. Two squares of the same size may not have a vertical or horizontal line of unshaded cells between them, unless obstructed by another square. Difficulty:  3/14 Online interface (Penpa+)