Thursday, 26 June 2025

bakpao

Every now and then a new genre gains popularity unexpectedly fast. Take Kurarin for example, the brand new genre from Nikoli's Puzzle Communication 191. It already was featured in GAPP twice last week, has a pzprxs implementation, and has 20 puzzles on PuzSq and a couple more on puzz.link. In my opinion the genre definitely deserves its meteoric rise - it's a ton of fun!

I have to admit though, this issue of Puzzle Communication contains 5 new genres and between them, my money wouldn't have been on Kurarin to take off. Instead, my first impression when I skimmed through the magazine was that Corner Chain, which we're featuring today, would be a more likely contender. After solving the puzzles in the magazine and writing the GAPP I'm not so sure if I like it as much though. I'm curious to see what you think!

Rules: Shade some cells such that all cells with clues remain unshaded. Clues represent the number of cells in the unshaded area they belong to. If the number of cells in such a group is even, the area must be rectangular. If the number of cells is odd, the area must not be rectangular. All unshaded areas must be connected diagonally. Note that there is no restriction on shaded 2x2s and unshaded regions do not necessarily have to contain clues!

GAPP 101: A single unshaded cell without a clue in it will have to grow at least one more cell to prevent it from being a rectangular region with an odd number of cells.

Acquire a Speedy Sloth 🦥 by solving in 2:30 or less!
Obtain a Quick Crab 🦀 by solving in 5:00 or less!
All solvers who complete the puzzle will be rewarded with an Underdog Upupa 🐦!

Example (Penpa+): https://tinyurl.com/24acuu8h
Main (Penpa+): https://tinyurl.com/272873b9