Tuesday, 14 April 2026

Freddie Hand

When I search for Arboretum in the CTC discord, the top results are all from Eric's Daily Reflection (RIP 😭). The puzzle genre appears to have faded from the zeitgeist. Which is unfortunate because I think it's very neat.

Rules: Draw lines connecting the centers of orthogonally adjacent cells to form non-overlapping, non-looping networks, called trees, which together occupy all cells in the grid. Each tree must have exactly one seed (grey triangle). A tree’s endpoints (excluding cells with seeds) may not share a row or column. A number in a seed indicates how many non-seed endpoints the tree has. Lines may not pass through bold borders.

Notation Tip: I recommend drawing lines to represent trees, using O to mark endpoints, and possibly using X to mark cells that cannot be endpoints. There is also answer check on edges should you wish to solve that way.

Acquire a Speedy Sloth 🦥 by solving the puzzle in 3:15 or less!
Obtain a Quick Crab 🦀 by solving the puzzle in 6:30 or less!
And all solvers who complete the puzzle will be rewarded with a Neglected Neddicky 🐦

Example (Penpa+): https://tinyurl.com/57hvpvdv
Puzzle (Penpa+): https://tinyurl.com/4jtxakvp