Something that is a tradition over on Puzz.Link is that every new year people make puzzles using clues that spell out the new year. This is something I've always enjoyed but hadn't really contributed a lot towards, so this year I wanted to take part. Here are five small and relatively simple 2023-themed puzzles (I would've posted them on Jan 1st but I've had unexpected computer issues, sorry!)
Puzzle 1 - Castle Wall Draw a non-intersecting loop through the centers of some cells. The loop may not enter outlined cells or cells containing clues. White cells with outlines must lie inside the loop, while black cells with outlines must lie outside the loop. Grey cells may either be inside or outside the loop. A number represents the sum of the lengths of loop segments in the indicated direction
Puzzle 2 - Heyawake
Shade some cells so that no two shaded cells are orthogonally adjacent and the remaining unshaded cells form one orthogonally connected area. Numbered regions must contain the indicated amount of shaded cells. A line of consecutive unshaded cells may not cross more than one bold border
Puzzle 3 - Yajilin
Shade some cells so that no two shaded cells are orthogonally adjacent and draw a non-intersecting loop through the centers of all the remaining empty cells. Clues cannot be shaded, and represent the number of shaded cells in a straight line in the indicated direction
Puzzle 4 - La Paz
Shade some cells so that no two shaded cells are orthogonally adjacent and divide the remaining unshaded cells into two-cell regions. Clued cells cannot be shaded. A clue indicates the number of shaded cells which lie entirely within the same row or column as the region containing the clue
Puzzle 5 - Tapa
Shade some cells so that all shaded cells form one orthogonally connected area. Clues cannot be shaded, and represent the lengths of the blocks of consecutive shaded cells in the (up to) eight cells surrounding the clue. No 2x2 region may be entirely shaded
