Puzzle 534: Fencing Match 46

It has recently come to my attention that two numbers which commonly appear in these puzzles have been the intellectual property of Microsoft for over a decade. I have created this puzzle without those numbers as a result. Remember, kids, infringing on patents is bad for you!

Puzzle 532: Solomon's Keep 2

No comment.

Puzzle 531: Solomon's Keep 1

No comment.

Rules -- Solomon's Keep

Solomon's Keep was invented by the Japanese puzzle company Nikoli (under the name Five Cells – that's a transliteration, not a translation, believe it or not).
1. Divide the grid along the grid lines into pentominoes (regions containing exactly five cells each).
2. A number in a cell represents how many edges of that cell are borders of pentominoes (including the perimeter of the grid).

Puzzle 530: Ellbound 2

No comment.

Puzzle 529: Ellbound 1

This puzzle appears in "Penpa 2012 by Nikoli"; when a puzzle appears outside of Puzzle Communication Nikoli's experimental section, you know it's legit. Curiously, though, none of the 20 puzzles therein exhibit symmetry.

Rules -- Ellbound

Ellbound was invented by the Japanese puzzle company Nikoli (under the name Sashigane, which refers to a carpenter's square).
1. Divide the grid into L-shaped blocks, each consisting of an elbow, a horizontal arm extending from the elbow to another cell in the same row as the elbow, and a vertical arm extending from the elbow to another cell in the same column as the elbow.
2. A cell with a circle in it is the elbow of its corresponding block. If the circle has a number in it, that number represents how many cells are in that block.
3. A cell with an arrow in it is the tip of one of the arms of its corresponding block, and the arrow points to the elbow of that block.

Puzzle 528: Quad-Wrangle 24

Remember when I said "Hopefully I'll have more to say about my next 31x45 puzzle"? Well, I do!

This puzzle is devoted to groza528, a longtime fan who has encouraged me in so, so many ways – not the least of which was his decision to support me financially in the LiveJournal era of my logicsmithing "career", back when I decided to experimentally charge for access to my next 100 puzzles. groza528 actually sent me a check for four times what I was asking for, requesting access to the next 200 puzzles for himself and for a friend! I remain touched by this simple gesture of paying me money. Thank you so much, groza528.
(click to enlarge)

Puzzle 525: Artist's Block 10

As much as I enjoy posting 31x45 puzzles to celebrate milestones (because multiples of 25 are clearly milestones), I'm running out of things to say about them. Hopefully I'll have more to say about my next 31x45 puzzle. :)

Well, I guess I'll say this, since some people seem not to notice when I try to say it unobtrusively in a prefix to the comment form: do not leave a comment claiming a puzzle has multiple solutions unless you can either explain why in a manner that doesn't entirely spoil the puzzle for future readers, or accompany said comment with an e-mail explaining the ambiguity even more uncertainly. While I have made mistakes before when I am overly confident in my own logic, this particular puzzle was test-solved by two individuals who would have undoubtedly noticed such an error. Additionally, please don't spoil what results from shading in the areas with black dots; I would prefer to discuss that via e-mail.

On a completely unrelated note, Sudoku fans may be interested in this Advent calendar David Millar's been working on.
Rules of Artist's Block
(click to enlarge)

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