Logic Masters Deutschland e.V.

This puzzle was created for Round 2 (the Sweet 16) of the Pencil Puzzle Hybrid Tournament on the Skunkworks Discord server. Facing a formidable opponent like The Book Wyrm, I hesitated to stray too far from my comfort zone and chose my favorite, Nurikabe. TBW selected Loop 12, a genre entirely new to me. However, through TBW’s fantastic puzzles on Puzzle Square JP, I quickly picked it up—and became enchanted by it. Hopefully, we’ll see more Loop 12 hybrids in the future!

For those unfamiliar with professional golf, the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass hosts the Players Championship—widely considered the most prestigious annual tournament on the PGA Tour outside of the majors. Nearly every hole on the course features water, most notably the par-3 17th, where the green is (nearly) an “island,” surrounded by water.

Main Puzzle: TPC Sawgrass

Rules:

• 1) Nurikabe: Shade some cells (representing water) such that all shaded cells are orthogonally connected, but never fully cover a 2x2 area. Groups of orthogonally connected unshaded cells form islands. Two separate islands cannot touch one another orthogonally, but may touch diagonally.

• 2) Loop 12: Draw a single, uncrossing, unbranching loop along dotted gridlines. Arrow clues point to the longest line segment(s) that touch the cell (i.e. make up one of the cell borders). If a cell is clued by an arrow(s), all possible arrows are given for that cell. However, not ALL arrows are given throughout the puzzle. (See example for clarification)

• 3) Loop Movement Restriction: The loop may not separate two island cells. In other words, all islands are either completely inside or completely outside the loop.

• 4) Numerical Clues are Ambiguous: if placed on water, the clue is a standard Loop 12 clue, which indicates the length of the longest loop segment that touches the cell. If placed on island, the clue is a Nurikabe (Variant) clue, and represents the longest contiguous stretch of unshaded cells on the island. Each island contains exactly one such clue.

Links to Solve TPC Sawgrass:
Penpa+ Penpa solution checker looks for shading (blue for water, green for island) and loop edges (green)

Playable Example Puzzle: Dye’s Valley

Written Examples to Illustrate rules:

• The double-arrow clue in R1C6 is satisfied by length-four segments that touch the northern and eastern borders of the cell.

• The arrow clue in R3C1 is satisfied by the length-three segment that touches the western border of the cell; the length-one segment on the southern border is shorter.

• The “4” clue in R1C1 is on an island, and is satisfied by the four island cells in R3C1-4.

• The “2” clue in R2C3 is in water, and is satisfied by the length-two segment that touches the southern border; length-one segments on the northern and eastern borders are shorter.