LITS
Rules[edit]
Shade exactly four connected cells in each outlined region to form a tetromino, so that the following conditions are true: (1) All tetrominoes are connected into one large shape along their edges; (2) No 2×2 group of cells can be entirely shaded; (3) When two tetrominoes share an edge, they must not be of the same shape, regardless of rotations or reflections. (Not all four letters have to be present in the grid; for example, it is possible for your solution to not have any “I” shapes.) Cells with an ‘X’ (if given) are not part of any region.
(Rules and example from PGP IB)
History of the Puzzle[edit]
First appeared on Nikoli volume 104 (2004). Invented by Naoki Inaba (Japan). Originally named ヌルオミノ ("Nuruomino") after ヌル ("to paint") and オミノ ("-omino"). Renamed to "LITS" in volume 112 (2005).
Variants[edit]
LITS+[edit]
Invented by Robert Vollmert (Germany). First appeared on his blog post in February 2014.[1]
Shade some cells, so that each region contains either no shaded cell at all or exactly four connected cells that form a tetromino. No 2×2 square can be completely shaded or completely unshaded. All tetrominoes must be connected. Tetrominoes with the same shape, regardless of rotation or reflection, cannot share an edge.
(Rules and example from WPC 2019 IB)
Appearances in the past WPCs[edit]
- WPC 2019/Round 2 (LITS+) by Silke Berendes
- WPC 2019/Round 3 (Permaculture hybrid with Aquarium) by Silke Berendes
- WPC 2019/World Cup Playoffs by Silke Berendes
- WPC 2018/Round 1 by Jiři Hrdina
- WPC 2017/Round 1 by Rajesh Kumar
- WPC 2017/Round 12 by Amit Sowani
- WPC 2016/Round 2 by Matej Uher
- WPC 2016/Round 9 by Matúš Demiger and Matej Uher
- WPC 2016/Round 15 (LITS+, part of a Matchmaker puzzle) by Matej Uher
- WPC 2014/Round 10 (Inverted LITS)
- WPC 2014/Round 11 (LITS+)
- WPC 2014/Round 14