Canal View
Canal View is a loop-based logic puzzle invented by Prasanna Seshadri (India). The earliest known appearance of the concept was under the name “Tapa View” at the 2014 US Nationals, though the variation was later refined and renamed to Canal View. A documented publication on Prasanna’s blog on July 21, 2016 is the earliest widely recognized online example under its current name.
In this puzzle, solvers draw a single continuous loop, and numbered clues indicate how many cells can be “seen” in straight lines from their position, similar to visibility logic in puzzles like Skyscrapers. While the rules place it near Corral/Cave, its deduction style also shares characteristics with Kurotto and Tasukuea, with a hint of Nurikabe-like spatial flow. The blend of visibility constraints and loop construction results in a unique and elegant solving experience.
In this puzzle, solvers draw a single continuous loop, and numbered clues indicate how many cells can be “seen” in straight lines from their position, similar to visibility logic in puzzles like Skyscrapers. While the rules place it near Corral/Cave, its deduction style also shares characteristics with Kurotto and Tasukuea, with a hint of Nurikabe-like spatial flow. The blend of visibility constraints and loop construction results in a unique and elegant solving experience.
Rules
Shade some empty cells black to create a single connected group. Cells with numbers cannot be shaded, and the shaded cells cannot form a 2×2 square anywhere in the grid. Each numbered cell indicates how many black cells can been "seen" in total looking in the four orthogonal directions until the first white cell or the edge of the grid.
Click to see the answer.