rules & strategy
the goal
sixteen nodes, each with an arrow and one of three colors: circle diamond octagon. a day's puzzle is three in one: end with the whole board in one color, each color scored on its own. your score is your move count, and optimal is the fewest moves possible.
taking a turn
- tap a node and it makes a quarter turn, and keeps its color. one tap is one move.
- the rotate switch sets the way: ↻ right or ↺ left. flipping it isn't a move.
the chain
then the turn travels. the node it now points at turns the same way and takes the tapped node's color, then passes it on, even to a node it already turned. the chain ends when an arrow points off the board, or the moment the board is one color.
try the boards below. a thick ring marks the tapped node, a thin one each node reached. "right A1" means turn the node in row A, column 1 right.
moves: 0
tap to watch the example, or tap any node to try it yourself.
which way matters
turned right, A4 faces the edge and the chain never starts. turned left, it would run the whole row.
moves: 0
tap to watch the example, or tap any node to try it yourself.
crossing its own trail
a chain can loop back and turn a node again. here it loops the top-left square before A1 faces out.
moves: 0
tap to watch the example, or tap any node to try it yourself.
a win ends it early
A2 takes A1's color and faces B2, but B2 never turns: the board is already one color.
moves: 0
tap to watch the example, or tap any node to try it yourself.
scores
- a color's score is the moves on the board when you solve it. your best per color is kept: yours. match optimal for a perfect solve.
- undo and reset are free, and an undo right after a reset brings the moves back.
- stuck? open optimal or yours for hints, one move at a time. a score that used hints is marked. no account needed.
- a new puzzle every day, the same for everyone.
- a friend who plays from your share earns you a pack.
want to get sharper? see strategy.
1. read the chain before you tap
the chain follows each arrow after it turns. so work out where this node will point, then where the next one will. a right turn takes up to right, right to down, down to left, left to up; a left turn goes back the other way.
2. the middle travels, the edges aim
a chain that faces off the board ends at once. the four middle nodes always face a neighbor, so their chains run furthest; an edge node faces out 1 turn in 4, a corner half the time. turn inward to spread color, outward to re-aim one node.
3. use both turns
the switch costs no move, and most optimal solutions mix right and left turns. check both on every tap.
4. a move can be pure setup
a perfect game often has a move that adds none of your color, sometimes on a node of another color. it re-aims arrows for a later chain. here is a 2-move optimal solution for one color. the first tap (A3, a node of another color) turns one node away from that color, but it re-aims A3 and A2 so the second tap can sweep the board.
moves: 0
tap to watch the example, or tap any node to try it yourself.
5. build toward one big chain
the last move of a perfect game usually paints the most. so don't judge a move by how much it paints: one that leaves the board looking no better is fine if it lines up a long finish.
6. try every color
the color with the most nodes is usually among the easiest, so it's a good start. but each color is scored on its own, and sometimes another is easier.
7. and always
- try things. undo and reset are free, and only your best counts.
- check the rotate switch before each tap: it stays where you left it.
- count what's off. a few wrong nodes in a line may fall to one long chain.
- compare with optimal. it's the true minimum, so if you're above it a shorter way exists. a hint shows it one move at a time.