puzlr · today · kurosu

Kurosu. Balance the grid.

Difficulty ●●●○○ Type · Logic Goal · two symbols, balanced

Difficulty

O nought X cross tap to cycle

↳ How to play

Fill every cell with one of two symbols — a nought O or a cross X.
Each row and each column must hold an equal number of noughts and crosses.
No more than two of the same symbol may sit side by side — never three in a row, across or down.
The shaded cells are fixed. Tap a cell to cycle O → X → empty.

↳ How to solve it

Block the threes. If two of the same symbol sit together, the cells on either side must be the other symbol.
Mind the gaps. A single empty cell between two matching symbols must be the opposite — otherwise you'd make three.
Finish the count. Once a row or column has all of one symbol it can hold, every remaining cell is the other.
Cross-check. A nearly-full row tells you symbols in the columns it crosses, and vice versa.
Test and rule out. Stuck? Try a symbol — if it forces three-in-a-row or an over-count, it has to be the other one.