How to play Bridges

Play Bridges

A sea of numbered islands, and your job is to join them all up with bridges. The numbers say how many bridges each island wants. It's a puzzle you can learn in a minute, and one of the most relaxing to solve.

The rules

Bridges run in straight lines, across or up and down — never diagonally — and always from one island to another.
Between any two islands there can be one bridge or two, but no more.
Bridges can't cross each other, and they can't pass over an island.
The number on each island is exactly how many bridges end there.
When you're done, every island must be connected to every other, so you could walk from any island to any other.

The puzzle is also known as Hashi, short for its Japanese name Hashiwokakero, "build bridges!". As with all our puzzles, each one has a single solution, and you can reach it by reasoning alone.

An easy puzzle: 11 islands on a 7×7 grid. From Easy puzzle #1 — play it

Solved. Count the bridges at any island and you'll get its number. A double line is two bridges. Every island turns solid once it has all its bridges, just as it does in the game.

Your first move

Start with the islands that have the least choice. An island tucked into a corner or against an edge has fewer neighbours, and since each neighbour can take at most two bridges, a big number on such an island leaves no room for doubt.

The ringed 4 can reach only two islands, and each can take at most two bridges. 2 × 2 = 4, exactly its number, so every one of those connections must be a double bridge, shown in red. From Easy puzzle #1 — play it

From there, keep looking for islands whose number almost fills their room. A 3 with only two neighbours, for example, must have at least one bridge to each: if either got none, the other would need three. The strategy guide has the full set of deductions, including the ones Medium and Hard need.

Building bridges here

Drag from an island towards a neighbour to build a bridge.
Or tap one island, then the other. You can also tap in the gap between two islands.
Repeat to make it a double bridge; a third time removes the bridges altogether.
An island fills in solid when it has exactly the bridges it needs, and turns red if it has too many.
Hint explains the next deduction in words, naming the islands involved. One hint per puzzle is free; after that there's a one-minute wait between hints.

Keyboard

Arrow keys move; Shift + arrow builds a bridge from the island you're on.
Z undoes, Y redoes, H asks for a hint.

Sizes and the daily puzzle

Easy: a 7×7 grid with 9 to 12 islands.
Medium: 9 wide and 10 tall, with 15 to 20 islands.
Hard: 11 wide and 13 tall, with 22 to 30 islands.

Each day's first puzzle is the same for everyone. After that, Next puzzle brings a fresh one whenever you want it, each numbered so you can share it.