GridPaw Cheats & Solutions

Stuck on a puzzle? Use our free online solver — enter your grid and get the answer instantly.

💡 Before You Cheat — Try These Hints

1. Start with "4" cells — all 4 neighbors must be bulbs
2. Start with "0" cells — all 4 neighbors must be empty
3. Look for forced positions — cells that can only be lit from one direction
4. Count remaining spots — if a "3" has 2 neighbors blocked, the other 2 must be bulbs

🏆 Top 10 Akari Solving Techniques

Master these ten techniques, and you will solve almost any Light Up puzzle without needing a solver tool. They are ordered from easiest to most advanced.

5. Edge Strategy — Cells on the grid edge have only three neighbors. If an edge cell is dark and only one direction can light it, that bulb is forced. Edge cells sandwiched between two black walls are the easiest forced placements after corners.
6. Line-of-Sight Elimination — After placing a bulb, trace its beams in all four directions. Every cell it illuminates cannot hold another bulb. This is the most frequently used technique in intermediate puzzles.
7. Counting Remaining Neighbors — Re-check every numbered cell after each new bulb. If a "2" cell now has one bulb in a neighbor and one X, the remaining two open neighbors must contain exactly one bulb — not both, not zero.
8. Unlit Cell Analysis — Find a white cell that is not yet lit. If it can only be lit from one specific direction (because walls block all others), that direction must contain a bulb. This is especially powerful in narrow corridors.
9. Shared Light Source — When two or more dark cells can only be lit from the same single cell, that cell is a forced bulb. Look for clusters of dark cells that funnel down to one candidate.
10. Chain Reasoning — Link multiple techniques together: place a bulb, trace its line-of-sight, update numbered cells, find a forced placement, place another bulb, repeat. A single chain can resolve 10-20 cells in sequence on hard puzzles.
11. Elimination (Hypothetical Reasoning) — Assume a cell has a bulb, follow the consequences. If a contradiction appears, the assumption was wrong and the cell must be empty. This is a formal proof method, not guessing.
12. Parity Check — In some grid sections, the number of available white cells vs. the number of required bulbs creates a forced pattern. If a 2×2 block of white cells has two numbered walls on opposite corners, the bulb placement pattern is predetermined.

Study these techniques, practice on GridPaw's free puzzles, and you will soon find yourself needing the solver less and less. For a deeper dive into each technique, visit our complete strategy guide.

🔧 Online Akari Solver

📚 Level Guides

Coming soon — we're building walkthroughs for every GridPaw level. Check back daily!