Akari Puzzle Glossary — All Terms
Bulb / Cat — A bulb (also called a cat on GridPaw) is the object you place on white cells to illuminate the grid. Each bulb sends light in four directions — up, down, left, and right — until the light hits a black wall or the grid edge.
When you place a bulb on a white cell, it illuminates every white cell in its row and column until blocked by a wall. The goal of every Light Up puzzle is to place bulbs so that every white cell is illuminated. On GridPaw, bulbs are replaced with adorable glowing cats, but the mechanics are identical.
Anyone playing Akari puzzles. The bulb/cat is the core game piece. Understanding how light propagates from each placement is essential for solving any puzzle.
Click any white cell to place a glowing cat. Watch how its light spreads up, down, left, and right until hitting walls.
Every white cell the light touches is now "illuminated." Dark cells still need light from another direction.
If two cats can see each other in the same row or column without a wall between them, that is a violation. Remove one cat.
Right-click or long-press to place an X mark on cells where no bulb can go. This helps track elimination logic.
There is no mechanical difference. "Bulb" is the traditional Akari term. "Cat" is GridPaw's themed version. Both illuminate their row and column identically.
No. Two cats cannot be in the same unobstructed row or column. If they can see each other, that is a rule violation that must be fixed.
A cat's light travels in all four directions (up, down, left, right) until it hits a black wall or the edge of the grid. There is no distance limit.
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