How to play
- Goal
- Place dark stones so every number has exactly one dark landing at its straight-line distance, dark stones never share an edge, and pale floor stays connected.
- How it ends
- A chart is won when all three rules hold; it has no loss state.
- Record
- Your first completed time is saved for each chart, and a fresh first solve can set a named best; replays are practice.
- Each numbered rune is fixed pale. For a number N, check only the in-bounds squares exactly N steps up, down, left or right: exactly one must be dark. The spaces between do not block the shot or count as landings.
- In the worked picture, a 4 rune at the top of a 5×5 courtyard has only one in-bounds landing, four squares below. The after picture places a dark stone there while the intervening squares remain open.
- Dark stones may meet diagonally but cannot share an edge. Every remaining pale square, including numbered runes, must connect by pale edge steps. Tap a rune to see its landing squares. Tap an empty square to cycle dark, pale, blank; correct dark stones alone finish the chart. Restart clears marks without resetting the first-opening clock.
Controls
| Tap / click an empty square | Cycle blank, dark, pale, blank |
|---|---|
| Dark / Pale / Erase tool | Choose a direct mark for subsequent square taps; tap that tool again to return to cycling |
| Tap / click a numbered rune | Highlight its exact-distance landing squares and current dark count |
| Right click | Clear an empty square |
| Arrow keys | Move the visible cell cursor |
| D / P; Enter / Space | Place dark or pale directly; apply the selected tool on the selected square |
| Delete / Backspace | Clear the selected square |
| Restart / R | Clear marks after confirmation without resetting the clock |
| Escape | Close a dialog or return to the atlas |
| Gamepad | D-pad moves and reaches tools at the board edge; A applies, X erases, shoulders change tool, B returns and Start opens settings |
Tips for Kuroshuto
- One possible landing Start with runes near an edge. If only one landing is in bounds, that square is dark.
- Range is exact A dark stone one square away does nothing for a rune marked 2; only two-square landings matter.
- Keep the courtyard joined An isolated pale island cannot be repaired by adding more dark stones.
Questions about this game
Do intervening stones block a rune?
No. Only the squares exactly the printed distance away count.
Must I mark every pale square?
No. Pale marks are optional notes; placing the correct dark stones completes a chart.
Can I improve my first time on replay?
No. Only the first completed time for each chart can rank; replay is practice.
160 original charts independently proved unique and solvable by local no-guess deductions. Private answer witnesses never ship. Saves use morass.kuroshuto.v1. No ads or analytics run inside the game.
Watch how to play
About Kuroshuto
In a violet rune courtyard, place obsidian target stones at the exact range shown by each brass numbered rune. The distance is measured in straight squares, without the spaces between blocking the shot.
All 160 original charts are open across four shelves. An independent exact solver proved one answer for each, and every chart has a deduction path without guessing.
Your first completed time is saved for each chart. A fresh first solve on the game page can earn a named record; replay is practice.
