How to play
- Goal
- Shade square patches so every numbered cross matches and equal-sized squares cannot see each other.
- How it ends
- The chart finishes when every clue and square sightline is correct; Undo and Clear allow corrections while solving.
- Record
- Your first unassisted finish keeps your time for that chart; later plays are practice.
- Every edge-connected shaded patch must be a filled square, including a single cell. Different squares cannot share an edge, but they may touch at corners.
- Two equal-sized squares cannot see each other horizontally or vertically. A differently sized square must cross every actual shared row or column to block that sightline; a blocker beside the line does not count.
- Each number counts shaded cells in itself plus its existing edge neighbours. A corner cross has three cells, an edge cross four, and an interior cross five. Numbered cells may themselves be shaded.
- Choose Shade, White or Clear, then tap or paint. Release commits a stroke as one Undo step. Blank cells are white at completion; dots are optional white notes, and the white floor need not connect.
- Escape, a cancelled stroke, resize or an extra finger withdraws an unfinished stroke. Restart clears your marks after confirmation and keeps the original first clock running.
Controls
| Mouse / touch | Choose Shade, White or Clear, then tap or paint a stroke |
|---|---|
| Arrows + Enter / Space | Move the cursor and apply the current brush |
| 1 / 2 / 3 | Choose Shade / White / Clear |
| Delete | Clear the cursor cell |
| Z / Y | Undo / Redo |
| Escape | Cancel a stroke, close a dialog or return to the atlas |
| Controller | D-pad moves; A marks; X notes white; Y changes brush; shoulders Undo/Redo; B cancels or returns; Start settings; Back rules |
Tips for Rukkuea
- Start at zero The whole existing cross stays white, including the numbered tile.
- Complete square shapes A bent or rectangular shaded patch must grow into a filled square or be corrected.
- Check every shared line One blocked row does not excuse a second open row between equal-sized squares.
Questions about this game
Can a numbered cell be shaded?
Yes. Its own cell counts in the cross just like its existing edge neighbours.
Are singleton patches legal?
Yes. A single shaded cell is a 1×1 square.
Can squares touch?
They may touch at corners, but not along an edge.
Must every white cell be marked or connected?
No. Dots are optional notes; blank cells count as white at completion, and the white floor need not connect.
What is Best time versus Your time?
Best time is the named online best. Your time is your saved first finish for that chart in this browser.
Can replay improve my first time?
No. Your first completed time is retained; replay is practice.
All 160 charts are open. Reload preserves marks, Undo and the original clock; resumed solves finish locally. Replays preserve your first time.
Watch how to play
About Rukkuea
Shade separate square patches on the square observatory’s charts. Each number counts shaded cells in its cross, including the numbered cell itself. Equal-sized squares must have their shared sightlines blocked by differently sized squares.
All 160 original charts are open: twenty four-by-four charts, sixty five-by-five charts and eighty six-by-six charts across four shelves. Every chart has one independently verified shaded layout.
Your first finish keeps its time for that chart. An uninterrupted verified first solve under twenty-four hours can claim the named fastest time; later plays are practice.
