How to play
- Goal
- Shade one connected wall that matches every clue's neighbouring run lengths without a filled 2×2 square.
- How it ends
- A chart is won when the shaded cells satisfy every rule; clear marks are optional, and there is no loss.
- Record
- The first unaided solve time for each chart is kept; replay is practice.
- A wardstone reads the eight squares around it in a ring. Its numbers give the lengths of separate shaded runs in any order. A 0 means all surrounding squares stay clear; off-board squares do not count. Wardstones themselves stay clear. In the worked picture from Chart 001, the 1·2 stone first sees a pair at its upper left and left; adding one separate wall square below gives its second run.
- Shade squares so every wardstone's runs match, every shaded square joins one wall through shared edges, and no 2×2 block is fully shaded. Diagonal contact does not join the wall. Clear notes are optional; a chart wins from the shaded squares alone.
- Tap a free square to cycle wall, clear note and blank. Drag across several squares to paint them as one Undo step. The Wall, Clear and Erase buttons act on the selected square; a fixed wardstone cannot be changed. Red edging marks a definite contradiction. Undo, Redo and Restart let you correct a chart, while Restart keeps the original clock running.
- All 160 charts are open. Your first uninterrupted clear is the only ranked time for that chart; replay is practice. Leaving an unfinished chart and returning in this page keeps its marks and first clock.
Controls
| Tap / click a free square | Cycle wall, clear note and blank |
|---|---|
| Drag across squares | Paint one mark through several squares as one Undo step |
| Wall / Clear / Erase | Apply or remove a mark on the selected square |
| Arrow keys | Move across the chart, including fixed wardstones |
| Enter / Space | Cycle the focused free square |
| 1 / 2 / 0 | Shade, note clear or erase the focused square |
| Z / Y | Undo or redo |
| R / Escape | Restart with the same clock / close a panel or return to the atlas |
| Gamepad | D-pad moves; A cycles, X notes clear, Y erases, LB/RB undo/redo, Start opens settings |
Tips for Tapa
- Read the whole ring The numbers can appear in either order around the wardstone; a clear square separates runs.
- Leave room to connect Every shaded group must eventually join the same wall through sides, not corners.
- Watch solid squares Three dark corners of a 2×2 block force the fourth square to stay clear.
Questions about this game
Must I mark every clear square?
No. Clear notes help with reasoning, but only the shaded wall matters for a win.
Can every chart be solved without guessing?
Yes. Each fixed chart has one exact answer, and an independent deduction pass reaches it without branching.
All 160 fixed charts have distinct-by-symmetry clues, one exact answer and an independently checked no-guess deduction trace. Private witnesses never ship. Progress uses morass.tapa.v1. Only the first clear can rank; replays are practice. Sound follows the shared arcade settings. No ads or analytics run inside the game.
Watch how to play
About Tapa
Moonlight falls through an old observatory onto 160 bronze wardstone mosaics. Shade their pale squares into one winding obsidian wall, following the small numbers carved into each wardstone.
Four open galleries range from five-by-five introductions to seven-by-seven charts. Every chart has one independently proved answer and a deduction path that needs no guess.
Your first solve time stays with each chart. An uninterrupted first clear on the game page can claim the named best; later replays are untimed practice.
