Guides
How to play, and how to win.
Clear, step-by-step guides to the games people actually want to get better at: the rules of Sudoku, the corner strategy for 2048, reading the numbers in Minesweeper and more. Each one is backed by a free game that runs entirely in your browser.
The Benefits of Puzzle Games for Your Brain
Puzzle games are sold as brain training. The honest version is more modest and more useful: here is what Sudoku, Minesweeper and the rest really exercise.
Read guideBlock Puzzle Strategy: Keep a Flat Stack and Score More
A falling-block game rewards a tidy stack, not fast hands. Here is how to keep your surface flat, set up multi-row clears, and last longer as the drop speeds up.
Read guideCheckers Rules and Strategy: How to Win More Games
Checkers looks simple until the forced jumps start. Here are the rules, how Kings change the game, and the strategy that turns even trades into wins.
Read guideHangman Strategy: The Best First Letters to Guess
Hangman is a letter-frequency game in disguise. Here are the best opening letters, how to read the blanks, and when a rare letter is worth the risk.
Read guideHow to Make a Crossword Puzzle From Your Own Words
A good crossword starts with words that share letters. Here is how to pick them, write clues people can solve, and turn the list into a printable grid.
Read guideHow to Make a Word Search From Your Own Word List
A good word search hides your words in a grid that is challenging but fair. Here is how the placement works, how to size the grid, and how to make one in seconds.
Read guideHow to Play Solitaire: Klondike Rules and Winning Tips
Solitaire is easy to start and hard to win well. Here are the Klondike rules, what draw-one and draw-three change, and the small habits that turn more deals into wins.
Read guideHow to Play Sudoku: Rules and a Beginner's Method
The rules of Sudoku take one sentence. Here is that sentence, plus a scanning method and the pencil-note habit that gets beginners solving real grids.
Read guideHow to Solve Nonograms: A Beginner's Method
Nonograms look intimidating and solve like pure logic. Here is the method: find the forced cells first, mark the blanks, and let rows and columns confirm each other.
Read guideHow to Win at 2048: The Corner Strategy That Works
2048 looks like luck and plays like a plan. Anchor your biggest tile in a corner, build along one edge, and avoid the move that breaks it. Here is the full method.
Read guideMinesweeper Strategy: Read the Numbers, Skip the Guessing
Minesweeper is deduction, not luck, once you are past the opening. Here is how to read what each number proves and the two patterns that clear most boards.
Read guideSnake Game Tips: How to Get a High Score
Snake gets hard not because of speed but because of your own tail. Here is how to steer a long snake, leave an escape route, and push your high score up.
Read guideSudoku Solving Techniques: From Naked Singles to X-Wings
Once scanning stops working, named techniques take over. Here are the ones that actually solve Hard and Expert grids, in the order you should reach for them.
Read guideThe Unbeatable Tic-Tac-Toe Strategy (Never Lose Again)
Tic-tac-toe is a solved game, so you never have to lose. Here is the move order that guarantees at least a draw, and how to set the trap that beats a careless opponent.
Read guideHow to Win the Word Guess Game: A Reliable Method
The word guess game is mostly method, not luck. Open with a word full of common letters, spend guess two testing new ones, and let the colours do the work.
Read guideSkip the reading — just play
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