Lanterns

The rules

• Exactly one lantern in every row.
• Exactly one lantern in every column.
• Exactly one lantern in every coloured region.
• No two lanterns may touch — not even at a corner.

Where to start

Look for the smallest region. If a region lies entirely within one row, that row's lantern must be inside it — every other cell in that row is out. The same goes for a region within a single column. Then mark the cells around each placed lantern: a lantern rules out all eight neighbours, and with them often a whole region's remaining options.

The usual mistake

Regions that fit inside a single row or column are gifts: their lantern takes that row or column, so no other region may place one there. Tap once for a lantern, twice for a cross to remember where nothing can stand.

Every puzzle has exactly one solution

Each lanterns in Puzelo is checked by a solver written separately from the generator, using a different method. A puzzle is only published if that independent solver finds exactly one solution — so you never need to guess, and the answer we print is never wrong.

Play lanterns free →