Kurosu (The i Paper)

About Kurosu (The i Paper)

Kurosu is a binary logic puzzle in the puzzles section of The i Paper, the British newspaper published at inews.co.uk. The page calls it Kurosu 6 after the size of its grid: six rows and six columns, some squares already holding an X or an O.

Your job is to fill every empty square with an X or an O. No row or column may have more than two of the same symbol next to each other, and every row and column ends with the same number of each, so three Xs and three Os. Diagonals do not count. The puzzle has one answer that you can reach by reasoning, with no need to guess.

A new dated grid appears each day, the same for everyone. A timer runs while you solve, and when you finish the page shows your time and lets you share the result. Earlier days sit in a row of dates above the grid and on the puzzles page.

The i Paper asks for a free account to play its daily puzzle, and a subscription opens past puzzles and play without limits. The site carries ads for readers without a subscription.

The same puzzle is also known as Takuzu, Binairo or Tango. The six by six size makes it a short solve, which suits a coffee break, and it is a gentle way into the bigger Kurosu and Binairo grids published elsewhere.

How to play Kurosu (The i Paper)

1. Open the Kurosu page on inews.co.uk and sign in with a free i Paper account.
2. Look at the X and O already placed in the six by six grid.
3. Pick an empty square and set it to X or O with the buttons beside the grid.
4. Never let three of the same symbol sit side by side in a row or column; diagonals do not count.
5. Finish each row and column with three Xs and three Os.
6. Complete the grid to stop the timer, then share your result.

Tips

• Wherever two of a symbol sit side by side, the squares at both ends must be the other symbol.
• Where two of a symbol have one gap between them, the gap must be the other symbol.
• Once a row has three Xs, every empty square left in it is an O, and the same goes for columns.
• Use the notes option to pencil in a square you are unsure of, rather than guessing.

Questions