Range (PuzzleMadness)
Make every cell black or white so each number sees exactly that many white cells.
Every day: A new dated Range puzzle every day at each difficulty (Easy, Medium and Hard, plus a Mixed page), the same for every player, with scores on monthly and all-time leaderboards and earlier days in the archive. New puzzle: Once a day (the site does not state the time).
Range on PuzzleMadness, a puzzle also known as Kuromasu, starts as a grid of undecided grey cells with some numbers in it. You turn each cell black or white so that every number can see exactly that many white cells in straight lines, counting itself. Four Range puzzles are published each day: Easy, Medium, Hard and a Mixed bonus.
About Range (PuzzleMadness)
In Range every numbered cell is white, and the number is how many white cells it can see looking up, down, left and right, itself included, until a black cell or the edge of the grid blocks the view. Two more rules limit where black cells can go: no two black cells may touch along an edge, though touching at a corner is fine, and all the white cells must stay connected as one area. On PuzzleMadness the undecided cells start grey and you settle each one as black or white.
The big numbers tell you the most, because a cell that must see far needs long open lines, while a small number next to a big one caps how far the big one can reach in that direction. The rules page works through an example where a 15 and a 5 side by side settle a whole corner. Today's Medium puzzle, for example, is a 10x10 grid with clues from 2 to 14.
PuzzleMadness is a free puzzle website run by Dewi, a software developer who started out making games for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii and DS and now builds the site as a hobby. It carries dozens of puzzle types, from classic sudoku to newer logic grids, and each one gets its own dated puzzle every day at each difficulty. Range comes in Easy, Medium and Hard versions plus a Mixed page, and the same day's Range puzzle is shared by everyone who opens it.
The site checks your grid as you go and tells you when it is finished; it does not publish solutions. Each completed puzzle earns a score, and scores feed a monthly and an all-time Range leaderboard, where only your best attempt at a puzzle counts. Older days stay in the archive, so a missed puzzle can still be played later and still counts toward the current month. Playing needs no account; a free registration gives you a username on the leaderboards and a cloud save. The pages carry adverts.
How to play Range (PuzzleMadness)
- Open today's Range page on PuzzleMadness and choose a difficulty from the menu above the grid.
- Click a grey cell to make it white or black.
- Make each number see exactly that many white cells in its row and column, counting itself, with black cells blocking the view.
- Never let two black cells touch along an edge, and keep all the white cells connected.
- The site tells you when the grid is complete and adds your score; registered players appear on the leaderboards.
Screenshots
Tips
- Add up how far a number could possibly see in all four directions; if that only just reaches its value, every one of those cells is white.
- Close off a number once it is satisfied by placing black cells at the ends of its view.
- After placing a black cell, make its four edge neighbours white straight away.
- Missed a day? Earlier puzzles are in the archive, and finishing one still counts toward this month's leaderboard.
Questions
Does the number in Range count its own cell?
Yes. The number counts every white cell it can see in the four directions, plus the numbered cell itself.
When does a new Range puzzle appear?
Once a day: each difficulty gets its own dated puzzle. PuzzleMadness does not state the exact changeover time.
Where can I see the solution?
PuzzleMadness does not publish solutions. The page tells you when your grid is correct and finished, or when you have made a mistake.
Is Range on PuzzleMadness free?
Yes. It is free to play in a browser with adverts on the page, and registering for the leaderboards is free too.
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