SurroundNine (BrainBashers)
Shade the squares so each clue counts the black squares in its 3x3 patch.
Every day: Six new SurroundNine grids every day, 5x5 and 7x7 Easy, 10x10 and 12x12 Medium, 15x15 and 20x20 Hard, dated and the same for every visitor, plus a 25x25 weekly special. New puzzle: Midnight GMT (the site lets you set your own time zone).
SurroundNine is BrainBashers' mosaic puzzle. Each number tells you how many black squares sit in the 3x3 block of nine centred on it, the clue square included. You shade the grid until every clue is satisfied and every other square is white.
About SurroundNine (BrainBashers)
SurroundNine is Kevin Stone's own name, trademarked, for the mosaic puzzle type also seen as Fill-a-Pix. The grid is full of grey squares, some of them holding a number from 0 to 9. Each number counts the black squares in the nine-square patch around it: the square itself plus its eight neighbours, diagonals included. You decide square by square which are black and which are white, until every number is right.
BrainBashers posts six sizes every day: 5x5 and 7x7 at Easy, 10x10 and 12x12 at Medium, and 15x15 and 20x20 at Hard, with a 25x25 weekly special. The play page greys out clues that are finished (you can turn that off) and has check, answer, print and restart buttons, an option to show mistakes and an optional clock. A help page explains the starting patterns with a walkthrough.
The puzzles change at midnight GMT or at your chosen time zone, and earlier days stay in the date list for a few weeks. No adverts, no account.
It suits Minesweeper players who enjoy the counting but not the guessing, since every SurroundNine can be solved by logic.
How to play SurroundNine (BrainBashers)
- Open the Daily SurroundNine page and pick one of today's sizes.
- Read a clue: it is the number of black squares in the 3x3 block centred on it, itself included.
- Mark squares black or white until each clue's block holds exactly that many blacks.
- Start from 0s and 9s, then work outwards from squares you have fixed.
- Check your grid or show the answer; new grids appear after midnight GMT.
Tips
- A 0 makes all nine squares of its block white; a 9 makes them all black.
- On an edge a block has only six squares, and in a corner only four, so a 6 on an edge or a 4 in a corner is all black.
- Compare two clues side by side: the squares they share explain the difference between them.
- Let finished clues grey out so the remaining work stands out.
Questions
Does a clue count its own square?
Yes. The count covers the whole 3x3 block of nine squares, the clue square in the middle included.
Is it the same as Fill-a-Pix or a mosaic puzzle?
It uses the same rule. SurroundNine is BrainBashers' own name for it.
What sizes are there?
5x5 and 7x7 Easy, 10x10 and 12x12 Medium, 15x15 and 20x20 Hard every day, plus a 25x25 weekly special.
Is it free?
Yes, with no adverts and no account.
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