Yajilin (PuzzleMadness)
Rate itShade some cells and run one loop through all the rest, with arrow clues counting the shaded cells.
on puzzlemadness.co.uk
Yajilin on PuzzleMadness mixes shading with loop drawing. Arrow clues say how many shaded cells lie in the direction they point. You shade those cells, which may not touch side by side, and draw one closed loop through every other cell. Four new grids appear each day: Easy, Medium and Hard, plus a separate grid on the Mixed page.
About Yajilin (PuzzleMadness)
A Yajilin grid starts with only its clues: a number with an arrow, such as 2 pointing left, which says exactly how many shaded cells there are in that direction from the clue to the edge of the grid. Every cell that is not a clue ends up either shaded or part of the loop; none may be left empty. Shaded cells may not touch each other horizontally or vertically, though touching at a corner is fine. The loop is a single closed path that moves between neighbouring cells, never crosses itself and passes through every unshaded, non-clue cell.
Clues of 0 are the first help, as every cell in their direction must carry the loop; the site lets you drop a dot in such a cell to show the loop passes through before you know which way. Corner cells and cells hemmed in by shading have only two ways out, which fixes the loop locally. Today's Medium puzzle, for example, is an 8x8 grid with ten arrow clues.
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. Yajilin comes in Easy, Medium and Hard versions, and the Mixed page carries a fourth grid of its own whose level changes from day to day. On 30 October 2026 the Easy grid was 7x7, the Hard 9x9, and the Mixed page served an 8x8 grid rated Medium with different clues from the Medium page. Everyone who opens a given page that day gets the same grid.
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 Yajilin 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 Yajilin (PuzzleMadness)
- Open today's Yajilin page on PuzzleMadness and choose Easy, Medium, Hard or Mixed from the menu above the grid.
- Read each arrow clue: it tells you how many shaded cells lie in the direction of the arrow.
- Shade cells to satisfy the clues, never letting two shaded cells touch along an edge.
- Drag across cells to draw one closed loop through every cell that is neither shaded nor a clue. A single click drops a dot to mark a cell the loop must pass.
- The site tells you when the grid is complete and adds your score; registered players appear on the leaderboards.
Screenshots
Tips
- Mark every cell in the direction of a 0 clue as loop; the cells next to the edge then often have only two exits.
- A corner cell on the loop must turn, so both of its neighbours carry the loop too.
- Next to a shaded cell the loop has fewer ways through, which often fixes its direction.
- Missed a day? Earlier puzzles are in the archive, and finishing one still counts toward this month's leaderboard.
Questions
Can any cell be left empty in Yajilin?
No. Every cell is either a clue, a shaded cell or part of the loop.
When does a new Yajilin puzzle appear?
Once a day. Each of the four pages (Easy, Medium, Hard and Mixed) gets its own dated grid. 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 Yajilin 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.
Ratings and reviews
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