Kurodoko

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Kurodoko puzzle

Kurodoko puzzle

Many unique puzzles were published on the pages of the Japanese magazine Nikoli. One of them is Kurodoko (黒くろどこ). It is a representative of classic logic games, which are played on a rectangular field divided into cells - just like Sudoku, Hitori, Shikaku, Heyawake, and many other games of the Land of the Rising Sun.

Game history

Unfortunately, the authorship of Kurodoko is unknown. It was sent to the publisher by one of the anonymous readers. The game was first published in the 34th issue of Puzzle Communication Nikoli magazine in June 1991, and quickly gained popularity among its subscribers.

But since in the early 90s this magazine constantly published new puzzles, Kurodoko quickly got lost among them and was not included in the gold fund, although it had all the prerequisites for this.

It is worth noting that Nikoli is not just the world's largest publisher of puzzles, but also the founder of several new game genres that emerged from the early 80s to the mid-90s of the last century. Over the 44 years of its existence, the magazine has fully explored the topic of logic games and popularized them throughout the world. Under their leadership, hundreds of books dedicated to logic puzzles were published, including books with Kurodoko games .

Another version of the game's name - Kuromasu (黒くろマス) - is an abbreviation for "Kuromasu wa doko da?", which translates from Japanese as "Where are the black cells?". This fully corresponds to the goals and objectives of the puzzle, in which the player is required to correctly place black cells on the field based on numerical designations.

Start playing Kurodoko (Kuromasu) right now, for free and without registration! We believe you will succeed!

How to solve Kurodoko puzzle

How to solve Kurodoko puzzle

Japanese puzzles are famous all over the world for their diversity and non-standard approach to trivial problems. A striking example of such a non-standard game is Kurodoko.

Like many similar puzzles, it is played on a rectangular (usually square) field, divided into cells of the same size. The player is given a completely extraordinary task - to determine how many light squares are visible from each point marked with a number.

Game rules

Initially, all the squares on the playing field are white, some of them contain numbers. If we imagine that the cell with the number is a point of view, then the value of this number indicates the number of white squares that can be seen from this point in four directions, including the square with the number itself.

If the view in one direction or another is blocked by a black square, all white squares behind it are not counted, since they are not visible from this point.

To find the right solution in Kurodoko, you need to adhere to three basic rules:

  • Do not paint over the numbered squares.
  • Do not place black squares next to each other vertically and horizontally (diagonally is allowed).
  • Fill the playing field in such a way that the white squares form a common network (without sections cut off from it).

Another important point: if two squares with numbers are on the same line and there are no black squares between them, the same white squares will be visible from them, which will need to be included in the denominations of both numbers when calculating.

How to solve the puzzle

The rules of Kurodoko are based on logic and deduction, so the game can only be solved by systematically trying out all possible moves. To make things easier, you can use the following helpful tips:

  • If one of the numbers on the field corresponds to the maximum number of squares that can be seen from that point, they must all remain white (not shaded). They can be immediately marked with dots, crosses or other symbols.
  • If a field has a "2" cell and another numbered cell or white square in the same row or column (with one space between them), then the cell in the middle should be black. This follows from the game rules, since if it were white, at least three cells would be visible from cell “2.”

The main thing in the Kurodoko game is attentiveness and concentration. There are always much fewer black squares on the field than white ones, and you should paint over each of them only when all other options are excluded!