Puzzle · Logic Puzzle
Mosaic Puzzle
Play Mosaic Puzzle online. Shade squares so each clue counts the shaded cells in its surrounding three-by-three area, including itself.
The game's own interface may still be in English.
Overview
Mosaic Puzzle reconstructs a shaded pattern from local numerical clues. Each number tells you how many black cells lie in the three-by-three neighbourhood centred on that number, including the numbered square itself. At the edge or corner, only cells inside the board count. A clue does not specify a consecutive run and does not describe a whole row, which makes this different from Nonogram. The most useful deductions come from overlapping neighbourhoods. Two nearby clues share many cells, so their difference can reveal something about the few cells they do not share. The locally hosted Mosaic engine generates new patterns and offers board settings through the Type menu. You can mark confirmed white cells as well as shaded ones.
How to Play
Click a square to shade it and use a secondary click to mark it white. On touch screens, enable Secondary before making white-cell marks, then turn it off to shade again. Read a clue as a count over its surrounding neighbourhood, not just its immediate orthogonal neighbours. Both filled and deliberately empty cells matter when deciding what remains possible. Continue until all clues agree with the final shading. Undo reverses your most recent input, and Restart restores the uncluttered starting pattern without changing the puzzle.
Tips & Strategy
Zero clues force their entire neighbourhood white. A nine away from the border forces all nine cells black, while the maximum at a corner is only four. After these direct deductions, compare neighbouring clue areas. If one area contains all but a small strip of another, subtract their confirmed totals to constrain that strip. Revisit clues whose required black count is already satisfied and mark the remaining surrounding cells white. Do not assume the number's own square must stay white: it contributes to its clue in exactly the same way as the other cells in that neighbourhood.
About this version
Mosaic Puzzle uses the locally compiled mosaic engine from Simon Tatham’s Portable Puzzle Collection. The original authors retain credit under the MIT license. SonoTap provides the browser adaptation and this guide.
Controls
- Mouse
- Click a square to shade it and use a secondary click to mark it white. On touch screens, enable Secondary before making white-cell marks, then turn it off to shade again. Read a clue as a count over its surrounding neighbourhood, not just its immediate orthogonal neighbours. Both filled and deliberately empty cells matter when deciding what remains possible. Continue until all clues agree with the final shading. Undo reverses your most recent input, and Restart restores the uncluttered starting pattern without changing the puzzle.
- Touch
- Tap or drag on the board using the same rules as mouse input. Enable Secondary for the alternate mark; numeric games also provide on-screen keys.
Features
- Shade squares so each clue counts the shaded cells in its surrounding three-by-three area, including itself.
- Local open-source game engine with original author credits
- Generated puzzles and the upstream Type settings
- Undo and restart controls
- Touch input and a secondary-action toggle
Frequently asked questions
What is the goal in Mosaic Puzzle?
Shade squares so each clue counts the shaded cells in its surrounding three-by-three area, including itself.
What is a useful first deduction in Mosaic Puzzle?
Zero clues force their entire neighbourhood white. A nine away from the border forces all nine cells black, while the maximum at a corner is only four.