Tents Puzzle
Give every tree its own tent next to it; tents never touch, and the numbers say how many tents each row and column holds.
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Your last 10 settings, saved only in this browser. Nothing is uploaded.
How to play the tents puzzle online
- Choose a size: 6×6, 8×8, 10×10, 12×12 or 15×15. The default is 8×8.
- Choose a difficulty: Easy, Medium or Hard. Then click New puzzle. “Generating…” shows while the board is made.
- Click or tap an empty cell to place a tent. Click it again to clear it.
- Right-click, or use the Grass chip on a phone, to mark a cell as grass (a cell with no tent).
- Watch the numbers at the edges. A row or column count turns grey when that line holds its full number of tents.
- Press Hint when you are stuck. It highlights the cells involved and explains in one sentence which rule proves the next step.
- Press Check to see cells that break a rule or differ from the solution. They show in red.
- Use Undo and Redo if you change your mind.
The keyboard works too: arrow keys move, Space places a tent, X marks grass and Backspace clears a cell. On a phone, the Tent, Grass and Move chips control what a tap does. Use Move to scroll a zoomed board. Print prints the puzzle with its size, difficulty and rules, and you can tick “Print the answer page too” for the solution. Copy link gives you a link that opens exactly the same puzzle on another device.
Tents puzzle rules
The grid contains trees, and you place tents in the empty cells. Each tree needs exactly one tent directly above, below, left or right of it, and every tent belongs to exactly one tree. Tents never touch each other, not even diagonally. The numbers to the left of each row and above each column say how many tents that row or column holds. Cells that are not next to any tree are always grass.
How do you solve tents puzzles?
Start with the basic rules, which are enough to solve every Easy puzzle. The first is touch: the eight cells around a tent cannot hold another tent, so mark them grass. The second is line full: once a row or column has all its tents, mark every other empty cell in it as grass. A row showing 0 is entirely grass. The third is line all: if a row or column has exactly as many open cells as tents it still needs, put a tent in each of them. For example, in a 6×6 Easy puzzle (seed 3), row 2 needs one tent and has only one open cell left, at column 4, so that cell is a tent. The fourth is lone spot: if a tree has only one open cell beside it, that cell must be its tent.
Medium puzzles also need three intermediate techniques. Pairing applies when a tree has only one possible tent: place it, then treat that cell as unavailable to the other trees beside it. Corner applies when every open cell next to a tree touches some cell X; then X cannot be a tent. Alternation uses the fact that a run of k open cells in a row holds at most ceil(k/2) tents. When a row needs exactly that many, an odd-length run has its tents on the 1st, 3rd and 5th cells.
What makes a tents puzzle Easy, Medium or Hard?
Easy is solved by the basic rules alone. Medium also needs the intermediate techniques above. Hard can require trying a tent in a cell and following the result: if that leads to a broken rule, the cell is grass. You can do this safely with Undo, or use Hint to check a step.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Tents puzzle free, and do I need an account?
Yes, it is free. There is no account or sign-up, and nothing you do is uploaded. Your progress and settings are saved automatically in your browser.
Can I play the Tents puzzle on a phone?
Yes. It works on phones, tablets and computers. On a phone, use the Tent and Grass chips to choose what a tap does, and the Move chip to scroll a zoomed board.
Can I print the Tents puzzle?
Yes. Press Print to print the puzzle on its own page, with its size, difficulty and rules. Tick “Print the answer page too” to add the solution on a second page, and choose Save as PDF in the print dialog if you want a file. A4 and Letter both work.
Does every Tents puzzle have one solution?
Yes. Each board is generated in your browser and kept only when the site’s solver proves it has exactly one solution. You can always finish it by logic without guessing.
Can I get a hint or see the answer?
Yes. Hint highlights cells and explains the next step in one sentence, and if you have made a wrong mark it points to that mark first. Show solution reveals the full answer.
Can I use tents and trees puzzles from here commercially?
Yes. Tents puzzles from this page are royalty-free for personal, classroom and commercial use, including KDP puzzle books, Etsy and Teachers Pay Teachers listings, and print-on-demand products. No credit is required. The only thing you may not do is copy the generator or the site itself to run a competing service; see the terms.
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