How to play Lasso
Lasso is a daily loop puzzle in the style of slitherlink. You draw one closed loop along the lines between the dots, and the numbers tell you how many sides of each tile the loop uses. A puzzle takes two to ten minutes.
The rules
- One loop. Draw a single closed loop along the lines between the dots.
- Numbers count sides. A number says how many of its tile's four sides the loop uses. A tile without a number can have any count.
- No crossing, no branching. Every dot has two lines or none, so the loop never touches itself.
Every puzzle has exactly one answer, and you can always reach it by logic alone.
Controls
- Tap an edge to draw a line. You don't have to hit it exactly: a tap anywhere on a tile goes to its nearest side.
- Tap again to mark the edge with an x, your note that the loop doesn't go there. A third tap clears it.
- Drag from dot to dot to draw a run of lines, and drag back to take the last ones away. Dragging along a line you already drew erases it.
- On a keyboard: arrow keys move between edges, Space cycles an edge, L draws a line, X marks an x, Backspace clears.
- With Auto x marks on in Settings, edges that can't have a line any more get a faint x: around a number that has all its lines, and at a dot where two lines meet.
- Hint highlights the next step you can prove and explains why.
- Broken rules show up right away: a number with too many lines turns red, and lines that branch at a dot turn red.
Seven techniques that solve every board
Every Lasso puzzle can be finished with the moves below. Easy puzzles need only the first four. Medium puzzles add two numbers read together and a short what-if. Hard puzzles need the longer what-if at least once.
1. Zeros and full numbers
A 0 has no lines around it, so put an x on all four sides. Once a number has all its lines, its other sides get an x too. And when a number needs every side that's still open, draw them all: a 3 next to a 0 gets its other three sides.
2. Dots: no dead ends, no branches
Every dot has two lines or none. If two lines meet at a dot, its other edges get an x. If a line reaches a dot with only one way on, the loop goes that way. A dot with just one open edge left can't take a line at all, because the line would stop there. The corners of the board are where this starts: a line along the rim has to turn at the corner.
3. No small loops
There is only one loop. If an edge would join the two ends of the same line while other lines are still somewhere else, the loop would close too early. That edge gets an x.
4. Numbers in corners
Look at what the loop can do at each corner of a number. In a corner of the board, a dot has only two edges, so the loop either turns there or stays away. A 3 in a corner can't leave both sides empty, so it uses both outer sides. A 1 in a corner can't use both, so both get an x. The same reasoning works anywhere a dot has edges ruled out.
5. Two 3s side by side
Two 3s next to each other always use both of their far sides. And the edge between them can't run on past them: the edges straight above and below it get an x. Try any other way and some dot ends up with three lines or a dead end. Read other neighbors the same way: two numbers together often settle edges neither settles alone.
6. What if, one step
Pick an edge and imagine a line on it. Follow the numbers and dots for a few moves. If that leads to three lines at one dot, a dead end, a number with the wrong count or a small loop, the edge gets an x. It works the other way round too: imagine an x, and if something breaks, the loop runs there.
7. What if, followed through
On hard boards, make the same guess but keep going with every technique above, corners included, until something breaks. If it does, the opposite is true. Start next to the end of a line or beside a 3, where the chain stays short.
Questions
When does a new puzzle come out?
At midnight in your own time zone. The board grows through the week, from 5×5 on Monday to 7×7 on Thursday and 8×8 on Sunday.
Do I need an account?
No. Your streak, times and progress are saved in this browser. Clearing browser data removes them.
Do I have to mark the x's?
No. The x marks are notes for you. The puzzle is solved the moment the loop is complete.
Does using a hint break my streak?
No. Your result just shows how many hints you used.
Is Lasso the same as slitherlink?
The rules come from a classic Japanese pencil puzzle known as slitherlink, also called loop the loop. Lasso has its own boards made by our own generator, a new puzzle every day, 300 practice puzzles and step-by-step hints.
Can a puzzle need a guess?
No. Before a puzzle is published, a solver works through it with the techniques above, step by step, and a separate checker confirms it has exactly one answer. If either fails, the puzzle is thrown away.