how to play one stroke
One stroke is a free daily path puzzle. Draw a single line that starts on 1, passes through every square of the grid exactly once, hits the numbers in order and ends on the biggest number. Thick walls block the way between some squares. Every board has exactly one line that works, so careful reasoning always gets you there.
- Start from the 1 and drag through the squares, one step at a time, up, down, left or right.
- Pass the numbers in order: 2 before 3, 3 before 4. The line won't step onto a number out of turn or through a wall.
- Drag back over the line to undo a step, or tap any square on the line to roll it back to there.
- Fill every square and finish on the biggest number to stop the clock. Stuck? A hint costs 10 seconds.
Keyboard: Focus the board, then use the arrow keys to draw from the end of the line (stepping back onto the line undoes a step), Backspace to step back, Z to undo, H for a hint, and Esc to go back to the menu.
tips
- Corners and dead ends decide a lot: a square with only two open sides must be passed straight through them.
- Don't strand a pocket of squares. If a region gets cut off from the line, back up.
- Count the steps between two numbers. Some routes are simply too short or too long to fill the gap.
faq
Is there always one solution?
Yes. Every board comes from a line our generator drew, and a path counter proves no other line fits the numbers and walls before you ever see it.
What do the levels mean?
Easy is a 5 by 5 board with extra numbers to guide you. Normal is 6 by 6 and hard is 7 by 7, each with as few numbers as a single answer allows. The daily is the same for everyone and climbs through the week: monday is a 5 by 5 with plenty of numbers, the middle of the week is 6 and 7 squares a side, and the weekend is 8 by 8 with few numbers and more walls.
How is it scored?
By time, from the moment the board appears until the line is finished. A hint rolls a wrong line back to where it went astray, or draws it on to the next number, and adds 10 seconds. The clock pauses while the tab is hidden.