How to Play Hitori: Rules, Strategy & Free Puzzles
Hitori is a logic puzzle played on a grid of numbers. You shade (black out) cells so that no number repeats in any row or column, no two shaded cells touch each other side-by-side, and all the remaining unshaded cells stay connected as one group.
- Skill: Deductive logic & elimination
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- Difficulty: Intermediate
How to play Hitori
- Remove duplicates. Shade cells until no number appears more than once in any row or column among the unshaded cells.
- Keep shaded cells apart. Two shaded cells may never be orthogonally adjacent (no sharing an edge).
- Keep the rest connected. Every unshaded cell must remain connected to all others horizontally or vertically — the white area is one single region.
- Deduce, don't guess. Use the three rules together: a cell that, if shaded, would split the grid must stay white.
Hitori strategy & tips
- A number sandwiched between two equal numbers must stay unshaded (shading both neighbours is illegal).
- If shading a cell would isolate a corner or neighbour, it must remain white.
- Mark cells you have confirmed as "keep white" to speed up later deductions.
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Hitori FAQ
What does "no two shaded cells touch" mean?
Shaded cells cannot share an edge. They may touch diagonally, but never directly above, below, left or right of each other.
How do I know a cell must stay white?
If shading it would either create two adjacent shaded cells or cut the white region into two pieces, the cell must remain unshaded.
Related puzzles
Reference: Hitori on Wikipedia