GridWits
Easy tier Technique 2 of 9 Used by Smart Hint

Clue Satisfied

A clue with all the bulbs it asked for is finished: every other cell touching it is empty.

How it works

  1. 1This wall wants exactly one bulb among the four cells touching it.
  2. 2It already has that one, directly above; the crosses around that bulb are just the cells it lights, ruled out by Already Lit.
  3. 3So the wall's other three neighbours are empty — a bulb in any of them would give it a second one.
  4. 4A 0 is the same rule at its simplest, and it is usually the best opening move on a board: it empties all four of its neighbours before you have placed anything.
1
  • Cells that establish the pattern
  • Cell this technique rules out
Next in the ladder Clue Full →

When a clue has exactly as many free neighbours left as bulbs still to place, all of them are bulbs.