Starlight Grids
Follow the number clues and light up a hidden picture of the night sky.
- Genre
- Puzzle, picture logic
- Players
- 1
- Play with
- Keyboard, Mouse, Touch screen
- Progress
- Automatic, in your browser
- Version
- 1.0, updated
About the game
Starlight Grids is a picture-logic puzzle game. Every row and column has a few numbers. Each number tells you how long a run of filled cells is, in order. Use them to work out which cells to fill, and a hidden pixel picture appears.
All 31 pictures are small night-time scenes drawn by hand: a crescent moon, an owl, a lantern, a comet, a rocket, a fox, a lighthouse, a cat on a roof and many more. When you finish a grid, the picture lights up in color, sparkles, and shows its name. Every puzzle can be solved with logic alone, so you never have to guess.
Start with quick 5×5 warm-ups, move on to 10×10 pictures, then try the big 15×15 scenes. There is a new Puzzle of the day every day. Your grid and timer are saved as you go, so you can stop at any time and pick up where you left off, on a computer or a phone.
How to play
- Press Play and pick a puzzle. Start with the 5×5 grids if you are new.
- Read the numbers: "3 1" means a run of 3 filled cells, then at least one gap, then 1 filled cell.
- Fill the cells you are sure about. Mark cells you know are empty with an X.
- Numbers fade when their run is done. Use the rows and columns together to make progress.
- When every row and column matches its numbers, the picture lights up. Press Next for the next puzzle.
Controls
| Action | Mouse | Keyboard | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fill a cell | Left click | Space or Z | Fill mode, then tap |
| Mark a cell with X | Right click | X | Cross mode, then tap |
| Paint a straight line | Click and drag | Hold Space, Z or X and use the arrows | Drag |
| Move the cursor | – | Arrow keys | – |
| Undo / redo | Undo and Redo buttons | Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y | Undo and Redo buttons |
| Show mistakes | Check button | C | Check button |
| Zoom big grids | Zoom button, Ctrl+wheel | + and - | Pinch, or Zoom button and two-finger drag |
| Pause / sound | Buttons | P or Esc / M | Buttons |
Click or tap a filled cell again to empty it.
What’s inside
- 31 hand-drawn puzzles in three sizes: 11 at 5×5, 12 at 10×10 and 8 at 15×15.
- Every puzzle can be solved by logic alone, with no guessing.
- Finished pictures light up in color with a twinkle, and show their name.
- A new Puzzle of the day, picked from the collection every day.
- Your grid, timer and best times are saved automatically.
- Undo, redo, clear, and an optional mistake check.
- Plays with mouse, keyboard or touch, with zoom for big grids on phones.
Tips
- Look for big numbers first. In a 10-wide row, a 7 always covers the middle 4 cells.
- A 0 means the whole line is empty: mark it with X right away.
- Mark empty cells with X. They make the next steps much easier to see.
- When you are stuck, switch between rows and columns. A cell found in a row often unlocks a column.
- The game pauses itself when you switch tabs, so the timer is fair.
Questions
Is Starlight Grids free?
Yes. It's free to play in your browser, with no account and no download.
Does it work on phones?
Yes. Choose Fill or Cross at the bottom of the screen, then tap or drag on the grid. On big 15×15 grids you can pinch or press Zoom, and move around with two fingers.
Do I ever need to guess?
No. Every puzzle was checked so that it can be solved one row or column at a time, using only the numbers.
Is my progress saved?
Yes. Your grid, timer and best times are saved in your browser as you play. Come back later and press Continue.
What is the Puzzle of the day?
Each day the game picks one puzzle from the collection for everyone. Find it on the title screen or at the top of the puzzle list.
