Have you seen our free printable Context Logic Puzzles, but not sure how to start? In this post, we’ll walk you through the process of solving Contect Logic Puzzles.
What Are Context Logic Puzzles
Context logic puzzles are grid logic puzzles where you have to follow deceptively simple rules, to complete the grid.
You will see that in the puzzles, some cells contain numbers and these give us the clues for the cells that need shading:
1/ The number in the white cells indicates the number of orthogonally adjacent cells that must be shaded (cells that share a horizontal or vertical edge)
2/ Cells with numbers CAN be shaded. When shaded, their nature changes and the number indicates the number of DIAGONALLY adjacent shaded cells.
3/ All the white cells must be connected horizontally or vertically.
3/ Two black cells must not be orthogonally adjacent. This is a really useful rule for marking out cells you know cannot be shaded.
Tips for solving Context Logic Puzzle Grids
Here are some tips to get you started:
- Remember that cells with numbers CAN be shaded, this may feel counter-intuitive to start
- Don’t shade a cell with numbers so strongly that you can’t read the number!
- Start with the 0s. You know that a cell with a 0, cannot have a shaded cell on any adjacent edge it shares, so this immediately allows you to mark out cells you know cannot be shaded.
- The same goes when a cell is shaded. You know that no shaded cells may be orthogonally adjacent therefore you can mark these too to indicate they are not shaded.
Important:
- Try marking the cells that are to be left blank to narrow down your options when you go through the grid. You will see I have done this on the walk through below.
Context Logic Puzzle Walkthough
Here are a walk through of the puzzle. If you’d like to follow along, you can download the puzzle used. Just right click on the image below to save to your computer.
Start with 0s
Look for the zeros to start. Mark the cells you know CANNOT be shaded to help narrow down your choice.
You will see in this image how I’ve marked all the cells I know cannot be shaded because of their placement in relation to cells with 0.
Remember to include cells with numbers as these can be shaded if the rules allow.
Add shaded cells using the process of elimination. In this example, although it appears there are two cell options for shading, when you look closely, and work out the implications of your move, you will see that there is just one option.
Tip: Remember a shaded cell can be counted twice. Here, we’re counting the shaded cell for both the 1 on the left and as part of the 3 on the right.
Keep looking at the implications and use the process of elimination to mark any cells you know cannot be shaded because of the rules. In this instance, we know this 0 cannot be shaded
Don’t fill the shaded cells so you can’t see the number! When you have a shaded cell which contains a number, remember this changes the nature of the cell and now it is telling us how many diagonal cells are shaded. In this instance we know that one more square on this ‘2’ is to be shaded.
Keep a look out for other clues as the grid gets completed. Here, for example, we can see that this cell must be marked as blank because this cell is isolated from any cells with numbers which will affect it.
REMEMBER NO TWO SHADED CELLS CAN BE ADJACENT VERTICALLY OR HORIZONTALLY. Therefore you can mark as blank those cells when you have shaded a cell.
Keep working through, following the process of elimination. As more cells get filled, the more obvious it will be what your options are.
Remember to keep a look out for the shaded cells with numbers. These will also help you determine what goes where. For example here, we know this cell must be blank as there is already one cell shaded diagonally to the cell marked 1.
The finished grid:
