How to Play the Knight's Tour

The knight's tour is one of the oldest puzzles in mathematics, studied by Euler in 1759: can a chess knight hop around the board landing on every square exactly once? It can, and finding the way is the game.

The rules

A knight moves in an L shape: two squares in one direction and one square at right angles.
Starting on the marked square, move the knight to every square exactly once.
If no unvisited square is reachable before the board is full, you are stuck.

Playing on kawu

Tap one of the highlighted squares to move there. Visited squares show their step number.
Undo steps back as far as you like. Hint shows a move from which the tour can still be completed.
Boards of 5×5, 6×6 and 8×8; the daily tour gives everyone the same start on the 6×6.

Then read Knight's Tour strategy.

Frequently asked questions

Does the tour have to end where it started?

No. That is a closed tour, a harder variant. Here any complete tour counts: visit every square once and stop.

Is a tour always possible from the given start?

Yes. kawu only offers starts that have a tour. On the 5×5 board that means a square of the same colour as the corners; on 6×6 and 8×8 every square works.

What happens if I get stuck?

The puzzle tells you no moves are left. Undo as far as you like and try another branch, or ask for a hint, which always points to a square from which the tour can still be finished.

Last updated 2026-10-21