Tapa Solving Tips
Tapa is solved locally first and globally last. Rules first? See how to play.
1. Zeros, eights and full rings
A 0 dots every neighbour. An 8 shades them all. A clue whose numbers and the single gaps between them total eight, like 1 2 3 or 7, has very few placements.
2. Edges shrink the ring
A corner clue sees three cells, an edge clue five. A 3 in a corner shades all three; a 5 on an edge shades all five.
3. Blocks forbid
A run of length 3 or more around a clue turns a corner of the ring, and the clue cell itself is unshaded, so blocks are rarely a problem next to clues. Away from clues, whenever three cells of a 2×2 are shaded, dot the fourth.
4. Share neighbours
Two clues next to each other share up to four neighbours. Settle those shared cells so that both clues can still be satisfied.
5. Connect at the end
Every shaded region must join the others. A pocket of shaded cells walled in by dots is an error, and an unshaded path that cuts the grid in two tells you where the wall has to pass.
Frequently asked questions
Which Tapa clues are easiest?
A 0 clears all eight neighbours; an 8 shades them all (and is only possible away from the edge); a clue whose numbers plus the gaps between them add up to eight is also fully determined up to rotation. Corner and edge clues have only three or five neighbours, which cuts the options down fast.
Last updated 2026-10-21