Goal of the game
Each puzzle tells a short story: a few people, and for each of them one item of every category (a pastry, a pet, a city…). Each item belongs to exactly one person.
The clues never give the answer directly: combine them to find out who goes with what. There is only one solution, and you can reach it without ever guessing.
The grid
Each block of the grid crosses two categories. A cell answers the question: “do these two items go together?”
✗ ✓
Tap a cell once to exclude it (✗), a second time to confirm it (✓), a third time to clear it.
When you confirm a cell, the other cells of its row and column in the block are crossed out automatically: an item goes with only one item of each category.
Tap a clue to strike it out once you have used it. Undo takes back your last move.
Step-by-step example
Let's take an easy puzzle: “Morning Café #20”. Four friends, David, Felix, Gina and Hugo, each eat a pastry and each have a pet. Here are the clues:
Morning Café #20
- Gina does not eat a croissant.
- The person who eats a donut does not have a rabbit.
- Felix has a cat.
- The person who eats a croissant does not have a cat.
- Hugo eats a cookie.
- The person who eats a donut does not have a cat.
- The person who eats a cookie does not have a rabbit.
- Gina does not have a hamster.
1. The certainties
Clues 3 and 5 are direct: Felix has the cat and Hugo eats the cookie. Confirm them (✓); the rest of their row and column is crossed out.
| Pastry | Pet | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croissant | Cookie | Donut | Waffle | Cat | Rabbit | Hamster | Turtle | ||
| People | David | ✗ | ✗ | ||||||
| Felix | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ||||
| Gina | ✗ | ✗ | |||||||
| Hugo | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ||||
| Pet | Cat | ||||||||
| Rabbit | |||||||||
| Hamster | |||||||||
| Turtle | |||||||||
2. The exclusions
Clues 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 tell what does not go together. Place their ✗: Gina does not eat the croissant, the donut goes neither with the rabbit nor with the cat, and so on.
| Pastry | Pet | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croissant | Cookie | Donut | Waffle | Cat | Rabbit | Hamster | Turtle | ||
| People | David | ✗ | ✗ | ||||||
| Felix | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ||||
| Gina | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||||
| Hugo | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ||||
| Pet | Cat | ✗ | ✗ | ||||||
| Rabbit | ✗ | ✗ | |||||||
| Hamster | |||||||||
| Turtle | |||||||||
3. Cross the blocks
The cat goes neither with the croissant (clue 4) nor with the donut (clue 6). Nor with the cookie: the cookie is Hugo's and the cat is Felix's. Only the waffle is left: the cat's owner eats the waffle, so Felix eats the waffle.
| Pastry | Pet | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croissant | Cookie | Donut | Waffle | Cat | Rabbit | Hamster | Turtle | ||
| People | David | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||||
| Felix | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| Gina | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ||||
| Hugo | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ||||
| Pet | Cat | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ||||
| Rabbit | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ||||||
| Hamster | ✗ | ||||||||
| Turtle | ✗ | ||||||||
4. By elimination
The croissant and the donut are left for David and Gina. Gina does not eat the croissant (clue 1): Gina eats the donut and David the croissant.
| Pastry | Pet | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croissant | Cookie | Donut | Waffle | Cat | Rabbit | Hamster | Turtle | ||
| People | David | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Felix | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| Gina | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
| Hugo | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ||||
| Pet | Cat | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ||||
| Rabbit | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ||||||
| Hamster | ✗ | ||||||||
| Turtle | ✗ | ||||||||
5. The last pets
The rabbit, the hamster and the turtle are left. Gina eats the donut, which does not go with the rabbit (clue 2), and she has no hamster (clue 8): Gina has the turtle. Hugo eats the cookie, which does not go with the rabbit (clue 7): Hugo has the hamster, and David the rabbit.
| Pastry | Pet | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croissant | Cookie | Donut | Waffle | Cat | Rabbit | Hamster | Turtle | ||
| People | David | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Felix | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| Gina | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Hugo | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Pet | Cat | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ||||
| Rabbit | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||||
| Hamster | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | |||||
| Turtle | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | |||||
The grid is solved! With practice, you will spot these reasonings quickly. Your turn to play.