Hexcells

Hexcells is an ambient puzzle game that combines elements from Minesweeper and Picross. The goal is to clear a board of adjacent orange hexagons by uncovering them, revealing a black one with a number or a blue one by clicking left or right respectively. Each board contains a set number of blue hexagons shown in the top right corner. Through math, deduction, exclusion, and uncovering the board from different directions, you need to reveal all hexes with as little mistakes as possible.

A simple board generally provides a number of black hexes with a number inside. This number tells you how many blue hexes are connected to any of up to six possible sides. There is always a logical solution to progress without guessing, but often certain parts of the board need to be cleared to receive enough information to solve another part. For instance, a hex with a one inside signifies that just one of the six possible linked hexes is blue. If the blue one is found, you know for certain that the other five are black. There are also hexes with a zero inside, meaning all surrounding ones are black. Boards do not always form a single field, often they are made up out of small islands and the borders help to narrow down the possible options.

Gradually the difficulty increases with larger boards and less information. After the ten initial levels a new mechanic is introduced: numbers outside the grid. They show how many blue hexes are in that column vertically, horizontally or diagonally. If a long column of ten hexes has three blue ones, you know for certain the other seven on the same line are black. To avoid mistakes you can left click the number to reveal a white guideline through the column. Right clicking fades the number to hide it when you no longer need it. There are also numbers between curly brackets (e.g. {3}), meaning that the blue hexagons are consecutive. When a number is between hyphens (e.g. -3) it means there are three blue hexes, but they are not all three connected.

There are 30 levels in total, divided over six groups unlocked gradually. Mistakes cannot be undone, but there is no limit to the amount you can make. After a level is completed hexes are provided based on the number of mistakes and a certain amount is needed to unlock the next set of levels. Past puzzles can be replayed at any moment.