TappyPotato logic puzzles

Region & placement

Magnets — rules and where to play

MAGNETS · Magnet Puzzle / Magnetism

Drop positive and negative poles into the grid; like poles repel, so neighbours cannot match. The counts tell you how many of each a line holds.

Origin
2000 · Japan
Difficulty
★★★★★ 2–4 / 5
Time
5–25 min
Grid
5×5 – 12×12
Sites
9

Rules

  1. Each cell holds a + or − pole, or stays empty.
  2. Orthogonally adjacent cells in the same region may not share a pole.
  3. Line ends state how many + and how many − each row or column holds.
  4. Some versions use dominoes carrying one + and one −.

How to start

Settle the extreme counts first

When a row's + count equals its free cells, everything is fixed.

Alternate along the repulsion rule

One pole forces its neighbours to the opposite, and you can walk it across the grid.

Watch for the "same region" wording

Neighbours separated by a bold line are not affected.

Where players get stuck

  • Applying repulsion across a bold dividing line.
  • Reading the + and − figures as one total rather than two.

Play Magnets

9 sites
Puzzle PicnicFree

Handmade Nikoli-style grids from a mix of setters, picked rather than dumped, playable in the page.

Open → PuzzleMixFreemium

Gareth Moore's site: Sudoku, then Slitherlink, Nurikabe, Futoshiki, Calcudoku and Hanjie.

Open → pzv.jpFree

A wider puzz.link-style database — more types, cut a bit finer.

Open → Penpa+Free

A fat editor for Japanese types: lots of shapes and marks, and it will ingest a puzz.link.

Open → pzplusFree

A community bank with difficulty and clear counts, browsable without leaving the page.

Open → Naoki InabaFree

Naoki Inaba writes a lot, including types you won't see many other places.

Open → Puzzle Square JPFree

A large Japanese variant archive that moves often, with difficulty marks on the grids.

Open → Grandmaster PuzzlesFree

Thomas Snyder's own handmade Sudoku and variants — world-champion difficulty, not generated filler.

Open → GridPuzzleFree

Dozens of grid logic types in the browser, with progress tracking and dailies.

Open →

Browse All-in-one portals →

Also on multi-type portals

Janko.atFree

Otto Janko's German/English archive: hundreds of playable types, all free.

Open → Puzzle RulesFree

Clean rule pages for dozens of types. Fastest way to learn a grid you haven't seen.

Open → NoqxFree

An ASP solver for 170-plus types. Connectivity puzzles tend to come back quickly.

Open → Nikoli Puzzle SolverFree

Z3 under the hood, 100-plus types, including hex and triangle boards.

Open →

Browse portals →

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About this page
  • Last updated 2026-09-22
  • Source Curated compilation of established puzzle rules and listed third-party play sites
  • Audience Players learning Magnets rules or looking for online sites to play
  • Covers Rules summary, how to start, common pitfalls, and the dedicated play sites listed on this page
  • Does not cover Hosted puzzles, worked solutions, official contest rankings, third-party uptime or pricing guarantees
  • Not advice This page is puzzle reference content only. It does not constitute financial, legal, medical or other professional advice.
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