HubbardGames
Home Puzzle guides

Slant · Solving guide

How to solve Slant puzzles without guessing

You do not need to choose a diagonal and hope. Start with dots that leave no choice, then revisit nearby clues as each line reduces their remaining possibilities. These small teaching positions show how.

By HubbardGames

Start with the zeros

A zero means no diagonal may end at that dot. Each square next to it has two possible diagonals, but only one avoids the zero. Draw that one.

An edge zero fixes two squares, and a corner zero fixes one. Count only squares that actually exist inside the board. An interior zero would force a closed diamond of lines around it, so it cannot appear in a valid Slant puzzle.

Both purple diagonals avoid the zero on the top edge. These are forced moves, not guesses.

Look for clues that need every available line

An interior dot has four neighbouring squares. If its clue is 4, every one of those squares must point towards it. The equivalent clue on a straight edge is 2; at a corner it is 1.

This rule still works halfway through a puzzle. Suppose a 3 already has two touching lines and only one undecided square could supply another. That last square must touch the dot.

A central 4 uses all four possible connections. The same counting idea works with partly completed clues.

Turn away from a satisfied clue

Once a dot has exactly the number of touching lines it needs, any remaining neighbouring squares must point away. For example, a 1 with one touching line cannot accept another.

Keep checking both endpoints of each new diagonal. A move forced by one clue may finish a second clue, which can force another move further along the board.

Use the no-loop rule

Slant forbids every closed loop, even if all the numbers around it would be satisfied. When one choice joins the ends of an existing path into a loop, choose the other diagonal.

The illustration shows three sides of a diamond already drawn. The dashed fourth side would close the loop, so the last square must take its other diagonal. Branches are allowed, and separate networks do not have to join.

The dashed line would close a loop. The solid purple alternative is the only legal choice for that square.

When the easy moves run out

Make another pass through the board: zeros, clues needing every remaining connection, satisfied clues, then possible loops. A line you added elsewhere may have changed what is forced.

Larger boards can need deductions involving several clues together. If you use a hint, read the explanation and work out what changed before taking another. A hint in HubbardGames adds time; the ordinary clue colours check public rules, not the hidden answer.

  • Count lines touching the dot, not lines merely near it.
  • Never leave a square blank at the finish, even if its corners have no numbers.
  • A green clue is locally satisfied; it does not prove the entire board is correct.

Put it into practice

Try an Easy Slant Library puzzle and look for one deduction from this guide.

Play Slant

Sign in or create an account to save your progress.

More to explore

Four Colour · Solving guide

Four Colour: start where three colours already meet

On a Four Colour board, a region that touches three different fixed colours has only one colour left. Colour it and the next region often corners itself the same way. An original five by five board where one such region settles four of the five open regions, checked by trying every possible colouring.

Read the guide →

Colour Fields · Solving guide

Colour Fields: a full field fences itself in

In Colour Fields, the moment a field reaches its number every square touching it has to take the other colour. An original five by five board where a 1, a 2, two 4s and a 7 each close in turn, checked by trying every possible colouring.

Read the guide →

Pairs · Solving guide

Pairs: a placed domino crosses out its copies

When a Pairs board stops giving you forced cells, look at the dominoes already placed. Each pair appears once, so every other place its digits touch is dead, and that can leave a cell with one partner. A worked example, checked against the game's solver.

Read the guide →

HubbardGames guide

Per-game standings: where you rank in one game

Tap a game's icon on the Board and you get a table for that game alone: today's field with results and hints, and an all-time table ranked on average points per day finished. Where it lives, what each column means, what it leaves out, and four invented Bridges days where the fastest player comes third.

Read the guide →