Pearl Loop

What is Pearl Loop?

Pearl Loop is a logic puzzle of pearls on a grid. Some of the cells hold a white or a black pearl, and you draw a single closed loop through the middles of the cells, moving across and down, never crossing itself and never branching, so that it passes through every pearl. At a black pearl the loop turns, then runs straight on through the next cell on both sides. Through a white pearl it goes straight, and it turns in the cell just before the pearl or just after it, or in both. Cells without a pearl may be left out.

Every board has exactly one answer, and it can always be reached by reasoning, never by guessing. Boards come in three sizes, 6 by 6, 8 by 8 and 10 by 10, and a new board, the same for everyone, arrives every day.

How to play

Drag your finger from cell to cell to draw the loop through their middles.

• Drawing. Every cell your finger passes adds a piece of the loop, and a drag that starts on a line rubs lines out instead. A tap on the border between two cells draws a line across it; tap again to cross it out, and once more to clear it.
• Crosses. A cross is only your note that the loop does not pass there; it never counts against you.
• Pearls. A pearl glows once the loop passes it the way it asks, and turns red when your lines break its rule. A cell with more than two lines turns red too.
• Undo. Undo takes back your last change, a whole drag at a time.
• Score. Your score is the time to close the loop, plus 30 seconds for every hint. Every board size has its own leaderboard.

Strategy tips

1. Black pearls near the edge. The arms of a black pearl need two cells of room, so a black pearl in the first or second row from an edge never runs toward it: it runs the other way, two cells straight.
2. Black pearls side by side. Two black pearls next to each other push apart. Each arm runs away from the other pearl, since the loop never goes straight through a black pearl.
3. White pearls along the edge. A white pearl on the edge of the board runs along it, and three white pearls in a row all cross the row.
4. Straight on, then turn. If the loop runs straight on through the cell before a white pearl, it has to turn in the cell after it.
5. No small loops, and count the crossings. Never join two ends into a small loop while pearls are still left out. The loop crosses any line between two rows or two columns an even number of times, so when only one place is left to cross, it crosses there.

FAQ

Is Pearl Loop free to play?

Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account needed.

Does the loop have to pass through every cell?

No. It must pass through every pearl, but cells without a pearl can be left out.

What does a hint do?

It fixes a wrong mark first if there is one; otherwise it draws the next line that follows by logic from the marks on the board, and the line under the board says which rule it used. Each hint adds 30 seconds to your time.

What are today's pearls?

Every day everyone plays the same medium 8 by 8 board, so times compare directly on the leaderboard.

How is my score counted?

Your score is the time from the first look at the board to the line that closes the loop, plus 30 seconds for every hint. Lower is better.