How to play Akari.
Place bulbs so every white cell is lit, while making sure no bulb shines directly onto another.
Light travels in straight lines until it reaches a black wall or the edge of the board.
The goal
Every open cell must be illuminated by a bulb in its row or column. A bulb lights its own cell too. Black cells block light, and bulbs cannot be placed on them.
Numbered walls
A number on a black wall tells you exactly how many bulbs sit in its orthogonally adjacent cells. Diagonals do not count. An unnumbered wall has no adjacent-bulb requirement.
Good first moves
Mark every cell around a 0 as impossible. If a numbered wall has exactly as many available neighbours as bulbs still needed, all those neighbours must contain bulbs. After placing a bulb, mark every visible cell in its row and column as unable to contain another bulb.
Play a board
A real Akari board, playable here. Tap a white cell to cycle blank, bulb, dot. The light spreads as you place bulbs, so you can see what each one achieves.
- Light every cell. A bulb lights its row and column until a wall stops it.
- Keep bulbs apart. No two bulbs may shine into each other.
- Match the walls. A numbered wall takes exactly that many bulbs beside it.
Akari Glow on your phone
The same puzzle on iPhone and Android, including a board part-way through.
Where to play Akari Glow
Akari Glow is on iPhone, iPad and Android.
