Bridges Free online game

What is it?

Bridges is a puzzle where you connect numbered islands with bridges so that each island has exactly as many bridges as its number. In Japan it's known as Hashiwokakero ("build bridges").

Bridges run straight horizontally or vertically, can't cross other bridges or islands, and two islands can share at most two. In the end, all islands must be connected into one group. Every Hanpanmadang puzzle has exactly one solution and can be solved with logic a person can follow.

How to play

1. Tap an island, then the island to connect, to add a bridge (0 → 1 → 2). You can also drag from an island
2. Bridges run only horizontally or vertically, can't cross each other, and two islands can have at most two
3. Solved when every island has its number of bridges and all islands are connected (tap a bridge to remove one)

Difficulty and rankings

There's a weekly ranking and an all-time ranking; the weekly one resets every Monday at midnight (Korea time). For details, see the Help.

Good to know on Hanpanmadang

• Board and islands: Easy is 7×7 with 9 islands, Normal 9×9 with 15, and Hard 10×12 with 24.
• Easy can be solved just by counting numbers and remaining spots; Normal also needs isolation checks so no group gets cut off; Hard adds trial reasoning — placing a bridge and looking for a contradiction. All have a single solution.
• Tap an island to see its connectable neighbors as dotted lines. Each tap on a neighbor cycles the bridge count one → two → none, and tapping a placed bridge removes one.
• Hints explain the reasoning instead of giving the answer, adding 30 seconds each. If you've placed more bridges than the solution has somewhere, the hint points that out first.

Learn from examples

Common mistakes

Thinking you're done once the numbers match.

Even with every number satisfied, it isn't solved if the islands are split into two or more groups. The screen will tell you when that happens.

Trying to cross bridges.

If a bridge already blocks the way, you can't connect to the island beyond it. When two bridges would cross, work out which one is truly needed and choose that one.

Connecting big-number islands anywhere first.

Start with certain bridges where there are few choices, like islands with few neighbors or in corners.

Tips

• Start with islands that have few neighbors. A 4 with only two neighbors needs two bridges on each side, and a 3 needs at least one on each side.
• An 8 with four neighbors and a 6 with three neighbors get two bridges in every direction.
• Two facing 1s would form an isolated pair, so don't connect them. For the same reason, don't put two bridges between a 2 and a 2.
• Recount each island's remaining number every time you place a bridge. Islands that are complete turn green, and those with too many turn red.