Lot Lines

How to play

Divide the grid into rectangles. Each rectangle must hold exactly one number, and that number is how many cells it covers. Every cell belongs to exactly one rectangle.

Drag from one corner cell to the opposite corner to draw a rectangle; a new rectangle replaces any it overlaps. Tap an empty cell for a 1-cell rectangle, and tap a rectangle to take it off. With a keyboard, the arrow keys move, Shift and the arrows size a rectangle, Enter draws it and Backspace takes one off.

Par is one rectangle per number. You get 3 hints; each draws one correct rectangle, and a hint rules out gold. End run shows the answer and completes the day with no medal.

How to play Lot Lines

Lot Lines is a rectangle-division logic puzzle. Picture a square plot of land marked out in cells, with a few numbers written on it. Your job is to draw the property lines: split the whole plot into rectangles so that each rectangle holds exactly one number, and that number is its area in cells. Every cell belongs to exactly one rectangle, and every daily puzzle has exactly one answer.

Each number will sit inside its own rectangle, and the number says how many cells that rectangle covers. A 6 could be 2 by 3, 3 by 2 or a strip of six.
Press on one corner cell and drag to the opposite corner to draw a rectangle. While you drag, its size is shown, for example 2×3 = 6.
A rectangle with one number that matches its size gets a solid outline and a tick. One with no number, two numbers or the wrong size gets a dashed outline and a short note, such as 4≠6.
Tap an empty cell for a 1-cell rectangle, and tap a rectangle to take it off. Drawing over rectangles replaces them. The puzzle is solved the moment every cell is covered and every rectangle is right.

The 3 fills three cells, the 2 fills two and the 4 fills a 2 by 2 square. Every cell is used once.

Tips and strategy

A worked example on a 3 by 3 grid

Say there is a 2 in the top middle cell, a 3 in the middle of the left column and a 4 in the bottom right corner. A strip of four does not fit on a grid three cells wide, so the 4 is the 2 by 2 square in the bottom right. That square takes the centre cell, so the 3 cannot lie across the middle row; it runs down the left column. The top middle and top right cells are left, and together they make the 2.

Start where there is no choice

A 1 is always a single cell. A big number in a corner, or one hemmed in by other numbers, often fits only one way. Draw those first.

Ask who can reach a cell

Pick an empty cell and list the rectangles that could cover it. When only one can, that rectangle is forced.

Prime numbers are lines

A 5 or a 7 can only be a straight line. A 4 can be a line or a 2 by 2 square, and a 6 or an 8 has more shapes, so pin down the primes first.

Cells every option shares

If every way a number can fit covers the same cell, that cell is the number's and no other rectangle may use it.

Test one rectangle when stuck

On the bigger boards, try a rectangle in your head. If it leaves some number with no room, or a cell nobody can cover, it is wrong.

How the daily changes by weekday

The plot grows through the week, rectangles get larger, and each day needs deeper reasoning. Code checks every puzzle before it is used.

Monday and Tuesday

6×6, Easy. Rectangles of up to 6 cells on Monday and 8 on Tuesday. Solved with a number that fits one way and a cell only one rectangle can cover.

Wednesday and Thursday

7×7, Medium. Rectangles of up to 9 or 10 cells. Thursday also needs the shared-cells idea.

Friday and Saturday

8×8, Hard. Rectangles of up to 12 cells, and at least one step where you test a rectangle and watch it fail.

Sunday

9×9, Expert. Rectangles of up to 14 cells and the longest chains of the week.

Medals, hints and End run

Par is the number of rectangles in the answer, one per number. Every rectangle you draw counts as a placement, even one you take off later; removing, Undo and Clear never give one back.

Gold needs no hint and at most par plus 2 placements. Silver allows one hint and at most par plus 6. Bronze is any finish. A hint rules out gold.

You get three hints. Each draws one correct rectangle and, when it can, says why it is forced. Hint rectangles are locked.

End run draws the answer and completes the day with no medal. It counts for your streak, not as a puzzle solved. Shared results show size, placements, hints and time, never the grid.

Lot Lines questions and answers

Does every Lot Lines puzzle have exactly one solution?

Yes. Puzzles are generated by seeded code from the date, and an exact search counts every way to cover the grid. A puzzle is used only when that count is one and a solver that never guesses can finish it.

Can a rectangle be a long thin strip?

Yes, as long as it holds one number equal to its area. A 4 can be a 1 by 4 strip or a 2 by 2 square.

Why is a rectangle dashed?

It holds no number, two or more numbers, or its size does not match its number. The note in its corner says which.

Can I play with a keyboard?

Yes. The arrow keys move a cursor, Shift and the arrows size a rectangle, Enter draws it and Backspace takes one off.

Is the puzzle the same for everyone today?

Yes. It is made from the date in US Eastern time. Past days are in the archive, but only today's puzzle counts toward your streak.