Easy Skyscrapers puzzle puzzles are 4×4 logic grids in which heights 1 through 4 must satisfy row, column, and visible-building clues.
For the Skyscrapers Puzzle, “easy” describes a compact learning route rather than a selectable difficulty setting. The site publishes one product-authored 4×4 board with five visible edge clues, not a stream of randomly generated puzzles. The same board and clues return on every visit.
Your task is to fill every lot with a building height from 1 through 4, place each height exactly once in every row and column, and satisfy all five displayed viewing clues. A correct completion awards exactly 1,000 points.
What the Easy Board Includes
This fixture is deliberately compact. Five edge positions contain clues, while the other 11 positions appear as quiet dots. A dot means that no visibility condition is imposed from that edge; it does not remove the row-and-column rules. Every row and column must still be a permutation of 1, 2, 3, and 4.
| Rule | What it requires | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Row rule | One 1, one 2, one 3, and one 4 | No height can appear twice in a row. |
| Column rule | One 1, one 2, one 3, and one 4 | No height can appear twice in a column. |
| Edge clue | The exact number of visible buildings from that direction | Count record-high heights, not every building or the sum of the heights. |
| Quiet dot | No additional clue | The ordinary row and column restrictions still apply. |
| Completed board | All 16 lots filled | Only a completed grid is accepted by the check. |
The small board reduces bookkeeping without simplifying the underlying logic. You can focus on a handful of constrained rows and columns instead of managing a much larger Latin square.
How Visibility Clues Define the Skyline
Start at the numbered edge and scan inward. The first building always counts. Each later building counts only when its height is greater than every height already seen. A new tallest building therefore adds one to the visible total and hides all shorter buildings behind it from that direction.
| Clue value | Immediate meaning in a four-building line |
|---|---|
| 1 | The tallest possible building, height 4, must stand first from the viewing direction. |
| 2 or 3 | Exactly that many new maximum heights must appear as you scan inward; several orders may initially fit. |
| 4 | The heights must rise in the order 1, 2, 3, 4 from that edge. |
For one worked example, scan the sequence 2, 1, 4, 3. Height 2 is visible first, height 1 is hidden behind it, height 4 becomes a new maximum and is visible, and height 3 is hidden behind 4. The visible-building total is 2.
This is why a clue is not an arithmetic total. The same four heights can produce different visible counts when their order changes.
Solve the 4×4 Grid in a Controlled Order
- Open the puzzle and select a lot. Enter a height from 1 through 4 with the on-screen controls or the matching number key. Use the arrow keys to move between lots, and press Delete or Backspace to clear the selected cell.
- Apply the Latin-square rule as you fill. A completed row must contain each of the four heights once, and a completed column must do the same. Whenever you place a height in a column, remove that height from the other cells in that column.
- Read each shown clue from its own edge. Keep a running maximum while looking inward, count the first building, and add one only when a later building is taller than the current maximum.
- Turn each left or right edge clue into possible row orders, and each top or bottom edge clue into possible column orders. Keep an order only when it contains all four heights and produces the required visible count from the indicated side.
- Fill all 16 lots, then check your completed grid against every row, column, and displayed clue yourself. Press Enter or choose Check skyline only when no lot remains empty.
- If the completed grid is correct, the unique solution ends the run and awards exactly 1,000 points. If it violates a row, column, or clue, the first incorrect completed attempt records one mistake but remains editable.
- Correct the first mistake and check again. A second incorrect completed check deadlocks the run, so Restart is required before another attempt.
Checking an incomplete grid is harmless. It displays a reminder and does not consume one of the two-error allowance.
Turn the Clues into Useful Deductions
A practical first solve starts with the strongest visible anchors rather than filling cells in reading order. For this fixture, begin with the right-side clue of 3 on the fourth row, then combine the left clue on the second row with the three bottom clues.
- Use the fourth-row clue to limit that row’s possible orders before placing any of its heights.
- Apply the second-row clue independently, then see which candidate orders can also respect the bottom clues.
- Place a height only when its row and column can still complete all four values.
- After each placement, remove that height from the remaining cells in its column.
- Recount visibility from every relevant edge instead of treating an earlier deduction as permanent.
The verification solver examines all 24 possible row orders, filters them against the available side clues, and rejects choices that duplicate a height in a column. A human does not need to test every order by hand, but the same principle keeps deductions disciplined: narrow the candidates, place only supported heights, and propagate the restriction through the grid.
Why Five Clues Yield One Solution
The five visible clues are sufficient for this fixed board but are not redundant. An independent solver generates the possible row permutations, adds rows through backtracking, rejects duplicate column heights, and applies top clues as an additional search bound. At a full grid, it validates every row, every column, and all four viewing directions.
The release test confirms that the five published clues produce exactly one valid grid. It also removes each shown clue one at a time and counts the solutions again. Every removal produces more than one valid grid, demonstrating that each clue contributes information needed for uniqueness. This result applies to this specific fixture; it is not a general claim that every Skyscrapers puzzle needs exactly five clues.
For the broader rules and terminology, Simon Tatham’s Portable Puzzle Collection and Conceptis Puzzles describe Skyscrapers, also called Towers. Those references support the public puzzle tradition, while this particular clue set and solution are product-authored.
Keep the Run Recoverable
Most avoidable errors come from confusing visibility with arithmetic or checking too soon. Use this checklist before submitting the grid:
- Confirm that every row and column contains exactly one of each height.
- Count the first building in each clue direction, then count only new maximum heights.
- Treat each quiet dot as an omitted clue rather than a zero or a hidden requirement.
- Make sure all 16 lots contain a number before choosing Check skyline.
- After the first incorrect completed check, correct every reported issue before submitting again.
Completed and deadlocked states are terminal. Once either state is reached, entering numbers, clearing cells, moving the selection, or making another check cannot change the result. Restart restores the same empty 4×4 board, the same five clues, a zero score, and no mistakes.
Score, Restart, and Keep the Game Local
The only correct completed grid awards exactly 1,000 points. The score represents completion of this deterministic fixture under its two-error policy; it is not a standardized intelligence, aptitude, educational, or clinical measure.
All puzzle state stays in the current browser. The game does not upload the grid, call a puzzle service, request an account, or add a new client dependency. If local storage is available, the existing game shell retains only the best completed score.
For a compact logic break, begin with the visibility rules, use the fourth-row clue as your anchor, and fill the grid only after each candidate order agrees with the Latin-square constraints. The result is one verified skyline with one exact completion target.
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