不—you cannot paint cells on the source half in Symmetry Puzzle. The left half is fixed reference input, so a source-side paint attempt is a strict atomic no-op: it does not add a painted cell, record a mistake, or alter the score.
Instead, you fill the right half by mirroring every fixed source cell across the vertical axis. The board is six columns wide and four rows tall, with columns numbered 0 through 5; the axis lies between columns 2 and 3. Open Symmetry Puzzle and treat the left side as a reference, not an editable area.
Why the source side is read-only
Each level presents a fixed left-hand coordinate set in columns 0, 1, and 2. Its paired target is a separately verified literal set in columns 3, 4, and 5. The left cells therefore supply the information you need; they are not blank squares waiting for input. The five levels contain 3, 4, 6, 5, and 6 source cells, respectively, so read the current level rather than assuming every pattern contains the same number of cells.
Two protections keep the source half effectively read-only. First, only right-half cell buttons are used for painting, and the visible keyboard cursor cannot cross into columns 0–2. Second, a source-cell attempt is rejected atomically: the grid, painted target set, mistake count, and score remain unchanged. An accidental click there is harmless, although it also cannot help you complete a mirror.
This is not a general drawing canvas or an image-recognition check. The patterns are abstract local fixtures made from finite authored coordinates, not uploaded letters, logos, photographs, or copyrighted pictures. There is no image upload, camera, or model inference. Keeping that scope clear matters because each answer is determined by the board's disclosed coordinate rule, not by visual recognition of a larger picture.
How to paint the mirrored cells
Use this workflow for each of the five levels.
- Inspect the fixed source. Read the row and column of every source cell on the left. The screen reports the level, source-cell count, painted count, current cursor, mistakes, feedback, and score, so use those readouts to keep track of the active pattern.
- Keep the row. A source cell in row r stays in row r on the right. Symmetry across this vertical axis changes only the column.
- Map the column. Apply mirrorColumn = 5 − sourceColumn. One worked example makes the rule concrete: a source cell in column 1 mirrors to column 4 because 5 − 1 = 4.
- Paint only the mapped right-half cell. With a pointer or touch screen, click or tap the corresponding right-side button. For keyboard play, move the visible cursor with the Arrow keys and press Space or Enter to paint.
- Repeat and check the set. Paint every required mirror cell, then let the game compare your painted target set with the disclosed mirror set. A level advances only when those sets match exactly; a close-looking pattern is not enough.
- Continue through all five levels. Each exact mirror set awards 200 points, and completing the five disclosed patterns produces the exact 1,000-point finish.
The important distinction is between input and solution. Clicking a source cell does not create an error, but clicking a right-side cell that is not in the required mirror set does. With keyboard play, the cursor's right-half boundary prevents a direction key from moving into the fixed area; with pointer or touch play, the meaningful paint action is on a right-half cell button.
The six-column mirror map
The fixed vertical axis produces the following complete column map. The source side uses columns 0 through 2; columns 3 through 5 are targets. Listing the reverse pairs makes it easy to check a chosen target against its source without changing rows.
| Source column | Mirrored column |
|---|---|
| 0 | 5 |
| 1 | 4 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 2 |
| 4 | 1 |
| 5 | 0 |
Read the first three rows as left-to-right targets: column 0 points to 5, column 1 to 4, and column 2 to 3. The final three rows describe the same mappings in reverse. They do not turn the right side into another source side or make the left side editable; source painting remains forbidden.
Because row and column are both coordinates, a correct mirror must preserve the row as well as use the mapped column. Checking both dimensions before painting prevents a cell that looks balanced in shape from occupying the wrong vertical position. The board's target set, rather than personal judgment of the drawing, decides whether the level is complete.
What each input does in the game
The rules distinguish harmless repeated actions, invalid coordinates, and genuine right-half mistakes. That distinction matters because an atomic no-op and a recoverable error are not treated the same way.
| Input | Game result |
|---|---|
| Required right-half mirror cell | Adds the cell to the current target set. |
| Already completed right-half cell | No-op. |
| Non-required right-half cell | The first distinct wrong cell creates a recoverable error; repeating it is ignored, while a second distinct wrong cell closes the run. |
| Source-side cell | Strict atomic no-op. |
| Unknown row or column, fractional coordinate, or out-of-bounds position | Strict atomic no-op. |
For error counting, the signature includes the level, row, and column. Repeating the exact same wrong cell on that level is deduplicated, so it does not add another error. Choosing a different wrong coordinate creates the second distinct error and closes the run. This rule applies only to wrong cells on the right; a rejected source-side or invalid-coordinate input never becomes the first mistake.
The screen reports the level, painted count, source cells, current cursor, mistakes, feedback, and score. A required paint increases the painted count, while an already completed cell changes nothing. Exact set comparison—not a count display alone—determines whether the level advances. Buttons and directional controls meet a 44-pixel target size, and the visible cursor plus reported current coordinate help keyboard players stay oriented.
How to recover from a wrong cell
A single distinct wrong right-half cell does not end the run immediately. You can continue painting, and the mistake count will show that one recoverable error. The recovery is to identify the coordinate that does not belong to the target set, leave that wrong selection alone, and complete the required mirror cells using the disclosed mapping.
Once a second distinct wrong coordinate is selected, the run closes and both painting and cursor movement freeze. At that point, use Restart. It restores the first level, its fixed source pattern, an empty target half, zero score, and zero errors. The shared game shell also provides best-score storage and a Boss Key, but the coordinate task itself requires no account, upload, timer, or external service.
Treat the left side as read-only even when using a pointer. A source-side attempt is harmless, but a wrong selection on the right can affect the mistake count. Before painting, confirm that the cursor or pointer is in columns 3, 4, or 5 and that the selected cell belongs to the required mirror set.
What the final score represents
The score is tied to exact completion of five finite coordinate patterns. Each level advances only when the painted target set exactly equals the verified mirror set, awards 200 points, and contributes to the exact 1,000-point total after all five levels. On completion, painting and cursor movement freeze.
The 1,000-point result is a deterministic game score for the five disclosed patterns, not a general rating of symmetry ability. The game does not analyze an uploaded picture, infer a logo, diagnose a vision condition, place a learner in an educational category, or assess cognition. It is entertainment built around an auditable coordinate rule. All play stays local, with no account, camera, API, timer, or external analysis.
That scope makes the answer to the original question unambiguous: the source half is reference material, and right-half painting is the only valid route to completion. If a source-side attempt does nothing, that is expected behavior rather than a frozen control or missing feature. Check the current row and mapped column, use the right-side paint controls, and let exact-set completion handle each level transition.
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