Guides
In-depth strategy and how-to articles for the games on ujem. Each one is written to make a specific puzzle click — the deductions that turn guesswork into a chain of forced moves, plus the habits that make you faster. New guides are added regularly.
Puzzle strategy
- How to Solve Hitori: Techniques That Actually Work The triple rule, the pair-with-a-gap rule, fencing shaded cells, and using connectivity to break ties.
- Tents and Trees: A Solver's Strategy Guide Working from the edge clues, the place-and-fence habit, and tent-to-tree matching.
- Futoshiki Techniques: Reading the Inequalities Combining Latin-square logic with the greater-than signs, chains, and forcing the extremes.
- How to Solve Sudoku: From Scanning to Pencil Marks Cross-hatch scanning, naked and hidden singles, naked pairs, and pointing pairs.
- Calcudoku Strategy: Solving the Cages Cage arithmetic, listing combinations for plus and times cages, and the no-repeat trick.
- How to Solve Nonograms (Picross): The Overlap Method Reading the clues, the overlap technique for guaranteed cells, and edge logic.
- Minesweeper Strategy: Reading the Numbers The two basic deductions, the subtraction trick, and the 1-2-1 patterns.
- How to Solve Akari (Light Up): A Strategy Guide Using the numbered walls, the zero and four clues, and forced-bulb logic.
- How to Solve Hashi (Bridges): A Strategy Guide Counting an island's bridge capacity, forced high numbers, and staying connected.
- Takuzu Strategy: The Binary Grid, Solved The no-three-in-a-row rule, balancing each line, and using line uniqueness.
- Sokoban Strategy: Pushing Without Getting Stuck Avoiding deadlocks, the corner and wall traps, and planning from the goals backward.
- How to Solve Kakuro: Cross-Sums Made Simple The no-repeat rule, magic combinations for short runs, row–column intersections, and the 45 trick.
- How to Solve Sumplete: The Surplus Method Turn it into a subtraction puzzle: find each line's surplus and cross out exactly that much.
- How to Solve Zip: The Path That Fills Every Cell Forced links at corners and edges, planning the legs between numbers, and never stranding a cell.
- How to Solve Circuit (Net): Rotate Every Tile Right Edge and corner constraints, dead-end clues, following the power glow, and why there are no loops.
- How to Solve Slitherlink: Corner Rules and the Loop Constraint The 0 and 3 patterns, diagonal 3 pairs, dot bookkeeping, and the single-loop rule that finishes boards.
- How to Solve Nurikabe: Islands, the Wall, and the No-Pool Rule Separating islands, painting unreachable cells, using the 2×2 rule both ways, and keeping the wall connected.
- How to Solve Masyu: White Pearls, Black Pearls, and Forced Turns What each pearl forces, the black-pearl edge patterns, runs of white pearls, and closing the single loop.
- How to Solve Star Battle: Regions, Rows, and the Elimination Habit Region-in-row logic, blocking neighbours after every star, and counting non-touching space.
- How to Solve Shikaku: Rectangles, Forced Cells, and Working the Corners Which shapes each number allows, prime clues, corner starts, and the cell-first scan.
- How to Solve Aquarium: Water Levels, Clue Counting, and Tank Logic Why water settles flat, solving each row as a subset sum, and propagating up and down a tank.
- How to Solve Suguru: Region Sizes, the Neighbour Rule, and Cascades Smallest regions first, asking where each value can go, and pencil marks that stay useful.
- Fit Puzzle Strategy: Filling Shapes Faster Start from the awkward corners, count cells, and place the biggest piece before the small ones.
- Klotski Tips: Moving the Big Block in Fewer Moves Think in terms of the two empty spaces, clear a lane under the big block, and stop undoing progress.
- Color Lines Strategy: Keeping the Board Clear Build in open space, plan with the next-ball preview, and never wall off your own paths.
- Maze Game Tips: Reaching the Goal Faster Trace backward from the goal, plan junction by junction, and use the slide to save swipes.
- Cat Trap Strategy: How to Catch the Cat Block ahead of the cat, not beside it, and build a ring from the side it is heading toward.
- How to Solve Thermometers Puzzles Use the bulb rule, full and empty lines, and the overlap trick to force cells.
- Roller Paint Strategy: Painting Every Cell Find the hard-to-reach cells first, plan stops, and never strand a corner.
Board & card games
- Reversi Strategy: Corners, Mobility, and Fewer Discs Why corners win, the X-square and C-square traps, and the value of having fewer discs.
- Gomoku Strategy: Threats, Forks, and the Open Four Open threes and fours, building double threats, and when to attack versus block.
- Pente Strategy: Win With Captures, Not Just Five How custodial pair captures change five-in-a-row, protecting your pairs, and the capture-defended threat.
- Sensei Duel Strategy: Read the Card You Give Away Why the card you pass matters most, defending the Master and temple, the card cycle, and double threats.
- FreeCell Strategy: Plan Before You Touch a Card Keeping free cells empty, the supermove formula, emptying a column, and digging out the aces.
- Mahjong Solitaire Tips: How to Clear the Board What 'free' really means, freeing the most-blocking tiles, keeping a match in reserve, and avoiding orphans.
- 2048 Strategy: The Corner Method That Actually Works Anchoring your biggest tile, building a monotonic staircase, and the three-direction rule.
- Klondike Solitaire Tips: How to Win More Games Uncover face-down cards first, dig the biggest piles, and don't rush the foundations.
- How to Play Go: The Whole Game in Five Rules Every rule of Go in full, why two eyes make a group immortal, and how counting actually works.
- Texas Hold'em Odds: The Numbers That Actually Decide Hands Pot odds, starting hand equity and the classic matchups — every figure computed by exhaustive enumeration.
- Spider Solitaire Tips: Column Order, Empty Piles, and When to Deal Why in-suit builds beat long ones, how to earn an empty column, and the checklist to run before every deal.
- Hearts Strategy: Passing, Voids, and Dodging the Queen of Spades What to pass, why the Queen decides the hand, building voids safely, and counting spades.
- Backgammon Strategy: Points, Primes, and Knowing Which Race You Are In Reading the position type, the 5-point and bar point, when a prime beats a hit, and holding an anchor.
- Checkers Strategy: Tempo, the Back Row, and Why Trading Wins Weaponising the forced capture, holding the back row, and trading only when ahead.
- Four in a Row Strategy: The Centre Column, Odd Threats, and Zugzwang Why the centre decides the game, building double threats, and the odd-even parity rule.
- Mancala Strategy: Extra Turns, Captures, and Controlling the Right Pit Chaining free turns, engineering captures, and starving the opponent in the endgame.
- Cribbage Strategy: Counting Fast and Choosing the Right Discard A fixed counting order that stops missed points, and discard rules for your crib versus theirs.
Skill and reflexes
- How to Improve Your Reaction Time What the number really measures, what slows you down, and a practical routine to get faster.
- Stop the Time: How to Train Your Inner Clock Counting methods, rhythm tricks, and how to correct your personal bias toward early or late stops.
- Pin Drop Tips: Timing Throws on a Spinning Wheel Track gaps rather than pins, throw into the widest gap, and stay calm as the speed rises.
- Find 1 to 25: How to Scan Faster Soft focus, look ahead one number, and scan the grid in a fixed pattern.
- Snake Game Strategy: How to Get a Long Snake Grab food fast early, switch to safe patterns as you grow, and always keep an escape route.
- Pong Rally Tips: Keeping the Ball in Play Return to centre, read the bounce early, and use the paddle edges only when you have to.
- Math Sprint Tips: Faster Mental Arithmetic Eliminate choices by last digit and size, learn a few shortcuts, and never guess blindly.
- Meteor Tips: Survive Longer and Score More Shoot the closest threat first, control splits, and value small meteors for points.
- Twenty-One Strategy: Basic Play and Card Counting Basic hit-and-stand rules against the dealer's card, and a simple count for the shared deck.
- Depth Charge Tips: Sinking Subs Efficiently Lead the sub by its sinking time, favour deep lanes, and keep the ship moving to avoid torpedoes.
- Dodge Tips: Surviving the Falling Blocks Stay central, read two rows ahead, and move in small, early steps.
- Swarm Tips: Dodging Bullet Patterns Recognise the four pattern types, use small movements, and farm near-misses carefully.
- Chomp Strategy: Clearing the Maze and Outfoxing the Cats Clear dots in efficient routes, save power pellets, and chain cats for the multiplier.
- Tap Speed Tips: How to Tap Faster Alternate two fingers, keep taps short and light, and hold the phone steady.