How to play Fillomino
- Read the numbers. Each number tells you the size of the region it belongs to: a 3 sits in a region of exactly three squares, a 1 is a region on its own.
- Fill every empty square. Tap a square, then tap a number on the wooden keypad. Drag from a numbered square across its neighbours to copy the same number into them quickly.
- Grow regions to the right size. Squares with the same number that touch side by side form one region. When a region has exactly as many squares as its number, it turns green.
- Keep equal regions apart. Two regions of the same size may not touch along an edge, otherwise they would merge into one bigger region. They may touch at a corner.
- Check, hint and undo. Check marks any number that cannot be right, Hint fills or fixes one square, and Undo steps back. The puzzle is solved when every square is filled and every region matches its number.
Fillomino rules with an example
- Every square gets a number. Squares with the same number that touch side by side are one region.
- The number is the size. The 5 region above has five squares, each 4 region has four and the 2 has two.
- Same sizes never share an edge. The two 4 regions in the example meet only at a corner; if they shared a side they would really be one region of 8.
- Hidden regions are allowed. The 1 in the bottom-left corner was not given at all: it is the only number that fits the square left over.
Fillomino tips: how to solve without guessing
- Start with 1s and 2s. A 1 is already complete, so every neighbour of a 1 is not a 1. A 2 next to only one empty square must extend into it.
- Close finished regions. As soon as a region reaches its size, the squares around it belong to other regions. Our board outlines and greens finished regions to make this easy to see.
- Count the room. A 6 that can only reach five free squares is impossible on that side; follow it to the only direction with enough space.
- Separate equal neighbours. If two 3s sit diagonally, the two squares between them cannot both become 3s of the same region. Equal clues that can’t join force a different number in between.
- Merge equal clues when you can. Two 4s with one gap between them either join into one region (and need two more squares) or must be split by a different number. Try both and see which leaves enough space.
- Leftover pockets. A walled-in pocket of empty squares with no clue must be split into regions none of which equals a neighbouring region’s size. A pocket of 1 next to no other 1 is a 1; a pocket of 2 is usually a 2.
Stuck? Press Check to see if a number is already wrong, or Hint to fill the square with the most information around it. Hints fix mistakes first, so you can keep going from where you are.
The 20 levels
All puzzles are original. We generated each grid by randomly cutting it into regions of 1 to 9 squares (equal sizes never touching), then removed numbers one by one in random order, keeping a removal only if our solver still found exactly one solution. Easy and medium levels keep some extra numbers to give you a gentler start.
Fillomino and other polyomino puzzles
Every Fillomino region is a polyomino, so the puzzle is a cousin of the packing games on this site. In tetromino, polyomino and hexomino puzzles you get the pieces and must fit them in; in Fillomino you get a few numbers and must discover the pieces yourself.
If you enjoy four-square shapes, LITS is the natural next step: shade one tetromino in every region so that the shading connects and equal shapes never touch. For a quick break, the wood block puzzle and pentomino shapes guide are good stops.