How to play the square packing puzzle
- Look at the board. Each level is a wooden board, sometimes with dark pegs that cannot be covered. Your tray holds solid squares whose areas add up to every free cell.
- Drag a square onto the board. Touch or click a piece and drag it over the board. A green outline shows where it will snap; red means it overlaps something.
- Turn if you like — squares look the same. Squares only have one look, so Turn and Flip do not change the silhouette. On a keyboard you can still press R or F; they simply leave the piece as it is.
- Move or take back pieces. Drag a placed piece to a new spot, or drag it off the board to return it to the tray. Undo steps back one move.
- Fill every square. The level is solved when every free cell is covered. Stuck? Hint places one correct piece for you.
The four wooden squares
Unlike trominoes or tetrominoes, every piece here is a solid square. Rotation does not create a new silhouette, so the challenge is choosing which size goes where — especially around pegs.
Square packing strategy
- Seat the largest squares first. A 4×4 or 3×3 locks a big region and shrinks the search.
- After a big piece lands, count the remaining pockets — each must match a sum of square areas.
- Pegs act as hard walls. Pack each pocket around a peg on its own before bridging across.
- Save 1×1 tiles for leftover single cells; using them early often strands a 2×2.
- Stuck? Hint places one piece that still leads to a full solution from the empty tray pieces.
All levels at a glance
Every level was generated from a random wooden board, then checked with the same Dancing Links search used for our tromino, tetromino and hexomino puzzles. Fewer solutions usually means a harder level; a “+” means counting stopped at a cap.
| Level | Board | Pegs | Pieces | Solutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 × 2 | 0 | S2 | 1 |
| 2 | 3 × 3 | 0 | S3 | 1 |
| 3 | 4 × 2 | 0 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 | 3 |
| 4 | 4 × 3 | 0 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S2 | 4 |
| 5 | 4 × 4 | 0 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S2 S2 | 8 |
| 6 | 5 × 3 | 0 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S2 | 11+ |
| 7 | 5 × 4 | 0 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S3 | 1+ |
| 8 | 5 × 5 | 1 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S4 | 1+ |
| 9 | 6 × 3 | 0 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S3 | 12 |
| 10 | 6 × 4 | 0 | S2 S2 S4 | 2 |
| 11 | 6 × 5 | 1 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S2 S4 | 5 |
| 12 | 6 × 6 | 0 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S2 S2 S3 S3 | 16+ |
| 13 | 7 × 4 | 0 | S1 S1 S1 S2 S2 S2 S2 S3 | 6 |
| 14 | 7 × 5 | 1 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S4 | 1+ |
| 15 | 8 × 4 | 0 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S2 S4 | 1+ |
| 16 | 8 × 5 | 1 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S2 S2 S3 S3 | 1+ |
| 17 | 7 × 6 | 2 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S2 S2 S2 S4 | 1+ |
| 18 | 8 × 6 | 0 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S2 S4 S4 | 9+ |
| 19 | 8 × 5 | 4 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S4 | 1+ |
| 20 | 8 × 6 | 3 | S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S1 S2 S3 S4 | 1+ |
More shape puzzles
Prefer bent 3-square pieces? Try the tromino puzzle. For four-square polyominoes see the tetromino puzzle, and for six the hexomino puzzle. The calm wood block puzzle and full 8×8 packing puzzle are also free.