Daily Hitori

How to play Hitori

Hitori is a Japanese shading puzzle. You are given a grid of numbers and must shade (eliminate) some cells so that three rules are simultaneously satisfied. The name literally means "leave me alone" in Japanese — a fitting description of every shaded cell's purpose.

THE THREE RULES

1. No repeated numbers in unshaded cells. In every row and every column, each number may appear at most once among the unshaded (unshaded) cells. If a number appears more than once, at least one of those cells must be shaded.
2. No two shaded cells may touch. Two shaded cells cannot share an edge — diagonally adjacent is fine, but orthogonally adjacent is forbidden.
3. All unshaded cells stay connected. Every unshaded cell must be reachable from every other unshaded cell by moving through adjacent unshaded cells only. No stranded island of them allowed.

BEGINNER STRATEGY

• Find forced unshaded cells first. If a number appears only once in its row AND only once in its column, it can never be shaded — mark it safe mentally.
• Spot adjacent duplicates. If the same number appears in two adjacent cells in a row, at least one must be shaded. They cannot both be shaded (adjacency rule), which often lets you deduce which one stays unshaded based on connectivity.
• Guard the unshaded region. Before shading a cell, check whether doing so would split the unshaded cells into two separate islands. If it would, that cell must stay unshaded.
• Use the adjacency rule offensively. If you know a cell must be shaded, its four orthogonal neighbours are all forced unshaded — which may immediately resolve duplicates near them.

ABOUT THIS DAILY

Every day at midnight UTC, GridJoy generates a fresh 5×5 Hitori puzzle — the same one for every player worldwide. There is no account needed, no timer, and no pressure. Your progress is saved in your browser so you can come back to it later.

The mobile app adds daily streaks, ghost companions, XP rewards, and all 18 puzzle types — including harder Hitori grids up to 9×9.