Pearl Loop Puzzle Unblocked
Black pearls bend the loop, white pearls keep it straight. Make one ring that pleases them all.
What is Pearl Loop Puzzle?
Pearl Loop Puzzle is a single-player logic grid where you draw one closed loop between square centers. The loop must turn on every black pearl and pass straight through every white pearl, with extra conditions on the squares next to each pearl. You win when all pearls sit on one unbroken ring.
- Category
- Puzzle Games
- Players
- 1 player
- Plays on
- Phone, tablet & desktop
- Input
- Mouse, Keyboard, Touch
- Made by
- Simon Tatham
- Checked
Pearl Loop Puzzle is a loop-drawing logic game where a few round markers decide almost everything. You draw a single ring through the grid, and every pearl on the board has to lie on it. Black pearls demand a corner, white pearls demand a straight run, and each one also says something about the squares next to it. This page runs the puzzle unblocked from FreezeNova, using the official web build of Simon Tatham’s collection, where James Harvey helped create it. What makes it special is how few clues you need: a sparse board can still force one exact answer.
The Two Pearl Rules, Explained Slowly
The loop connects the centers of squares that touch along a side. It never branches, never crosses itself and has to close back into one ring. Squares without pearls may be used or ignored.
Black pearl. The loop makes a right-angle turn on this square. Then, following each of the two arms, the very next square must be straight. So a black pearl always sits at the corner of an L whose arms are at least two squares long.
White pearl. The loop passes straight through, either across or up and down. On at least one side, the next square along the loop must turn. A white pearl cannot sit in the middle of a long straight corridor.
Meet every pearl’s rule with one closed ring and the grid flashes.
Pearl Loop Puzzle controls
| To do this | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draw or remove a loop segment | Arrows to move, Enter to begin and finish a keyboard drag | Left-click an edge or left-drag across squares | Tap an edge or drag across squares |
| Cross out an edge you have ruled out | Shift + arrow | Right-click the edge | Press and hold the edge |
| Flip the edge beside the cursor | Ctrl + Shift + arrow | — | — |
| Abandon a keyboard drag | Space, Escape or Backspace | — | — |
| New puzzle, undo, redo | N, U, R | Buttons above the grid | Buttons above the grid |
Patterns Worth Learning
A few situations show up again and again, and spotting them gets you started on almost any board.
- Black pearls hug the wall. If a black pearl is on the border or one square in from it, its arm cannot point toward that edge, because there is no room for two squares. The arm must go the other way.
- Neighbouring black pearls repel. Two black pearls side by side each send an arm directly away from the other.
- A line of three whites. Three white pearls in a row force the loop to cross each of them at right angles to that row.
- Use crosses generously. Each edge you cross out narrows the options for the squares around it, and the forced moves start to chain together.
- Watch for early rings. A small closed ring that doesn’t include every pearl is always a mistake. Leave the final connection until the end.
Dragging through several squares lays down segments quickly, and dragging back over them erases them, which makes it easy to sketch an idea and undo it.
Sizes, Styles and Similar Puzzles
The Type menu offers 6x6, 8x8, 10x10 and 12x8 boards, each in Easy or Tricky. Custom settings can allow puzzles without a unique answer, which lets the game build very large grids quickly. Tricky boards are where the puzzle really shines, because you have to combine several pearls before any edge is certain.
If you enjoy closed-loop logic, Loopy Loop Puzzle uses number clues instead of pearls. Train Track Logic is a close cousin that swaps the ring for a railway with two open ends.
Pearl Loop Puzzle: questions players ask
Do I need to pass through every square in Pearl Loop Puzzle?
No. Empty squares are optional. The loop only has to be one closed ring with no branches or crossings, and every pearl must be on it with its own condition satisfied. Leaving squares blank is normal.
How do I remember the black and white pearl rules?
Think "black bends, white goes straight." On a black pearl the loop turns, and the next square along both arms runs straight. On a white pearl the loop runs straight, and at least one neighbor along the loop is a turn.
Which board size should a beginner pick?
Start with 6x6 Easy from the Type menu. The default 8x8 Tricky asks for longer chains of reasoning. Once Easy boards feel quick, move up a size before switching to Tricky.
Is Pearl Loop Puzzle free to play at school?
Yes. It is a free browser puzzle hosted on FreezeNova, so it opens on a Chromebook or tablet without downloads or an account. Touch drawing and press and hold for crosses are supported.
Can the puzzle draw lines along the grid instead?
Yes. Preferences include a second display style where the loop follows the grid lines rather than joining square centers. The rules stay exactly the same.
Credits and license
Pearl Loop Puzzle was created by Simon Tatham and released as open source. FreezeNova hosts a lightly adapted copy on its own server, together with the original license file.
- Source code: git.tartarus.org/simon (original project)
- Code license: MIT
- Art & audio: MIT (all graphics are drawn by the game code; no images or audio)
- Our changes: New name for our site. It is the author's official web build with outbound links removed, sized to fit our player, plus touch dragging and press-and-hold support. The puzzle logic itself is untouched.
