Black Box Puzzle Online
Black Box is one of the classic one-player logic games in Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection. Find the hidden balls in the box by bouncing laser beams off them.
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Preparing the game board and controls.
What This Game Is
Black Box is a self-contained logic puzzle built around one clear objective. Each new board gives you a fresh problem to solve, so it works well for quick sessions and repeated play.
Find the hidden balls in the box by bouncing laser beams off them.
How to Play
To fire a laser beam, left-click in a square around the edge of the arena. The results will be displayed immediately. Clicking or holding the left button on one of these squares will highlight the current go (or a previous go) to confirm the exit point for that laser, if applicable. To guess the location of a ball, left-click within the arena and a black circle will appear marking the guess; click again to remove the guessed ball.
Most puzzles in this collection reward deduction more than speed. Focus on the most limited choices first, use the clues to narrow the board, and avoid guesses unless the puzzle mode clearly expects them.
Beginner Tips
- Start with the area that has the strongest clue or the fewest legal options.
- Use marks, notes, or temporary indicators if the puzzle supports them.
- Try to preserve flexibility instead of committing too early when multiple moves look possible.
- If the board gets messy, restart a fresh puzzle and apply what you learned from the first run.
Official Reference
If you want the full original rule explanation, examples, and advanced options, the official manual is the best reference.
Read the official manualFrequently Asked Questions
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Mark every square with the area of its containing region.
Flip
Flip groups of squares to light them all up at once.
Flood
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Galaxies
Divide the grid into rotationally symmetric regions each centred on a dot.