# Square Secrets

> Fill squares from the clues to reveal a picture.

Each row and column lists how its filled squares run. Fill the grid until every clue is met and a picture shows. Today's picture is the same grid for everyone. Practice opens larger pictures as you clear them.

- Play: https://sidekickarcade.com/play/square-secrets/ (in the browser, phone or computer, free, no sign-up needed)
- Neighborhood: [Puzzle Park](https://sidekickarcade.com/category/puzzle/index.md)
- Controls: Tap a square, or arrows and Space
- Best on: portrait screens
- Coins for goals: 3 per 1 stars, up to 9 a run

## How to play

1. Each row and each column lists its filled runs. A 2 and then a 1 means two filled squares, a gap, and one more. A 0 means that line stays empty.
2. Tap a square to fill it. Mark is a note for a square you want to leave empty, and it is never a slip. Tap a square again to clear it. On a keyboard, arrows move and Space fills or marks the square you are on.
3. A line turns mint when its filled squares match the clues. The picture is done when every line matches. A filled square the picture leaves empty is a slip. Undo takes the square back, and the slip stays.
4. Today's picture is one grid for everyone, and filling it once a day grows your streak. Practice deals larger pictures as you clear them. A new practice picture waits until you ask.

## Tips

- A finished line turns mint. Use it to rule out squares in the lines that cross it.
- Mark a square you are sure stays empty. A mark is a note, and it never counts as a slip.
- Start with the lines that have the fewest ways to fit. A full line, or a 0, is already decided.
- Three stars means no slips, and finishing inside the time for that size. Pause stops the clock.

## Questions

### Is it free?

Yes. It is free in the browser, with no download and no sign-up needed. Coins are for fun and can never be bought.

### Is today's picture the same for everyone?

Yes. Today's picture is one 8 by 8 grid, from the date. Practice pictures are your own, and they get bigger as you clear them.

### What earns three stars?

Finish with no slips, inside the time for that size. A slip is a filled square the picture leaves empty. Taking it back does not clear the slip. Marks are free.

### Can I play on a phone?

Yes. Tap a square to fill it. Mark and Undo sit under the grid, so they never cover a square.

## Achievements

- **First picture** (bronze, 15 coins): Fill your first picture.
- **Today's picture** (bronze, 15 coins): Fill today's picture.
- **Three days** (bronze, 25 coins): Fill a picture three days in a row.
- **No slips** (silver, 30 coins): Fill a picture with no slips, inside the time.
- **Week of pictures** (silver, 50 coins): Keep a 7-day streak.
- **A portrait** (silver, 40 coins): Fill a portrait.
- **A canvas** (gold, 60 coins): Fill a canvas.
- **Forty pictures** (gold, 80 coins): Fill 40 pictures.
- **Month of pictures** (gold, 120 coins): Keep a 30-day streak.
- **Ten clean** (gold, 80 coins): Fill 10 pictures with no slips, inside the time.
- **Two hundred** (diamond, 200 coins): Fill 200 pictures.
- **Grid Artist** (diamond, 300 coins): Keep a 100-day streak. Earns the title "Grid Artist".

## More to play

- [Isle Links](https://sidekickarcade.com/play/isle-links/index.md): Link the islands with just the right number of bridges. (Puzzle Park)
- [Daily Sudoku](https://sidekickarcade.com/play/daily-sudoku/index.md): A fresh nine-by-nine number puzzle every day. (Puzzle Park)
- [Word Search](https://sidekickarcade.com/play/word-search/index.md): Find the hidden words in the letter grid. (Word Library)