Yajikabe – Hard

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Yajikabe was invented by Naoki Inaba (Japan): he combined Yajilin and Nurikabe puzzles. The goal is to blacken some cells of a grid according to the following rules:

Basic Rules

• Cells with numbers are always white.
• No 2 x 2 cell area within the grid can contain all black cells.
• All the black cells form one contiguous region.
• A cell containing a number and an arrow represents how many black cells are in the row or column pointed at by the arrow.

Additional Rules for Yajikabe

• Cells with arrows and numbers must remain white and serve as clues.
• The arrows indicate the direction and the number of black cells in that direction.

Basic Solving Tips

• Start by marking cells with numbers and arrows as white.
• Ensure no 2 x 2 area is fully blackened by strategically placing white cells.
• Use the arrow clues to determine which cells in the row or column need to be black.
• Check and maintain the continuity of the black cell region throughout solving.