Loop Loom: rules, par and tips

The board

The board is a 4×4 grid. Most squares hold a straight or a corner tile; a few are fixed rocks. START sits on one outside edge of the board and GOAL on another. Three squares carry numbered stars.

The goal

Turn tiles until a single thread runs from START, through ★1, then ★2, then ★3, and out through GOAL — without leaking off the board or running into a tile that doesn’t connect. Each tap turns one tile a quarter-turn clockwise. A straight tile only has two distinct positions, so tapping it simply swaps between them.

Par, hints and stars

• Par is the smallest number of turns that can solve the board from its starting position. It’s calculated by an exhaustive solver when the puzzle is made.
• Your result is how many turns you used compared with par — for example “12 rotations (+2 to par)”. Time is never scored.
• A hint points to one tile on the route that’s still facing the wrong way and says which sides it should join.
• The rating: ✦✦✦ for finishing within 2 turns of par with no hints; ✦✦ for within 6 of par with at most one hint; ✦ for any other solve.

Fairness

Every daily board is generated ahead of time and then checked by an independent solver that tries every possible route. A board is only published if it has exactly one solution, the stars can be reached in order, and par sits between 6 and 14 turns. Published boards never change, so an old shared link always opens the same puzzle.

Tips

• Work outward from START and GOAL — the tiles next to them have the fewest sensible options.
• A corner next to the board’s edge can usually only face one useful way.
• Use the lit thread: when it stops, the next tile along is the one to look at.
• Prefer reading? Switch to List view to see every tile described in words.