Strategy guides · Pipes online
How to solve pipes puzzles: rules and strategies
In a pipes puzzle, also called pipe connect or net, you rotate tiles until one network of pipes links every cell to the source. Turnstream puts the spring in the middle. There's only one solution, and logic finds it.
The rules
Tap a tile to turn it. Every pipe end must meet another pipe end, no pipe may point off the board or into a dead end, and all pipes must form one network connected to the spring, without loops.
1. Edges and corners first
A pipe on the border can't point outward. A corner tile with a bend has only one possible direction, and a straight piece on an edge must run along it. Set these first and long-press to lock them.
2. Dead ends point inward
A tile with a single opening is an end of the network. Two ends can't face each other, or they'd form a closed pair cut off from the rest. That often leaves one direction.
3. No loops
The network is a tree: it never closes into a circle. If turning a tile would complete a loop with its neighbors, that tile must face another way.
4. Follow the connections
Each locked tile tells its neighbors whether they must connect to it or not. Work from locked tiles outward, and the unknown area shrinks with every step.
Common mistakes
- Turning tiles at random to see what happens.
- Not locking tiles you're sure of, then turning them by accident.
- Connecting everything locally but leaving a separate network that doesn't reach the spring.