Hotaru Beam facts for kids

Hotaru Beam is a cool logic puzzle created by a Japanese company called Nikoli. It's a game where you connect dots on a grid!

What is Hotaru Beam?

Hotaru Beam is played on a grid, usually made of dashed lines. You'll see numbers inside circles at some of the spots where the lines cross. Each circle also has a small black dot on one of the grid lines leading away from it.

How to Play Hotaru Beam

The goal of Hotaru Beam is to draw lines that connect all the white circles on the grid. Here are the main rules:

• Draw a line from the black dot of each white circle. This line must go straight along the grid lines until it reaches another white circle.
• You cannot draw lines from a black dot to another black dot. Also, lines cannot go from a white circle (not at its black dot) to another white circle (not at its black dot).
• Your lines must not cross each other or branch off. When you're done, all the white circles should be connected in one big network.
• The number inside a white circle tells you how many times the line coming from its black dot must bend before it connects to another white circle.

Tips for Solving Hotaru Beam

Solving Hotaru Beam can be tricky but fun! Here are some tips to help you:

An unsolved Hotaru Beam puzzle. Can you spot the starting points?

A solved Hotaru Beam puzzle. Notice how all the lines connect the circles.

• Circles with 0: If a circle has a "0" in it, it means the line from its black dot must go straight without bending at all until it hits another circle. This is a great place to start!
• Every circle needs a line: Remember, a line will always come out of each circle in the direction of its black dot.
• Circles with 1 near a corner: If a circle has a "1" in it and is close to the edge or corner of the grid, its line might be forced to bend just once by following the grid's outer edge. Bending at the corner of the grid counts as a turn!