Lights Out is a classic puzzle game where the objective is to turn off all the lights in a grid by pressing buttons. The game is played on a grid of buttons, each of which can be turned on or off. When a button is pressed, the lights adjacent to it (above, below, to the left, and to the right) are flipped from on to off, or vice versa.

To play Lights Out effectively, it’s important to have a good understanding of the patterns that can appear in the game, and how to solve them efficiently. In this article, we will discuss the best strategies for playing Lights Out.

1. Final arrangements

There are only four possible final arrangements of the lights before the puzzle is solved. Keeping in mind these can be rotated left or right, these arrangements are:

OXO  OOO  OOO  OOO
XXX  OXO  OOX  XOO
OXO  XXX  OXX  XXO

The last move will either be clicking the middle tile (pattern 1) or one of the three tiles along one edge (patterns 2-4). Knowing these final arrangements is crucial for solving the puzzle.

2. Never Repeat a Move

It’s important to remember that you will never need to click the same tile more than once. This is always the wrong move.

3. Recognizing Common Patterns

There are several common patterns in Lights Out that can be solved within one or two moves. By recognizing these patterns, you can quickly determine the next move to take and solve the puzzle efficiently.

For example, if the lights are in the following pattern:

OOO
XXO
OOX

This pattern is always two moves away from finishing. You can turn off the middle-left light and the bottom-middle light to reach the final arrangement:

OOO
XXO     XOO
OOX --> XXO

4. Two Moves Away from Finishing

When you’re two moves away from finishing a game of Lights Out, there are only eight possible patterns that the lights can be in. Recognizing these patterns is key to solving the puzzle efficiently.

For example, if the lights are in the following pattern:

XOX
OOO
XOO

You can turn off the O’s between the X’s on each side to reach the final arrangement:

XOX     OXO     XXO
OOO --> OXO --> XOO
XOO     XOO     OOO

5. Looking for Patterns

There are a variety of little strategies for solving Lights Out, but the main thing is to know the limited number of final moves and look for patterns that get you there. Keep in mind that all examples can be rotated in different directions, so you’re not always going to finish on the bottom row or any specific location.