What kind of beast Untangle Puzzle is: rules, tricks and a few tips

The igrasu.ru catalog holds hundreds of games, and this is one people keep coming back to. Here is how it works and how to get the most out of it.

What this game is

Here is a tangle of lines and dots — the classic planarity puzzle. The goal is easy to say and addictive to do: drag the nodes until no two edges cross. Red edges are fighting, green ones are already at peace. The moment there are no crossings left, the puzzle is solved and a harder one appears. Nine levels take you from a small ring to a dense graph of over twenty nodes, every one generated so that a crossing-free solution is guaranteed to exist. Steer with the mouse or a finger on your phone — the nodes are big and grab easily. There are no side rules and nothing to memorise: watch the crossings counter up top and untangle away.

How to play, in short

1. Here is a tangle of lines and dots — the classic planarity puzzle.

2. The goal is easy to say and addictive to do: drag the nodes until no two edges cross.

3. Red edges are fighting, green ones are already at peace.

4. The moment there are no crossings left, the puzzle is solved and a harder one appears.

5. Nine levels take you from a small ring to a dense graph of over twenty nodes, every one generated so that a crossing-free solution is guaranteed to exist.

6. Steer with the mouse or a finger on your phone — the nodes are big and grab easily.

7. There are no side rules and nothing to memorise: watch the crossings counter up top and untangle away.

A few final tips

• Check out the demo mode on the game page — the AI shows how it is played, and repeating it yourself gets much easier.
• Play in short sessions: the best results come with a warmed-up head.

Take note: it works great solo and in a "my high score is bigger" company. Ready to try? "Untangle Puzzle"