What is Hashi?
Hashi, short for Hashiwokakero and also known as Bridges, is a logic puzzle of islands and connections. Each numbered island says how many bridges it needs. Your job is to draw them, one or two between neighbors, until the whole map is linked together.
The puzzles look calm but reward careful counting. Play hashi online free here, with fresh maps from small warm-ups to large 15×15 archipelagos.
Where Hashi comes from
Hashi, short for Hashiwokakero (“build bridges”), is another classic from the Japanese puzzle publisher Nikoli. It is also known simply as Bridges. The board is a group of numbered islands, and your job is to connect them all into one network.
How to play here
Drag from one island to a neighbor to lay a bridge between them. Drag again along the same line to make it a double bridge, and once more to remove it. Bridges run only horizontally or vertically, can never cross each other, and at most two can join the same pair of islands. The number on each island is how many bridges must touch it.
A step-by-step way to solve
- Start with islands that have one neighbor. A 1 or 2 in a corner with a single neighbor has only one place to send its bridges.
- Find the full islands. A 4 with two neighbors needs double bridges to both. A 6 with three neighbors, or an 8 with four, is also completely decided.
- Count what is left. After each bridge, subtract it from the island’s number. The remaining count often forces the next bridge.
- Avoid closing a group too early. If two islands would join into a small group that can no longer reach the rest, that connection is wrong. Everything must end up connected.
- Use crossings. A bridge blocks any line that would cross it, which can leave an island with only one option.
Why play Hashi?
Hashi feels different from grid-shading puzzles: you are building a network, and the final check that every island is connected makes the last moves exciting. Small boards take a couple of minutes; 15×15 boards are long, satisfying solves. For another puzzle about connections, try Zip or Masyu.
How to play Hashi
- Each circle is an island. Its number is how many bridges must connect to it.
- Bridges run straight, horizontally or vertically, between two islands.
- Two islands can be joined by one or two bridges, never more.
- Bridges may not cross each other or pass over an island.
- When you finish, all islands must form a single connected group.
Hashi tips
Corners and edges first
An island in a corner has only two neighbors. If it shows 4, it needs two bridges to each of them; if it shows 3, it needs at least one bridge to each.
Count what is left
Compare an island's number with the bridges it can still receive. When the only possible bridges equal what is needed, draw them all.
Avoid closed groups
Two 1-islands must never link only to each other, and two 2-islands never with a double bridge, because that group could never join the rest.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hashiwokakero mean?
It is Japanese for build bridges. The puzzle is also called Bridges, Hashi, or Chopsticks in some books.
Can bridges cross diagonally?
No. All bridges are straight horizontal or vertical lines, and they can never cross one another.
How many solutions does a hashi puzzle have?
One. Each puzzle has a unique solution you can reach by logic alone.
