Edge Letters Solver

Edge Letters Solver — Step by Step

Choose the grid and letters, click a circle outside the grid (or a square) and type its letter, then press Solve. Or play a generated puzzle and send it here with one click.

Edge Letters Solver: rules, how to use it, tips

Place each letter exactly once in every row and column, with blank squares between; edge letters show which letter you meet first from that side.

The rules

Each row and each column contains every letter of the set exactly once.
The other squares in each row and column are blank.
A letter outside the grid is the first letter you meet when you look along that row or column from that side. Blank squares may come before it.

Using the solver

Choose the grid and letter set and type the edge letters (or press Sample).
Press Solve and step through: letters already placed, the only square left for a letter, and edge letters that fix the first letter in a line.

Tips

Next to the edge. With only a few blanks per line, the edge letter must sit in one of the first few squares from its side.
Not first. A letter that is the first seen from the left can’t be in the last square, and no other letter can appear before it.
Opposite edges. When both ends of a line have clues, the first and last letters are fixed — the remaining letters go between them.
Once per line. When a line has a letter placed, cross that letter off the rest of the line — just like Sudoku.

The full guide, with a worked example and common mistakes: How to play Edge Letters.

Questions

Do blanks count as letters?

No — blanks are simply empty squares and are skipped when you look in from the edge.

Why do some puzzles have letters inside the grid?

A few given letters are added when the edge clues alone would allow more than one answer.

Is there always one answer?

Yes — every puzzle here is checked to have exactly one solution.

How do I solve one from a book?

Open the Edge Letters Solver, type the edge letters and press Solve.